A haunting novel about a mother and son and the emotional consequences of leaving home The matriarch Bilqis Khan, a widowed university professor, is dismayed when her only son Samad marries Kate, a white Australian woman, and settles in Melbourne rather than returning home to Pakistan. Though Samad attempts to convince his mother to join them in Australia, she insists on remaining in Karachi, presiding over the family's crumbling estate, even while tensions in the government are mounting, making the country progressively more dangerous. Meanwhile, Bilqis's devoted servant Mumtaz enters a relationship with a freedom fighter, risking her and her family's honor, and Bilqis realizes that it is up to her to intervene. The intertwining stories of Bilqis, Samad, and Mumtaz offer a powerful and nuanced portrait of Pakistan in the modern era. Azhar Abidi's precise and elegant prose illuminates the struggle between a mother and son to reconcile their love for one another with their love for the places they call home.

Refusing to join her son and daughter-in-law in their new home in Australia, Pakistani woman Bilqis Ara Begum witnesses the rising insurgency in 1980s Kashmir and observes a forbidden relationship between her servant girl and a neighbor boy.

In Karachi, Bilqis Ara Begum, Proud Custodian Of Her Family&Rsquo;S Traditions, Prepares For The Wedding Reception Of Her Son Samad. The Family Has Gathered, The Servants Have Been Given Their Instructions, The Invitations Sent To Pakistan&Rsquo;S Upper Crust. But Bilqis Is Restless&Mdash;This Is Not What She Had Planned For Her Only Son: Kate, Whom Samad Has Recently Married, Is Australian And Middle Class. While Bilqis Struggles To Reassure Herself Of Her Son&Rsquo;S Commitment To The Family, Their Customs And, Most Of All, To Herself, Pakistan Is Facing Turmoil. Having Fortified His Dictatorship Through A Sham Referendum, General Zia Is Now Set On Imposing Orthodox Muslim Law On The Country, And News From The Border Is Of An Imminent Insurgency In Kashmir. Yet, Against The Threats To The Liberal Space She Has Always Accepted As Her Privilege, Bilqis Stands Firm&Mdash;Drawing Strength From The Values Of Her Aristocratic Parents And Memories Of Her Carefree Childhood In Undivided India&Mdash;And Refuses, With Characteristic Obstinacy, To Join Samad In Australia. Then She Stumbles Upon Her Servant Girl Mumtaz&Rsquo;S Secret Affair With A Kashmiri Freedom Fighter&Mdash;A Reckless Tryst That Threatens To Destroy The Girl&Rsquo;S Honour But For Which She Claims To Have No Regrets&Mdash;And Bilqis Is Left To Examine The Convictions That Have So Long Determined Her Life And Her Faith In Those Around Her. Twilight Confirms Azhar Abidi&Rsquo;S Stunning Talent For Nuanced Storytelling And Vivid, Evocative Prose. It Is A Captivating Novel About Love And Loyalty, Exile And Conflict, And Ultimately About The Inherent Comforts And Trials Of The Mother&Ndash;Son Bond.

Inventing a peculiar airship that he uses to escape the intellectually stultifying climate of Portugal, Bartolomeu Loureno and his brother, Alexandre, travel the world in search of the truth, from the salons and bordellos of Ancien Rgime Paris to the Polish kingdom of Stanislaus. A first novel. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

Inheriting her father's rich throne at a great personal loss, a new Queen of Sheba finds her nation's trade routes threatened by new alliances and undertakes a daring journey to win over a brash new king of Israel.

“Superior to anything being written in the genre . . . Terry Brooks is one of a handful of fantasy writers whose work consistently meets the highest literary standards.”—Rocky Mountain News Eight centuries ago the first Knight of the Word was commissioned to combat the demonic evil of the Void. Now that daunting legacy has passed to John Ross—along with powerful magic and the knowledge that his actions are all that stand between a living hell and humanity's future. Then, after decades of service to the Word, an unspeakable act of violence shatters John Ross's weary faith. Haunted by guilt, he turns his back on his dread gift, settling down to build a normal life, untroubled by demons and nightmares. But a fallen Knight makes a tempting prize for the Void, which could bend the Knight's magic to its own evil ends. And once the demons on Ross's trail track him to Seattle, neither he nor anyone close to him will be safe. His only hope is Nest Freemark, a college student who wields an extraordinary magic all her own. Five years earlier, Ross had aided Nest when the future of humanity rested upon her choice between Word and Void. Now Nest must return the favor. She must restore Ross's faith, or his life—and hers—will be forfeit . . . “[An] urban dark fantasy . . . Sharp and satisfying.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)