FOR FANS OF ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, A LUSH, SWEEPING LOVE STORY ABOUT A HINDU PERFUMER AND A MUSLIM CALLIGRAPHER, SET AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF PARTITION
"Narrator Deepti Gupta captures the deep emotional connection between the two young people, making listeners feel hopeful that, in some way, Samir and Firdaus will find a way to be together. As listeners follow the pair through the decades and see the long-term effects of the partition, Gupta's performance complements this sweeping story, dazzling with every new chapter and plot twist." - AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award Winner)
"The excellent audio production uses Indian music to open and close the epic, and narrator Deepti Gupta speaks with a lovely Indian accent that listeners will acclimate to easily." - Library Journal
On a January morning in 1938, Samir Vij first locks eyes with Firdaus Khan through the rows of perfume bottles in his family's ittar shop in Lahore. Over the years that follow, the perfumer's apprentice and calligrapher's apprentice fall in love with their ancient crafts and with each other, dreaming of the life they will one day share. But as the struggle for Indian independence gathers force, their beloved city is ravaged by Partition. Suddenly, they find themselves on opposite sides: Samir, a Hindu, becomes Indian and Firdaus, a Muslim, becomes Pakistani, their love now forbidden. Severed from one another, Samir and Firdaus make a series of fateful decisions that will change the course of their lives forever. As their paths spiral away from each other, they must each decide how much of the past they are willing to let go, and what it will cost them.
Lush, sensuous, and deeply romantic, The Book of Everlasting Things is the story of two lovers and two nations, split apart by forces beyond their control, yet bound by love and memory. Filled with exquisite descriptions of perfume and calligraphy, spanning continents and generations, Aanchal Malhotra's debut novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
December 27, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781250868886
- File size: 500218 KB
- Duration: 17:22:07
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from October 10, 2022
At the heart of Indian artist and writer Malhotra’s sweeping debut novel (after the memoir Remnants of Partition: 21 Objects from a Continent Divided) is an indelible love story between two young apprentices of ancient arts: Samir Vij, a Hindu boy born with an extraordinary sense of smell that equips him for the family perfume business started by his uncle Vivek; and Firdaus Khan, a Muslim girl whose calligrapher father defies custom by teaching her his craft (only boys are expected to work). Spanning over a century, from the early 1900s to 2017, the author focuses her mesmerizing tale on the 1947 Partition and its devastating impact on the city of Lahore, where multicultural families and friends who once lived in harmony are wrenched apart. The budding childhood love story between Samir and Firdaus becomes a forbidden romance when the partition dooms their relationship—which later haunts them throughout their separate lives. Malhotra skillfully interweaves Vivek’s story—a competent young man in the family textile business who goes off to war and returns irrevocably scarred by battle and a personal tragedy—into Samir’s complex trajectory, and beautifully conveys the artistry behind perfumes. What emerges is a transcendent study of the blurring of personal and political, as ordinary people deal with catastrophic historical events. Agent: Rebecca Wearmouth, Peters Fraser & Dunlop. -
March 1, 2023
The 1947 partition of India serves as the backdrop for this sweeping literary epic about the forbidden love of two Lahore residents. Samir, a young Hindu perfumer, falls instantly in love with Firdaus, a Muslim calligraphy apprentice, when Firdaus and her family walk into his family's store in 1938. The couple's families become friends, until political tensions force them apart and they tragically end up living countries away from each other. Listeners will learn much about the lives of Indian soldiers in British wars through Samir's family journals, as well as how perfumes and inks are created. The novel serves as a poetic love letter to the people and culture of South Asia while displaying how colonialism tore the region apart. This is Malhotra's debut novel, but the Delhi-based historian has written two nonfiction titles about Partition, including Remnants of a Separation. The excellent audio production uses Indian music to open and close the epic, and narrator Deepti Gupta speaks with a lovely Indian accent that listeners will acclimate to easily. Samir spends much of his life in Paris and Grasse, and Gupta flawlessly integrates French words and phrases. VERDICT Perfect for fans of lush literary historical fiction.--Sarah Hill
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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