The Inside City

Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2020

As India hurtles towards Partition, in Lahore's ancient inside city, Amrau Dar is not thinking about politics. She is waiting for a prediction about her son, Awais, to come true. Awais discovers not a secret garden but a secret city and his beloved sister, Maryam, discovers the world of maths. Fearing that the prediction has gone wrong, Amrau takes a series of decisions that will change all their lives.

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'The Inside City is a bold and vivid evocation of times and places on the fringes of our memories; a multi-patterned screen that reveals, through the secrets, mysteries, loves and tragedies of a multitude of characters, the inner life of a nation. A compelling and hugely entertaining debut.' – Aamer Hussein, author of Another Gulmohar Tree

'Brimming with compassion' – Mohammed Hanif, author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes