In the City a Mirror Wandering

Magnificent . . . Ashk wrIt's with a clear hand and is served well by Daisy Rockwell as she recreates a compelling narrative'-Dawn Unfolding over the course of a single day Ashk's sweeping sequel to Falling Walls explores the inner struggles of Chetan an aspiring young writer as he roams the labyrinthine streets of 1930s' Jalandhar haunted by his thwarted ambitions but intent on fulfilling his dreams.Married to a woman he does not love while pining for another man's wife Chetan must also face the prospect of taking up a dead-end job in the wake of his recent failures in Lahore and Shimla. And as he trudges around Jalandhar constantly running into people he'd rather avoid he finds himself confronting the tangled memories frailties and fears that assail him.Intensely poignant and vividly evocative In the City a Mirror Wandering is an exploration of not only a dynamic bustling city but also the rich tapestry of human emotion that consumes us all. Review The Proust of Indian literature.OPENAshk is fortunate to have found Daisy Rockwell as his translator for not only does she have the stamina and tenacity to take on this mammoth cycle of novels but also seems to have a rare devotion for Ashk himself. -- Rakhshanda JalilWIREAn entire microcosm of old town lanes teeming with people of all kinds suddenly comes alive . . . Ashk wrIt's with a clear hand and is served well by Daisy Rockwell as she recreates a compelling narrative.DAWNThe novel holds the reader in constant tension blurring boundaries between fact and fiction author and protagonist . . . Absolutely rivetingTELEGRAPHHis novel depicts an era when the city was emerging as a centre for aspiration a new geography that was expected to erase hierarchies a hope that was soon belied. Ashk meticulously registers the faultlines and failures of the city his gaze illuminates its dark corners and crevices . . . The English translation of his ambitious work marks a major event in Indian literature.INDIAN EXPRESSAshk is required reading for fans of Hindi literature. And if you can't read Hindi There's always Rockwell. She has been translating and writing about Ashk for over two decades an extraordinary engagement with one person's works.THE HINDU BUSINESS LINE About the Author UPENDRANATH ASHK 1910-1996 was one of Hindi literature's best known and most controversial authors. Ashk was born in Jalandhar and spent the early part of his writing career as an Urdu author in Lahore. Encouraged by Premchand he switched to Hindi and a few years before Partition moved to Bombay Delhi and finally Allahabad in 1948 where he spent the rest of his life. By the time of his death Ashk's phenomenally large oeuvre spanned over a hundred volumes of fiction poetry memoir criticism and translation. Ashk is perhaps best known for his six-volume novel cycleGirti Divarein orFalling Walls-an intensely detailed chronicle of the travails of a young Punjabi man attempting to become a writer-which has earned the author comparisons to Marcel Proust. Ashk was the recipient of numerous prizes and awards during his lifetime for his masterful portrayal by turns humorous and remarkably profound of the everyday lives of ordinary people.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.