Novel set in LAHORE

19th September 2024

In the Shadows of Love by Awais Khan, novel set in Lahore.

At the heart of this novel is the waxing and waning relationship between Mona and her rich husband Bilal. They have a comfortable life in the city of Lahore but a profoundly affecting secret – 12 years ago Mona had an affair and as a result gave birth to son, Arslan. Between them they already had two children but it is Arslan who has captured Bilal’s heart (I wondered why), despite the fact he is not his biological son. It is an issue that remains unaddressed in part because Bilal is suffering from heart disease and shouldn’t subject himself to stress.

Arslan’s biological father died under violent circumstances and Mona has mourned him ever since.

The relationship between the couple has never been easy, there have even been references to domestic abuse in the past (including attempted strangulation which indicates the very serious level of abuse being meted out). As one of the characters – Humaira – observes, domestic violence and abuse is a frequent dynamic in Lahori society: “We’ve all been beaten by our husbands….I can bet that every single woman present here has suffered abuse of of some kind, be it from her husband or in-laws….“. The couple also has his sister living with them, who is a censorious conservative and I would have loved to understand more about the impact she was having on the two married people and their relationship.

Mona suddenly starts receiving messages, presumably alluding to the major secret at the heart of her marriage and she decides to give in to a blackmailer so she can have the peace she craves. She cannot countenance having the secret exposed, as it would reflect so badly on her husband, let alone the damage it would do to her reputation. Why has the blackmailer popped up just now in her life?

The writing is very good and the author is clearly passionate about women’s rights, and cites all manner of issues facing women in modern day Pakistan: the ostracism they could face by having an affair, the hard-line religion that is so punishing, the gangs who terrorise the streets and the ingrained nature of the belief systems that go unquestioned.

We also know via short, italicised chapters that a woman is being held captive and is being tortured.

The author sets the various female characters in situations where ardent and passionate discussions take place, juxtaposing women who hold more traditional views with those who take a more progressive stance. The chats are fuelled by cattiness, barbed dialogue and undermining behaviour, which is often underpinned by one-upmanship – this can get a little tedious.

Overall I feel this novel tackles too many serious themes, all packed as they are into the narrative. This makes for a ‘butterfly’ experience, because the text alights on one subject and then swiftly moves on to another without any real in-depth exploration. The novel doesn’t feel as polished as the author’s previous works and I think a stronger editing hand would have raised the storyline to the next level.

An interesting read about societal dynamics in Pakistan – with added drama.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

Catch the author on Twitter X @AwiasKhanAuthor

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