A review by shadybanana
Season of the Rainbirds by Nadeem Aslam

5.0

I was aware of Nadeem Aslam's existence. I just hadnt found any of his books in any bookstores I'd been to. And then this beautiful cover caught my glance, and I knew I just had to buy it. The premise is very intriguing but thats about it. Half-way through the book, I knew I was going to give it a three star or maybe a four, if I were to be generous. After all, there was no plot in sight, there were just threads of dialogues and loose story points going about and around. And then I finished the book, and decided to give it a 5 star. Oh the ending wasnt that fantastic. If anything you cant call that ending a 'ending', there was no closure, and I dont mind that because by then I'd realised something. This book wasn't about some plot. This book was about the characters, the background to the story and the theme prevalent throughout the book. The descriptions are just so breath-taking. I wish I'd the stamina to type one of the many beautiful lines from the book here but I dont. The characters and their actions they really make you think and question human nature. That being said, this book and I suspect all of Nadeem Aslam's books might be for a very specific targetted audience. If you're from subcontinent, you will love it. If you want to know what life is like here, oh boy will you know after reading this. And if you fall into neither category, and you still want to read this book then you wont be disappointed. The shifting paradigms and the ironical behaviours that are so inherent in our nature combined with mesmerizing writing, and just a wee bit of religious extremism will keep you addicted to this