LIKE A DIAMOND IN THE SKY

Deen and his partner in crime AJ ride high on acid and amphetamines philosophize in the university canteen party in a politician's posh pad and contemplate God at a roadside tea stall. From Maria a chemically imbalanced diva to a rickshaw-walla who reflects on the importance of positive energy to a group of fakirs who sing about love and a detective who has his own take on addiction the characters in Shazia Omar's debut novel crackle with life. They represent the despair hopes and aspirations of a generation struggling to survive in the harsh realities of life in modern Dhaka. Hard-hitting and intensely moving this is an extraordinary novel and one that is destined to launch Omar as a major contemporary voice from South Asia.