The Pakistani Bride: A Novel
by: Bapsi Sidhwa
Published by: Milkweed Editions
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Reviewed by Maria Hoeffer
The re-release of Bapsi Sidhwa’s The Pakistani Bride is perhaps more timely now than the original debut in 1983. With the world’s eyes on Pakistan, there is a hunger to learn about it, to understand the people of Pakistan beyond the superficial view of the nightly news.
The Pakistani Bride provides an intimate look at both life in the cities, the “plains…bound hand and foot by government clerks and police” and the rugged mountain villages, where a crosswise look can spark a murderous family feud, as well as the interplay between the two lands. Sidhwa’s clear and almost emotionless descriptions in occasional horrific scenes, make them both readable yet even more abhorrent. It is only through this slight distance that the reader is able to persevere through the unimaginable events that have shaped the history of Pakistan while providing a backdrop of understanding and glimpses of insight into the lives of the people there.
Along with the cast of dynamic Pakistani characters, Sidhwa provides Carol, an American married to a Pakistani man, as further insight into the Pakistani experience. Through Carol’s eyes, the reader is able to witness both the beauty and the cruelty of Pakistan. She is one of the many multifaceted female characters that allow the reader to immerse themselves in a culture of dichotomy, of sexuality versus chastity, of joyfulness versus sorrow, and of freedom of mind and expression versus repression.
The role of women is examined from many angles, leaving the reader to develop their own conclusions rather than spoon feeding or demanding a certain view. Sidhwa walks between the Pakistani and Western worlds, casting light on an often misunderstood and neglected region, revealing the human perspective there.
The Pakistani Bride allows the reader to have a fuller understanding of the people living in Pakistan as well as a sense of some history of this region now highlighted on the world stage.
Armchair Interviews says: This is a most interesting and thought-provoking novel.
Author’s Web site: http://www.BapsiSidhwa.com
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