3.5/5. Rather amorphous atmosphere-drenched novel of the people in a small village in Pakistan. From mention of "The General" and the attempt on his life, I assumed it was the Pakistan of Zia-ul-Haq. Quite different from what I thought it would be: a murder mystery on the death of a corrupt judge and how a bag of mail lost for 19 years but eventually found had influence on the solution. I was wrong; the mailbag was an anticlimax having nothing to do with the murder, and culprit was found early on. Beautiful writing; I felt myself strongly insinuated into the lives of the villagers, from a cleric, a landowner, the Deputy Commissioner, his Christian mistress, to the common people and their wives and children. The author's first novel; I got a taste for what he might become as a writer. I do want to read some of his later work.

Recommended. ( )

Season of the Rainbirds was Nadeem Aslam's debut novel, first published in 1993, and a dramatic, well-crafted novel it is, taking two literary awards, the Betty Trask and the Author's Club First Novel Award.

There is an understated control to Aslam's narrative, chronicling the murder of a corrupt Pakistani judge and the seemingly unrelated discovery of missing postal bags of letters from a train crash 19 years earlier.

Within this mystery are two men, one spiritual, one investigative, charged with the protection of the village. Through their stories and their struggles, Aslam reveals the ambiguities of the interpretation of temporal and spiritual laws, of well-meaning perpetuation of ignorance, and the hopelessness of achieving any form of clarity or meaningful justice.

Not unlike Rohinton Mistry in style, Aslam's adept use of understatement and simplicity serve as counterpoint to a complex social order and society. There are no simple answers. The world is shaded in grey, despite attempts by leaders to clearly define and categorize a repressive regime and social system. And Aslam's use of evocative yet simple language and metaphor serve as deft strokes of shading and colour for the reader, creating an unforgettable yet bewildering image.

Recommended reading. ( )

Un livre qui semble écrit sur commande, pour le marché des “lecteurs conscients des problèmes du monde mais qui ne veulent pas trop se prendre la tête”. Il remplit consciencieusement son cahier des charges, et tombe complètement à plat… Il est question de voile parce que ce sont des musulmans, c’est normal, non ? Il est question de corruption parce qu’on est au Pakistan quand même. Le lecteur est conforté dans ses préjugés, dans sa connaissance parcellaire d’un pays qui fait trop souvent la une des informations, et n’apprend rien.
Là où le livre aurait pu être intéressant, par exemple lorsqu’il mentionne les intouchables, il glisse discrètement sur le sujet, ne bousculons pas les idées reçues : les intouchables, c’est l’hindouisme, ne remettons pas cela en cause…
En plus de tout cela, un style lourd, aussi lourd que le début de la saison des pluies pendant laquelle se passe cette histoire. Enfin, une histoire, c’est beaucoup dire, tout est décousu. Il y a bien un meurtre pour ouvrir le livre, mais c’est à peine un prétexte pour un livre qui n’a pas de fin, juste deux semaines prises au hasard dans la vie d’un petit village des environs de Lahore.
Alors certes il y a une ironie agréable (« I’m an optimist. Anything’s possible in a country where the land reforms are welcomed by the landowners.* - Chapitre 2, “Thursday”, p. 35), et une phrase intéressante qui me semble donner une clef importante pour comprendre la prééminence de la tradition dans la vie individuelle : « Nothing is that simple. Since they live among other people they have a responsibility, a moral obligation, towards those people. We must make them see this. They cannot ignore the wishes of the rest of us and still continue to live among us. »** (Chapitre 8, “Thursday”, p. 164). Il s’agit de la déclaration d’un responsable religieux à propos de deux personnes dans le village vivant maritalement…
Mais cela ne rachète certainement pas les insuffisances de ce livre. Dommage…

* Tentative de traduction personnelle : « Je suis optimiste. Tout est possible dans un pays où les réformes agraires sont accueillies favorablement par les propriétaires terriens. »
** Tentative de traduction personnelle : « Les choses ne sont pas si simples. Puisqu’ils vivent parmi d’autres personnes, ils ont une responsabilité, une obligation morale, envers ces personnes. Nous devons le leur faire comprendre. Ils ne peuvent ignorer nos souhaits à nous et continuer à vivre parmi nous. »

This was Nadeem Aslam's first novel, but I first discovered him when I read (and later ringed) his second novel - Maps for Lost Lovers - which I thought was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed this one too.

This beautifully written novel centres on the inhabitants of a small town and: the discovery of a sack of letters, missing for 19 years, the murder of Judge Anwar, and an affair between Muslim deputy Commissioner and a young christian woman. These different plot strands are subtely woven together, to create a community under pressure. The small town political and religious tensions are really well observed. Set against the backdrop of a monsoon season, this is an atmospheric novel, that doesn't have any shattering plot twists or very much to "say", it;s the story of a small isolated community in Pakistan, but it is a really excellent novel nontheless. ( )

Fantastic. ( )