Kartography

By the acclaimed winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018

Kamila Shamsie is the author of six novels: In the City by the Sea (shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize); Salt and Saffron; Kartography (also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize); Broken Verses; Burnt Shadows (shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction) and A God in Every Stone, which was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Home Fire was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017, shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel Award, and won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018. Three of her novels have received awards from Pakistan's Academy of Letters. Kamila Shamsie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was named a Granta Best of Young British Novelist in 2013. She grew up in Karachi and now lives in London.@kamilashamsie

PRAISE FOR KARTOGRAPHY  "[Shamsie] packs her story with the playful evidence of her highflying intelligence." —San Francisco Chronicle  "A gorgeous novel of perimeters and boundaries, of the regions-literal and figurative-in which we're comfortable moving about and those through which we'd rather not travel . . . Shamsie's wry humor infuses and quickens the narrative, leavening even the most serious scenes without detracting from their emotional weight." —Los Angeles Times  "E. M. Forster's famous plea--'only connect'--reverberates passionately throughout this forceful tale of childhood, love and the power of story-telling." —The Independent  "[In Kartography] words are used as vehicles conveying both emotions and intelligence, while at the same time - because the whole novel hinges on a secret that is hidden from the narrator—Shamsie knows that words aren't exactly everything, either." —The Guardian
"Deftly woven, provocative . . . Shamsie's blistering humor and ear for dialogue scorches through [a] whirl of whiskey and witticisms." —The Observer  "The descriptions of Karachi were so graphic I could feel the heat and the tension emanating from the pages of the book…Gripping and thought-provoking." —BBC.com  "A shimmering, quick-witted lament and love story…This is a complex novel, deftly executed and rich in emotional coloratura and wordplay." —Publishers Weekly, starred review  "[Kartography] leaves you feeling wistful and touches some place in your heart you didn't even know existed…Even though the story came to a magnificent end yet you wish [Shamsie] hadn't finished the book." —The Rumpus —