This Wide Night

Sarvat Hasin

This debut novel reimagines Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women against the backdrop of 1970s Karachi. Four beautiful sisters—Maria, Ayesha, Leila and Bina—are warily watched over by an unconventional mother. Their father is usually away, so the women forge the rules of their own universe, taking in a few men, including the professor Amir, who falls in love with Maria, and their neighbour Jamal, who narrates the tale.

Penguin India, 328 pages, Rs 499