Books by Saadat Hasan Manto
Toba Tek Singh
by Saadat Hasan Manto
The signature story is a masterpiece of allegory… about a lunatic asylum in India, which after partition ends up on the Pakistani side of the border
Mottled Dawn
by Saadat Hasan Manto
Saadat Hasan Manto is important as a writer because there is nothing prettied up about his writing. One of the things that I object to about most of the people who write about Pakistan is “the scent of mangoes and jasmine school of writing”. I think that does a disservice to the country and plays into the stereotypes that most Westerners have about Pakistan. He tells it like it is, with all the violence, madness and political turmoil that involves.
Interviews where books by Saadat Hasan Manto were recommended
The best books on Pakistan, recommended by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Pakistani writer Daniyal Mueenuddin explains that if you live somewhere as stable as England it’s very difficult to understand how quickly things are changing in Pakistan
The best books on Understanding Pakistan, recommended by Anatol Lieven
For all its problems, Pakistan is not a failed state, says the academic and writer. He recommends what to read if we’re to grasp the nuances of this complex and potentially explosive nation
The best books on Mumbai, recommended by Saumya Roy
It’s one of the most densely populated, vibrant cities in the world, combining enormous wealth with dire poverty. It’s India’s financial and commercial capital, home to the glamour of Bollywood and the movie industry, but it has somehow managed to defy modernization. Saumya Roy, journalist, author and co-founder of a nonprofit that made loans to the city’s poorest entrepreneurs, recommends her favourite books on Mumbai (aka Bombay).
