Curfewed Night: A Frontline Memoir of Life, Love and War in Kashmir - Hardcover

Peer, Basharat

4.06

4,133 ratings by Goodreads

9780007350704: Curfewed Night: A Frontline Memoir of Life, Love and War in Kashmir

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007350708 ISBN 13: 9780007350704

Publisher: HarperPress, 2010

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Since 1989, when the separatist movement exploded in Kashmir, more than 70,000 people have been killed in the battle between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Born and raised in the war-torn region, Basharat Peer brings this little-known part of the world to life in haunting, vivid detail..Peer reveals stories from his youth as well as gut-wrenching accounts of the many Kashmiris he met years later, as a reporter. He chronicles a young man's initiation into a Pakistani training camp; a mother who watches as her son is forced to hold an exploding bomb; a poet who finds religion when his entire family is killed. He writes about politicians living in refurbished torture chambers, idyllic villages rigged with landmines, and ancient Sufi shrines decimated in bomb blasts.."Curfewed Night" is a tale of a man's love for his land, the pain of leaving home, and the joy of return--as well as a fiercely brave piece of literary reporting..

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Review:

'A passionate and important book – a brave and brilliant report from a conflict the world has chosen to ignore.' Salman Rushdie

‘One of the finest books I’ve read this year...Basharat Peer’s memoir reminds us why peace in Kashmir is important, not just to India and Pakistan, but to the world.’ Hari Kunzru, Guardian

'Curfewed Night is the finest book I have read on the contemporary Kashmir conflict – literary, humane, clear-eyed and reliable. Basharat Peer has given voice, unforgettably, to a generation of Kashmiris who have never been heard, but who should be.' Steve Coll

‘An extraordinary memoir that does a great deal to bring the Kashmir conflict out of the realm of political rhetoric between India and Pakistan...one of the great achievements of CURFEWED NIGHT is its seamless mingling of memoir ad reportage...It is a formidable challenge to tell the stories of Kashmir's suffering without numbing the readers' senses, and that Peer is able to do so is testament to his gifts and and sensitivity as a writer’ The Guardian

‘fresh and poignant...Mr. Peer's tone is non–judgmental...CURFEWED NIGHT has made his own valuable contribution to Orwell's mission making the political writing an art’ The Economist

'The story of Kashmir has never been told before so evocatively and profoundly. Peer writes with the skill of a novelist, the insight of a journalist and the evocative power of a poet' Ahmed Rashid, author of 'The Taliban and Descent into Chaos'

‘An excellent account of growing up during the uprising in Kashmir’ William Dalrymple, New York Review of Books

‘Describing the ruin of Kashmir, Curfewed Night doesn't only shock, it challenges our most cherished beliefs–in democracy, rule of law, and the power of individual conscience. Everyone should read it.’ Pankaj Mishra

‘Beautifully written, brutally honest and deeply hurtful.' Khushwant Singh

About the Author:

Basharat Peer was born in Kashmir in 1977. He studied political science at Aligarh Muslim University and journalism at Columbia University. He has worked as a reporter at Rediff and Tehelka and has written for various publications including the Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman and Foreign Affairs where he was assistant editor. He is currently based in New York.

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