RIVETING

Living and working in America (as a paediatric specialist) and writing a novel situated in Pakistan (more specifically Karachi) is no easy task. But Dr Zohra Salahuddin has done it with her novel ‘Uphill’.

Basically, about a man (Jamil) and a woman (Yusra) who fall madly in love, get married (against their parents’ wishes), find life hunky-dory in the beginning, then move into a struggle for survival and all that happens in-between, ‘Uphill’ is a good break from endless books on political history and the ingress of information technology in everyday life. The narrative in ‘Uphill’ is based on fiction but it is a story that represents real-life situations and depicts real-life characters.

It certainly goes to the credit of Dr Salahuddin that while she is herself placed so far away from the place of action, she succeeds in depicting the characters, the locales, and the various levels of social interaction so faithfully. It is as if she is right there, watching everything happen, talking to the characters abut their feelings.

This experience is elevated with the ability of Pakistanis to relate to the book’s setting: the atmosphere, and social traditions/relationships. This creates a deep connection between the reader and characters, evoking emotion within the reader and allowing one to imagine each scene, heightened with use of Urdu terms such as “Assalamualaikum” and “Bari.” Dr Salahuddin’s skill for this certainly makes the book gripping.

‘Uphill’ also attracts a non-Pakistani audience. Those who are unaware of Pakistani culture, would seemingly be intrigued by the “other-worldly” descriptions of Karachi, traditional, but rich, culture and way of life. A foreign and unaware audience would certainly be surprised by the realistically depicted betrothals, entrenched patriarchy, and the extent of class differences in Pakistan. This is illustrated when a cabdriver compares his weekly earnings to the cost of Jamil’s cologne. Or, when Zaki, Yusra’s father, conditions Jamil’s marriage to Yusra on his ability to provide for his wife, without consideration of Yusra contributing to the family’s earnings. It would be interesting to learn whether it was the author’s aim to educate others on these social matters. Regardless, the author writes an emotionally and culturally engaging fiction.

The book is also an easy read, allowing the reader to focus on the riveting plot. Despite this, the book needs significant editing due to scattered punctuation errors. Moreover, the language style is slightly odd as the dialogue and use of words is somewhat unnatural within the given context. For example, at the incident of Jamil leaving his house for the purpose of standing up to his father, the male protagonist is forced to ride a rickety taxi. A servant following the taxi, to help Jamil with his luggage at the destination, complains. Jamil replies with: “You could give me the kiss of life, should you feel I was about to shuttle off this mortal coil.” However, this poetic language style may be purposefully used to elevate feelings of otherworldliness to foreign readers. Additionally, the weakness is overridden by the success of the plot.

In conclusion, the romance fiction, ‘Uphill,’ does an exceptional job of painting a realistic story encapsulating all audiences. The novel is a uniquely educational addition to books by overseas Pakistanis.