Another Gulmohar Tree

By Aamer Hussein

Usman is visiting post-war London from Pakistan when he meets a young aspiring artist called Lydia who has, like him, come out of an unhappy marriage. Just as the lonely strangers' friendship begins to blossom into something deeper Usman has to return to Karachi, leaving Lydia behind. Two years later, Lydia impulsively abandons her life in London and boards a ship to Karachi, where the two are married. But as the years flit by Usman feels distanced from his life and realises that he hasn't noticed the buds of the gulmohar tree unfurl. A beautiful account of a marriage that is in turns wry and unashamedly romantic. 'We are lucky to have Hussein among us, telling us stories as few can.' Amit Chaudhuri 'A lovely, strange, and very moving novel.' Ruth Padel 'At its heart it is a story of love, into which Hussein weaves all his remarkable skills of storytelling.' Kamila Shamsie 'In his splendid, dreamy Another Gulmohar Tree, Hussein gives us an indelible sense of two worlds - Karachi and London - in miniature and the strong parable of a love story that endures over a lifetime.' Joseph Olshan

• Language: English
• Publisher: Telegram Books
• Release date: Jul 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781846590955

Aamer Hussein

Aamer Hussein was born in Karachi in 1955 and moved to London in his teens. He reviews regularly for the Independent, lectures at the University of Southampton and the Institute of English Studies, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His novella Another Gulmohar Tree was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Europe and South Asia 2010.

Book preview

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Reviews for Another Gulmohar Tree

[kidzdoc_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a marginally interesting love story of a British woman who meets a Pakistani man while he is working as a journalist in London, who follows him to Karachi after she divorces her husband and his wife dies. The book begins with several short and interconnected tales, which I found more enjoyable that the narrative of the lovers. This was a quick and not unpleasant read, but not one I would strongly recommend.