F
138
STRANGER TO
HISTORY
-Aatish Taseer
or those of you who've
always wanted a real
time account of the state
of events in the middle eastern
countries, this is an intellectual
treat giving an insight into the
mentalities of actual people
residing there. In the
background is a deep sear of the
author's yearning for
reconciliation with his father,
who represents the hypocritical
Pakistani elite ( hypocritical
because they're shown to take
to the so called addictions/
intoxications/ power races
while preaching piousness)
with pseudo allegiance and
nationalism. e last couple of
chapters if not viewed from a
son's point of view actually
expose the precise root cause of
the plight of Pakistan. e
intoxicated bloodthirsty brawn
that has subjugated in totality
to power and the distortion of
history that has �lled the vast
majority's minds. A sort of a
blame game nature both
amongst the people and the
leaders has also been
highlighted well by Taseer. In
short, this novel dissects out
the problems at the ground
level in the Islamic regime's
countries and the intricacies of
a faulty system that is trying to
live in denial of reality, human
nature & westernization and is
de�ant to change & progress by
erroneously ascribing their
mentalities as an outcome of
religion and other countries'
cons pirac y a gainst them.
(almost delusional)
e end could have been
a bit more conclusive, but that's
a subjective preference. I'd go
with 8/10 for this piece of work.
e narrative, the vocabulary
and the authenticity with an
intangible charm makes it a
wonderful read.
Naba Farooqui,
3115, Batch 2014