The Return of Faraz Ali

The Return of Faraz Ali is a debut novel set in Pakistan during the late 60s, exploring family, identity, and the politics of power in a caste-ridden society. Inspector Faraz returns to his birthplace to cover up a murder, but he cannot resist searching for his mother and sister, risking his carefully constructed existence. The novel is as riveting as it is thought-provoking and profoundly intimate.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 31 March 2022
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Stunning, not only on account of the author's talent, of which there is clearly plenty, but also in its humanity, the New York Times Book Review praised the debut novel. Set in Pakistan during the anarchic late 60s, the multi-layered tale of family, identity, and the politics of power in a caste-ridden society unfolds.

As riots erupt on the streets of Lahore, Inspector Faraz returns to his birthplace, the red-light district in the ancient walled city where women still pass on the profession of courtesan to their daughters. Plucked from it as a small boy by his influential father, Faraz has kept his roots well hidden. Now, his father has sent him back: to cover up the murder of a young courtesan.

It should be a simple task in the marginalised community, but Faraz finds himself unable to obey orders or to resist searching for the mother and sister he left behind. Chasing down the walled city's labyrinthine alleys for answers that risk shattering his carefully constructed existence, he is unaware that his sister faces having to return too, and to a life she thought she had escaped.

As riveting as it is thought-provoking, as profoundly intimate as it is wide in scope, The Return of Faraz Ali poses a timeless question: whom do we choose to protect, and at what price?

Weight: 452g
Dimension: 147 x 224 x 37 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529356014