Direct and startlingly intimate, Hussein's stories are set in troubled times — in Karachi, Lahore and London, where war, partition and military rule form the backdrop for the anticipation and anxiety of changing homes and family life, the hopes and failures of love and work. Turquoise illuminates the passions and fears of a world more complex and more beautiful than the media images of Islam and Pakistan convey. 'Hussein's stories are about individuals and their countries of exile, where the world itself is seen as a place of transit… A moving and highly aesthetic expression of a new sensibility.' Amit Chaudhuri 'Turquoise must be read slowly to savour its many pleasures… The fluid prose is sometimes simple and pristine, sometimes sinuous and visceral… The stories' imagery is radiant.' Mary Flanagan, Independent 'The symbolic and intellectual complexity of Hussein's collection is undeniable.' Times Literary Supplement 'This Other Salt will add to the richness and density of writings in English, and help the reader traverse different cultures.' Wasafiri
