Maps for Lost Lovers

What did people think about this book?I am aware I probably read it well after most others, because I’d decided I didn’t want to read another book about Asians in the west, and certainly not Pakistanis-would have read a book about Indians or Bangaldeshis much earlier, I think-and now I’m reading Londonstani!
I thought the book was a bit overwritten, but I really liked some of his writing-it’s a pity it’s not uniformly good. The subject matter just amazed me. The fact that honour killings seem to be an acceptable way of dealing with wayward women even in the west, and the tacit approval seemed to receive would have been unbelievable if I didn’t know it does happen. Also the isolation from other people-one of the characters had three interactions with white people the previous year-is frightening.
Some Pakistanis have apparently been angry about the manner in which Aslam writes about Pakistani society; however a brief passage about Punjabi Hindus in pre-partition India doesn’t paint them as much better, so it would be good not to get bogged down in that.

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