And the World Changed

Includes works by many well known writers, such as the fiction writers Uzma Aslam Khan, Kamila Shamsie and Bapsi Sidhwa and the creative memoirists Fawzia Afzal Khan and Sara Suleri Goodyear. Also includes new literary talents. While there are other anthologies of Pakistani women’s writing, this is the only one to be published in North America that focuses on stories written directly into English. Whether it is the country’s connection to terrorism and Al Qaeda or incidents like the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan is a hot topic. But until recently, very little has been published from Pakistan, especially from women writers, who have a unique perspective on their country and their world. This anthology provides a crucial glimpse into the creative lives of Pakistani women and into Pakistan itself. Readers have fallen in love with a wealth of Indian writers (Jhumpa Lahiri, Kiran Desai, Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, and Thrity Umrigar to name a few); though not yet as well known, Pakistani writers come from the same literary tradition. Includes works from women living in Pakistan, some in minority communities, as well as from the diaspora. Stories focus on the theme of identity: gender, cultural duality, the desire to cross boundaries and overcome prejudices.