This Other Salt

(Paperback, New edition)

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Description

Betrayal, bereavement, exile, belonging - these are the themes that resonate throughout This Other Salt. A writer torn between two loves looks for his lost words in the gap between memory, mourning and desire; a poet revenges herself on her faithless lover by turning their romance into a legend of biblical proportions; and a teenage boy's life uncannily begins to resemble the role he plays in a school operetta ...Combining satire, legend, poetry, history and memoir, the linked stories of This Other Salt reveal an author of uncommon talent at the height of his craft.

Reviews

'Extraordinarily controlled, written in a tactile, musical prose, with a very individual sense of beauty ... A striking and genuinely original contribution ... a moving and highly aesthetic expression of a new sensibility.' Amit Chaudhuri 'Each story, remarkable in both expansiveness and precision, sings with heartbreak, intelligence and elegy. A stunning collection. Kamila Shamsie '... haunting, beautifully written and lyrical.' Maggie Gee 'Poetic perfection ... Drawing on legend, history, memoir, literature and film, Hussein's stories are meant to be cupped in both hands and savoured slowly, like a cup of cardamom chai.' Guardian (23.04.05) 'It is seldom that one encounters such gripping emotional depth and eloquent descriptions in so few words.' Jordan Times (14.04.05) 'Beautifully written and tinged with sadness, these stories are a treat for readers.' Newsline 'Overflowing with rich imagery and musical prose.'Eastern Daily Press, June 1, 2005

Author Bio

Aamer Hussein was born in Karachi and moved to London in 1970. As well as an author, Hussein is a well-known reviewer and literary critic, contributing to The Independent and the TLS, as well as to several Pakistani national newspapers. He holds visiting posts at the University of Southampton and the University of London, and is the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Imperial College for 2003-2004. He was recently awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature.