My latest book “The Concubine & The Slave-Catcher”
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Praise for “The Concubine & The Slave-Catcher”:
Ten powerful stories set on several continents and at different periods in history. A well-meaning Abolitionist learns the sordid and violent truth about slavery from her African servants in Boston USA. The sundering of India and Pakistan in the 1947 Partition is revealed when a Muslim boy is adopted by a Hindu family during the chaos of mass migration. A young university student finds her engagement broken off because her fiancé’s family disapproves of her Western attire. The horrors of the Holocaust are writ large in one pregnant woman’s experiences. With each unique story, Shahraz captures and enriches us with her wisdom and storytelling magic.
1. Bapsi Sidwa, author of ‘Crow eaters’ USA/Pakistan, winner of Sitara-i-Imtiaz:
“
An astute and gifted storyteller, Shahraz describes the immigrant experience in Britain with rare passion and verisimilitude.
an astute and gifted storyteller’ with a rare passion in describing the immigrant experience.
”
2. Professor Lynne Pearce, University of Lancaster, Creative writing department:
“
a very bold and hard hitting collection that works well as a whole, with several of the individual stories being truly memorable!
a very bold and hard hitting collection with several stories being truly memorable.
”
3. Namita Gokale, Director of Jaipur fesitval and author:
“
These tautly paced cross-cultural tales are set across continents and historical timelines. The all too human stories are told with deep empathy and intuitive understanding.
These tautly paced cross-cultural tales, and all too human stories are told with deep empathy.
”
4. Mei Fong, USA, author of ‘One Child’ Pulitzer prize winner:
“
A delightful collection of stories that take the reader from Pakistan to Peru, provoking at times laughter, melancholia, and a deep desire for the heart’s home.
”
5. Claire Chambers, author and editor of The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, University of York, UK:
“
An old man in Manchester dreams of his previous life in Pakistan, but on returning there realises he is no longer sure where home is. Two married couples from different cultures come into conflict over tourism, disability and betrayal in Malaysia. The horrors of the Holocaust and Birkenau concentration camp are writ large in one pregnant woman’s experiences. A young woman finds her engagement broken off because her fiancé’s family disapprove of her walking attire. Two women suffer the consequences when they breach superstitions around miscarriage in a Pakistani village. The sundering of India and Pakistan in the 1947 partition is revealed when a Muslim boy is adopted by a Hindu family during the chaos of mass migration. A British man witnesses the hard lot of Afghan workers in the Gulf. A family tries to cover up the shame of an elder daughter running away with her boyfriend. A well-meaning abolitionist learns the sordid and violent truth about slavery from her African American servants.
Qaisra Shahraz’s new collection The Concubine and the Slave-Catcher: And Other Stories catches in freeze frame the fast-moving times we are living through. Like Buchi Emecheta, Shahraz is passionate about the lives and plight of women and migrants. Like Elif Shafak, she is effortlessly cosmopolitan and has a sharp ear for the voices of the street. Shahraz’s unashamedly romantic disposition and gift for emplotment means that she wears her extensive research lightly. She evokes the humble just as deftly as she does the mighty, and is alert to clashes and confluences of culture. Read this sparkling collection if you are interested in migration, in inter-generational tensions, or simply in pacy, high-quality storytelling.
This sparkling collection, with high-quality storytelling and author’s gift for emplotment, and alertness to clashes and confluences of cultures catches in freeze frame the fast-moving times we are living through
”
6. Eka Kurniawan – Indonesian writer:
“
Traveling through places and times, but more importantly, through people’s lives, that’s what makes these wonderful stories with a mix of sadness, longing, and nostalgia so memorable.
”
Eka Kurniawan, author of Man Tiger, Winner of the 2016 Financial Times Emerging Voices Award, and longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize
7. Corine Goldberger, Marie Claire, Paris:
“
Black slavery, extermination of the Jews, the Spanish conquest of the Incas, the partition of India and modern day migration, it’s all here in this exciting collection written with deep human empathy and understanding.
”
8. Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington, DC:
“
Qaisra Shahraz’s brilliant voice shines as she takes us across four continents and centuries of history in her new volume of short stories, The Concubine and the Slave-Catcher: And Other Stories. Driven by her characteristic exotic color, vivid imagination, and amazing insights, Qaisra’s stories take us deep into a vast array of societies and communities across time, including Manchester, Lahore, Abu Dhabi, and Cusco, and leave the reader grappling with the universal beauty, mystery, and hardship of human relationships. Qaisra, through her storytelling and her deep commitment to building bridges, has emerged as an excellent ambassador between the West and the Muslim world. We are all grateful to her.
Qaisra’s stories take us deep into a vast array of societies and communities across time, including Manchester, Lahore, Abu Dhabi, and Cusco, and leave the reader grappling with the universal beauty, mystery, and hardship of human relationships.
Qaisra Shahraz’s brilliant voice shines as she takes us across four continents and centuries of history in her new volume of short stories.
Qaisra, through her storytelling and her deep commitment to building bridges, has emerged as an excellent ambassador between the West and the Muslim world.
”
9. Emma Clayton, Leisure and Lifestyle Editor, Telegraph & Argus:
“
This impressive new collection from Qaisra Shahraz, spanning several continents and centuries, puts the spotlight on the human condition – with each story set against a significant historical backdrop. From Partition in India and Pakistan to contemporary Abu Dhabi, Shahraz offers a compelling human touch.Train To Krakov has the Holocaust as its central theme, focusing on a group of Jewish people struggling to survive in a concentration camp, while Slave Catcher highlights the slave trade in 18th century Boston and Concubine looks at the deadly jealousy of an Inca concubine. Powerful storytelling across a culturally diverse literary landscape.
This impressive new collection from Qaisra Shahraz, spanning several continents and centuries, puts the spotlight on the human condition – with each story set against a significant historical backdrop.Powerful storytelling across a culturally diverse literary landscape.
”
10. Barbara Bos, editor of Women Writers, Women’s Books, Spain:
“
Insightful and culturally diverse, this story collection is a timely and utterly essential read. Qaisra’s prose enlightens and entrances all at once.
”
11. Dr. Corinne Fowler, Director of the Centre for the New Writing, University of Leicester:
“
These stories travel well. Shahraz possesses a keen sense of place: her stories devolve to particular locales and yet convey an expansive transnational consciousness.
”
For international translated editions of Qaisra Shahraz’s books, click on Published Works
Books written by Qaisra Shahraz
Click to view
The Concubine & The Slave-Catcher, A Pair of Jeans & Other Stories, Typhoon, Revolt, The Holy Woman, The Holy Woman (Chinese Edition)
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