The Golden Legend

Nadeem Aslam

Nadeem Aslam’s fifth novel tells the story of a contemporary Pakistani community consumed by religious intolerance. After a Pakistani man is shot by an American, a powerful military intelligence officer pressures the victim’s wife, Nargis, to pardon the killer. Under threat from the officer, Nargis fears that a dangerous truth about her past will soon be exposed. In this violent setting, two outsiders—a young Christian and a mysterious Kashmiri—try to find an island of calm in which their love can grow.

Penguin India, 376 pages, Rs 599