Curfewed Night: A Frontline Memoir Of Life, Love And War In Kashmir

Description

Longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and Winner of the Crossword Prize for Non-fiction '"Curfewed Night" is a passionate and important book -- a brave and brilliant report from a conflict the world has chosen to ignore.' Salman Rushdie Basharat Peer was a teenager when the separatist movement exploded in Kashmir in 1989. Over the following years countless young men, fuelled by feelings of injustice, crossed over the 'Line of Control' to train in Pakistani army camps. Peer was sent off to boarding school in Aligarh to keep out of trouble. He finished college and became a journalist in Delhi. But Kashmir -- angrier, more violent, more hopeless -- was never far away. In 2003 Peer, now a young journalist, left his job and returned to his homeland. Drawing a harrowing portrait of Kashmir and her people -- a mother forced to watch her son hold an exploding bomb, politicians living in refurbished torture chambers, picturesque villages riddled with landmines -- this is above all, a story of what it really means to return home -- and the discovery that there may not be any redemption in it. Lyrical, spare, gut-wrenching and intimate, Curfewed Night is a powerful and intensely moving debut, combining the insight of a journalist with the prose of a poet.

Reviews

'A passionate and important book -- a brave and brilliant report from a conflict the world has chosen to ignore.' Salman Rushdie 'One of the finest books I've read this year!Basharat Peer's memoir reminds us why peace in Kashmir is important, not just to India and Pakistan, but to the world.' Hari Kunzru, Guardian "Curfewed Night" is the finest book I have read on the contemporary Kashmir conflict -- literary, humane, clear-eyed and reliable. Basharat Peer has given voice, unforgettably, to a generation of Kashmiris who have never been heard, but who should be.' Steve Coll 'An extraordinary memoir that does a great deal to bring the Kashmir conflict out of the realm of political rhetoric between India and Pakistan!one of the great achievements of "Curfewed Night" is its seamless mingling of memoir and reportage!It is a formidable challenge to tell the stories of Kashmir's suffering without numbing the readers' senses, and that Peer is able to do so is testament to his gifts and and sensitivity as a writer' Guardian 'Fresh and poignant!Peer's tone is non--judgmental!"Curfewed Night" has made his own valuable contribution to Orwell's mission making the political writing an art' The Economist 'A passionate and important book - a brave and brilliant report from a conflict the world has chosen to ignore.' Salman Rushdie 'Curfewed Night is the finest book I have read on the contemporary Kashmir conflict - literary, humane, clear-eyed and reliable. Basharat Peer has given voice, unforgettably, to a generation of Kashmiris who have never been heard, but who should be.' Steve Coll 'The story of Kashmir has never been told before so evocatively and profoundly. Peer writes with the skill of a novelist, the insight of a journalist and the evocative power of a poet' Ahmed Rashid, author of 'The Taliban and Descent into Chaos' 'An excellent account of growing up during the uprising in Kashmir' William Dalrymple, New York Review of Books 'Describing the ruin of Kashmir, Curfewed Night doesn't only shock, it challenges our most cherished beliefs--in democracy, rule of law, and the power of individual conscience. Everyone should read it.' Pankaj Mishra 'Beautifully written, brutally honest and deeply hurtful.' Khushwant Singh

Author description

Basharat Peer was born in Kashmir in 1977. He studied political science at Aligarh Muslim University and journalism at Columbia University. He has worked as a reporter at Rediff and Tehelka and has written for various publications including the Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman and Foreign Affairs, where he was assistant editor. He is currently based in New York.