Sunlight on a Broken Column
by
Attia Hosain
Published
June 1961
Publishers
UK
Virago Modern Classics
Italy
Garzanti
Sunlight on a Broken Column, first published in 1961, is an unforgettable coming-of-age story set against the turbulent background of Partition.
‘The deftness with which Attia Hosain handles the interplay of manners, class, culture and different forms of female power is gorgeously done . . . Laila is such a remarkable heroine – sharp, spirited and passionate’ – KAMILA SHAMSIE
'Sunlight on a Broken Column is richly evocative of a bygone era, one that is often viewed through rose-tinted glasses as a golden age in India . . . Despite being 60 years old, this book is still so relevant, for its themes of privilege, patriarchy, and the effects of Empire. It deftly handles themes, that in lesser hands could feel heavy, and delivers a beautiful story that leaves a lasting impression' - SAIMA MIR
‘My life changed. It had been restricted by invisible barriers almost as effectively as the physically restricted lives of my aunts in the zenana. A window had opened here, a door there, a curtain had been drawn aside; but outside lay a world narrowed by one’s field of vision’
Laila, orphaned daughter of a distinguished Muslim family, is brought up in her grandfather’s traditional household by her aunts, who keep purdah. At fifteen she moves to the home of her ‘liberal’ but autocratic uncle in Lucknow. On the cusp of two cultures, Laila is alive to the hypocrisies of both. As the struggle for Independence sharpens, Laila is surrounded by relatives and university friends caught up in politics, but she is unable to commit herself to any cause: her own fight for independence is a struggle against tradition.
With its stunning evocation of India, its political insight and unsentimental understanding of the human heart, Sunlight on a Broken Column is a classic of Muslim life.
‘The deftness with which Attia Hosain handles the interplay of manners, class, culture and different forms of female power is gorgeously done . . . Laila is such a remarkable heroine – sharp, spirited and passionate’ – KAMILA SHAMSIE
'Sunlight on a Broken Column is richly evocative of a bygone era, one that is often viewed through rose-tinted glasses as a golden age in India . . . Despite being 60 years old, this book is still so relevant, for its themes of privilege, patriarchy, and the effects of Empire. It deftly handles themes, that in lesser hands could feel heavy, and delivers a beautiful story that leaves a lasting impression' - SAIMA MIR
‘My life changed. It had been restricted by invisible barriers almost as effectively as the physically restricted lives of my aunts in the zenana. A window had opened here, a door there, a curtain had been drawn aside; but outside lay a world narrowed by one’s field of vision’
Laila, orphaned daughter of a distinguished Muslim family, is brought up in her grandfather’s traditional household by her aunts, who keep purdah. At fifteen she moves to the home of her ‘liberal’ but autocratic uncle in Lucknow. On the cusp of two cultures, Laila is alive to the hypocrisies of both. As the struggle for Independence sharpens, Laila is surrounded by relatives and university friends caught up in politics, but she is unable to commit herself to any cause: her own fight for independence is a struggle against tradition.
With its stunning evocation of India, its political insight and unsentimental understanding of the human heart, Sunlight on a Broken Column is a classic of Muslim life.