Booker-prize shortlisted Pakistani writer Intizar Husain”s 1987 Urdu novel, “Tazkirah” has been translated into English as “The Chronicle” by American writer Matt Reeck, publishers Penguin Random House announced on Tuesday.
Originally published by Lahore-based Sang-e-Meel publications, the book is set in the “terrifying times” of the rule of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan”s former president, and chronicles the story of a family and its illustrious homes.
As Ikhlaq, the main character, struggles to build a home in Lahore, the reader is introduced to a darkly comedic and dramatic chain of events.
These events are interspersed closely with Ikhlaq”s exploration of the ”tazkirah”, a family chronicle, which inspires him to write its last chapter-the story of his life and times.
“”The Chronicle” is an abiding tale of Ikhlaq”s ever-changing life, and the document that chronicles his family”s long history going back to Persia serves as the imaginative soundboard of his life.
“Mixing the narrative styles of Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic myth and legend with fast-paced contemporary prose, Husain proves once again his mastery of diverse narrative forms,” publishers said in a statement.
Brooklyn-based Reeck is an award-winning writer and translator, who won a Fulbright Scholarship to travel to India. His poetry and his translations have been published in many national magazines.
