The Crooked Line Book

I had to write a review for this book to explain my rating.

After reading the afterword I had to upgrade. I have so much interest in Urdu writers and the time of partition and the fact that Ismat Chughtai was considered a feminist of her time.

The first part of the book is like a Pakistani Drama - very slow - but interesting - but lots and lots of details.

2nd part is a bit confusing and the 3rd is just way too fast.

However, the afterward explained more about the book and the talent Ismat had and the pacing and magnificence of the book. I do think that lots is lost in translation no matter how good the translation. Idioms and references and pacing can't all come through. I am not knocking the great translation (as I've read Tahira's translations of other Chughtai work) but the fact of always losing something as culture and thought cannot always be translated.

The other Chughtai stories I think I liked better because they were short stories and my western sensibility of going fast and at a pace that I could follow (whether slow, fast, etc). This is a very long book and thus my patience suffered. Again though, I wish I could read Urdu and get the real sense of the book because I can understand how great it was for the time and place.