Salt and Saffron

By Kamila Shamsie

Book Overview

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'Beautifully written in cunning, punning, glancing prose' - Independent

'A whirlwind ... Owes plenty to Salman Rushdie and some to Hollywood ... Exuberant, knowingly exotic and deceptively serious' - Guardian

'Kamila Shamsie has created a rich, bright world' - Times Literary Supplement
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Coming back to Karachi is like stepping into the sea again after months on land.

Aliya finds herself constantly enraptured by her family's unsettling legends. These are troublesome stories, tinged by the Dard-e-Dil's fear that they are cursed by their 'not-quite' twins. As she becomes romantically intertwined with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, Aliya begins to see links between herself and her scandalous aunt Mariam, which may spell her undoing.

A tale of family lore, secrets and forbidden love, Salt and Saffron is an awe-inspiring novel written with compassion, wryness and glittering prose.
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'A funny, clever and romantic story' - Barbara Trapido

'The stories within the stories describe Pakistani society, its peoples and its mores, better than anything that has come from the Other Side for a long time. This is a good read' - India Today

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1526680009
• ISBN13: 9781526680006
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking and fun

Despite limited knowledge of the Pakistan culture, I found myself completely absorbed with the interesting characters brought to life by Kamila Shamsie. Mysterious relatives, clashing values, spirited wit, thoughtful commentary,and a love story (or is it lust?) to boot. Great book!

Excellent!

I'll be brief. Salt and Saffron was beautiful, interesting, and very well-written. I am eager to read Shamsie's other books. The major themes in this novel are family, class divisions and history. My only regret was that it wasn't longer!!

Fabulous and Intriguing Novel...

It might be because of my Pakistani background, but I thought this book was fabulous.Aliya's stories about her complex Dard-e-Dil clan were intriguing... her observations about her family and life in pakistan were funny (I laughed out loud at times...because her observations were funny because they were so true)... During the whole story, Aliya is trying to figure out who she is.. is she a snob ... tied down by her upper class noble upbringing/tied to tradition... is she an educated, open-minded woman that can accept her cousin marrying a servant... the conflict within made this book even more fun to read...I was impressed with the way this book was written... it was an easy read (very conversational)... the descriptions were lovely..

A feast

I didn't know what to expect from this book. The book's online description seemed a little confusing, but also intriguing--ancient family secrets, exotic lineages, a hint of magic realism--and I was taken by the beautiful cover image, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did."Salt and Saffron" is populated by a fascinating cast of characters, from the main character, Aliya's, ancestors to her extended present-day family, and the story--part mythology and fable, part contemporary romance, part serious meditation on politics and social classes in Pakistan--is utterly enjoyable. These are all held together by lyrical, energetic, and very smart writing.Having read the works of Salman Rushdie, Mohsin Hamid, Amitav Ghosh, Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, Garcia Marquez, and others who mix myth and fantasy with reality, past with present, I can honestly say that Ms. Shamsie is a writer to keep an eye on. I'll be eagerly looking forward to future books.

Overflowing with Pleasures

Aliya, a Pakistani woman returning home after completing college in America, must reconcile her heart's yearnings with her sense of familial responsibility. Her world is a complex tapestry of old ways and new, Eastern and Western, privileged and common, woven together by family legends and secrets. Shamsie imbues the story with a fresh and uncommon lyricism, deliciously mingling drama, mystery, romance, history, and comedy, with a hint of Rushdie-esque wit and magic. Pure enchantment, this book overflows with pleasures!