Maps for Lost Lovers - Tapa blanda

"'Despite the violence that lies at the heart of the novel, it is a celebration of love and life... This is that rare sort of book that gives a voice to those whose voices are seldom heard.' Observer; 'Nadeem Aslam is a genuinely exciting new voice, lively, confident, uninhibited and ambitious. This is one of the most impressive... novels of recent years' Salman Rushdie"

In an unnamed town Jugnu and his lover Chanda have disappeared. Rumours abound in the close-knit Pakistani community, and then on a snow-covered January morning Chanda's brothers are arrested for murder. Telling the story of the next twelve months, Maps for Lost Lovers opens the heart of a family at the crossroads of culture, community, nationality and religion, and expresses their pain in a language that is arrestingly poetic. 'This is a deeply pastoral novel, tied to the seasons and resonating with birdsong ...Like Aslam, I was heartbroken when the dense, dark tapestry was finished.' Independent on Sunday 'Despite the violence that lies at the heart of the novel, it is a celebration of love and life. Sights and sounds, smells and colours are not so much vivid backdrops for the narrative as structural, mood- and texture-enhancing parts of it ...This is that rare sort of book that gives a voice to those voices that are seldom heard.' Observer