Maps for Lost Lovers

In an unnamed town Jugnu and his lover Chanda have disappeared. Rumours abound in the close-knit Pakistani community, and then on a snow-covered January morning Chanda's brothers are arrested for murder. Telling the story of the next twelve months, Maps for Lost Lovers opens the heart of a family at the crossroads of culture, community, nationality and religion, and expresses their pain in a language that is arrestingly poetic.

'This is a deeply pastoral novel, tied to the seasons and resonating with birdsong . . . Like Aslam, I was heartbroken when the dense, dark tapestry was finished.' Independent on Sunday

'Despite the violence that lies at the heart of the novel, it is a celebration of love and life. Sights and sounds, smells and colours are not so much vivid backdrops for the narrative as structural, mood- and texture-enhancing parts of it . . . This is that rare sort of book that gives a voice to those voices that are seldom heard.' Observer



Nadeem Aslam is the author of the award-winning novel

Season of the Rainbirds (1993). He lives in the UK.Praise for

Season of the Rainbirds:'Nadeem Aslam's is a genuinely exciting new voice - lively, confident, uninhibited and ambitious. This is one of the most impressive first novels of recent years.' Salman Rushdie'An exquisitely turned portrait of small-town life on the subcontinent: it is a real treat.'

Daily Telegraph