A Promised Land

In the wake of the Partition a new country is born. As millions of refugees pour into Pakistan swept up in a welter of chaos and deprivation Sajidah and her father find their way to the Walton refugee camp uncertain of their future in what is to become their new home.Sajidah longs to be reunited with her beloved Salahuddin but her journey out of the camp takes an altogether unforeseen route. Drawn into the lives of another family-refugees like herself-she is wary of its men particularly Nazim the eldest son whose gaze lingers over her. But it is the women of the household whose lives and choices will transform her the most: the passionately beseeching Saleema her domineering mother Khala Bi the kind but forlorn Amma Bi and the feisty young housemaid Taji.With subtlety and insight Khadija Mastur conjures a d ynamic portrait of spirited women whose lives are wrought by tragedy and trial even as they cling defiantly to the promise of a better future. Review Daisy Rockwell's translations are rendered with a subtle brilliance that transports our master writers' original framework of sensibilities with great delicacy into a new language. We are fortunate to have in Rockwell a meticulous virtuoso translator working on our literature. -- MUSHARRAF ALI FAROOQIMastur is an expert at indicating her characters' thoughts and feelings in a brief phrase a description of a detail often just in a gesture. -- GILLIAN WRIGHTOPENDaisy Rockwell's superb translation of Khadija Mastur's posthumous and oft-neglected novel makes it even more compelling . . . Rockwell is recognised as one of the leading translators of South Asian fiction with a remarkable capacity to recreate and transform the spirit of the original in highly readable English. As one can expect [A Promised Land] is highly successful as a translation and in her deft hands becomes easily accessible to a diverse groups of readers.DAWN About the Author Khadija Mastur (1927-82) was a renowned and award-winning Urdu writer from Pakistan famous for her novels and short stories. She is best remembered for her novelAangan published in Penguin Classics asThe Women's Courtyard.Daisy Rockwell is an artist writer and translator living in northern New England USA. Apart from her essays on literature and art she has writtenUpendranath Ashk: A Critical BiographyThe Little Book of Terror and the novelTaste. Her highly acclaimed translations include among others Upendranath Ashk'sFalling Walls and Bhisham Sahni'sTamas published in Penguin Classics.