Salt and Saffron

Rating:
Summary: Bland despite the food
Review: A convoluted story which stretches from the Mughal era to present day and tries to connect characters and fates from each to the other. Central is the theroy of the 'not quite twins', each set of each generation supposedly destined to bring tragedy on the Dard-e-dil clan. The protagonist, Aliya, fears herself to be a not quite twin with one Marium. Marium has already brought social calamity on the family and now the family is wondering if she is family at all. Aliya fears that she too will become a pariah -even in her own eyes- because she has fallen for a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The most intersting story line in the novel is that of the class differences, but not much time is spent exploting this. The rest i.e. the laborious food descriptions that became repetitive, and the long winded family history, were for me, eventually tedious. I finished the novel because I am a Pakistani and find it hard to come by any novels set in Pakistan. Had it been set elsewhere I may have put it down. To be read only if you are very, very bored.

Rating:
Summary: The food IS the story, the story IS the food
Review: I am surprised to read some of these reviews. This is a skillfully written book that sparkles with wit, culture, and intrigue. There ARE majestic descriptions of food within, as well as lengthy passages relating family history, but far from being distractions from the main story, they are alternate ways of telling the main story. Kamila Shamsie uses all the tools at her disposal to help the reader connect with her tale of awakening to, confronting, and digesting issues of class and caste in life.

I found the novel enjoyable from beginning to end, and more than that - substantial. In the sense that a wonderful, savory, tantalizing meal is also substantial - it fills the hungering part of you. While the meal fills the belly and awakens the senses, this novel fills the soul and awakens the conscience. This novel is good not in the "eat your vegetables - they are good for you" sense, but in the "it was good spending time with you" sense.

Well done, Shamsie. I eagerly await your next novel.

Rating:
Summary: A feast
Review: I didn't know what to expect from this book. The book's online description seemed a little confusing, but also intriguing--ancient family secrets, exotic lineages, a hint of magic realism--and I was taken by the beautiful cover image, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did.

"Salt and Saffron" is populated by a fascinating cast of characters, from the main character, Aliya's, ancestors to her extended present-day family, and the story--part mythology and fable, part contemporary romance, part serious meditation on politics and social classes in Pakistan--is utterly enjoyable. These are all held together by lyrical, energetic, and very smart writing.

Having read the works of Salman Rushdie, Mohsin Hamid, Amitav Ghosh, Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, Garcia Marquez, and others who mix myth and fantasy with reality, past with present, I can honestly say that Ms. Shamsie is a writer to keep an eye on. I'll be eagerly looking forward to future books.

Rating:
Summary: A look on the other side
Review: I usually read novels about India, India's side of the Partition, etc., so it was really enlightening to read a book taking place in Pakistan. The author knows how to use her words and engages you from the beginning. The only complaint I have about this book is that sometimes it seems as though it was a "stream of consciousness" and could be hard to follow for those not familiar with South Asian culture, language, food, etc. Excellent book though, I recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Of Senses and Sensuality
Review: If ever a book existed that made the readers' connect with their innermost and basic desires, then Salt and Saffron is it. Shamsie has the extraordinary knack that recognizes an individual's need for comfort through the presence of family, love, relationships, and food. The novel details the trials and conflicts of Aliya, a Pakistani girl born in the sub continental upper crust, as she moves along a journey of self discovery by questioning the very beliefs that she was brought up with.

When Mariam Apa, Aliya's distant older cousin, arrives at the family's doorstep, she brings with her change that will leave the Dard-E-Dil foundations shaking for a long time. Through Mariam, Shamsie explores the tastes, timbres, and textures of silence. Like salt, it is sprinkled gently through the novel without being overly intimidating.

Aliya's stories are fragrant with the aromas that waft in and out of every Pakistani home and get woven inextricably into the tapestry of every day living. Like Mariam, she falls in love with someone outside of her social barrier and aims to resolve her dilemma by unfurling the mystery behind her cousins life.

With most of the narrative set in pre independence India, Shamise writes with a deep affection of the stories that tell of the heartbreak of a divided nation.


Rating:
Summary: Fabulous and Intriguing Novel...
Review: It might be because of my Pakistani background, but I thought this book was fabulous.

Aliya's stories about her complex Dard-e-Dil clan were intriguing... her observations about her family and life in pakistan were funny (I laughed out loud at times...because her observations were funny because they were so true)...

During the whole story, Aliya is trying to figure out who she is.. is she a snob ... tied down by her upper class noble upbringing/tied to tradition... is she an educated, open-minded woman that can accept her cousin marrying a servant... the conflict within made this book even more fun to read...

I was impressed with the way this book was written... it was an easy read (very conversational)... the descriptions were lovely..

Rating:
Summary: A Novel To Be Savored To The Last Word
Review: Kamila Shamsie is a superb storyteller and a gifted writer. After reading her novel "Kartography," I wanted to read everything else she had written, and so came upon "Salt and Saffron." Ms. Shamsie does not disappoint in this extraordinary book. She explores here the complexities of family relationships - the generational legends that approach mythology, feuds that last for one hundred years, births, deaths, loves, secrets and scandals. All these dramas are universal, but the author has focused her tale on the Dard-e-Dils, an aristocratic nawab family, descended from royalty as far back as the Mughal dynasty. This huge feudal clan made their home, before Partition in 1947, in Dard-e-Dil, India. Now most are Pakistani, and have been incommunicado with their former loved ones, on the other side of the border, since the declaration of Pakistani statehood. The clash between cultures, Pakistani and Anglo (British and American), and the prohibition of loving below ones class are also tackled here.

Aliya, a Dard-e-Dil granddaughter, is our narrator and tour guide through the intricacies of the family tree, lore and history, providing the readers with some new chapters of her own. Aliya's voice is a strong and intelligent one, however, there are times when her humor - the play on words and American English slang - are just too cutesie, and become annoying. When the novel begins, Aliya is returning to her beloved home in Karachi after 4 years at an American university. She stops over to visit a cousin, Samia, in London and meets an American Pakistani youth, Cal/Khaleel, on the plane. The two have much in common, are attracted to each other and become even more so when he seeks her out at her cousin's apartment. While having coffee, Aliyah discovers that Cal's parents, American immigrants, are from the lower classes. Their Karachi neighborhood was in Liaquatabad, a poor area of the city, making Cal a most unsuitable choice for a boyfriend or husband. Samia sums it all up quite nicely when she comments,"The poor live in Liaquatabad. The Poor, the lower-classes, the not-us. How else do you want me to put this? There's no one we know who would have exchanged Karachi phone numbers with him."

Aliyah is linked as a "not quite twin," with her aunt, the mysterious Mariam Apa, who elopes with the cook, another very unsuitable match. The legend of the "not quite twins," and the curse associated with it, is explained in the novel, and it is a clever device used to link generations. The segments devoted to Mariam and Masood, the cook, and their culinary creations are literally scrumptious. "Curly shaped jalaibees, hot and gooey, that trickled sweet syrup down your chin when you bit into them; diced potatoes drowned in yogurt, sprinkled in spices; triangles of fried samosas, the smaller ones filled with mince-meat, the larger ones filled with potatoes and green chilies; shami kebabs with sweet-sour imli sauce; spinach leaves fried in chick-pea batter; nihari with large gobs of marrow floating in the thick gravy, and meat so tender it dissolved instantly in your mouth; lassai that quenched a day-long thirst as nothing else did and left us wondering why we ever drank Coke....". There are further descriptions of spiced lamb, fragrant biryanis, sweetmeats and desserts that will make the mouth water.

"Salt and Saffron" is filled with enough enchanting tales to keep Shaharazad happy, but some of the "real life" story just doesn't ring true. In many cases extreme measures are taken by individuals to fulfill their lives and desires, and these acts have dire consequences as a result of breaking family taboos - taboos which often seem based on whim.

Ms. Shamsie's prose is elegant, lyrical and witty. Her dialogue is humorous, at times pensive and poignant, and at others fast and furious. "Salt and Saffron" is a substantial novel to be savored to the last word.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: A look on the other side
Review: The novel begins as Aliya is on a London-bound airplane after graduating from college in Massachusetts. Aliya is a young Pakistani woman and is on her way home to Karachi. She is a natural storyteller and spends the flight relaying tales of her family, the Dar-e-Dils, to several of the other passengers. Throughout their history, the Dard-e-Dil family has had sets of `not-quite twins' who bring bad luck or shame to the family. Aliya tells tales of her family and these twins back to the time of the Mughals, during the time of the Partition of India and Pakistan, and up until modern day Pakistan. The novel alternates between the present day and Aliya's telling of the family legends.

The book contains fabulous descriptions of food that made my mouth water. Shamsie has created excellent, vivid descriptions of meals cooked by Aliya's family's cook, Masood. The title of the book is derived from a discussion between Masood and another character regarding the use of spices.

`Salt and Saffron' explores issues of misunderstandings and expectations between family members. It also raises the concept of fate and relations between different social classes. The prose did seem a bit `thick' and overly descriptive in parts, and probably could've been shortened, but it wasn't enough to detract from the book as a whole. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Indo-Pak literature and also to anyone who loves to read about food. I plan on picking up other books by Shamsie in the future!