The Geometry of God

The palaeontologist Zahoor tries to do his research while General Zia is launching a campaign to Islamise knowledge. In the Punjab salt Range, Zahoor's granddaughter Amal finds proof of the dog-whale, Pakicetus, the oldest known primitive whale. But Amal's baby sister, Mehwhish becomes blind and Amal will have to stay at home to raise her. Norman, neurotic, very funny (and horny), an aspiring mathematician, hopes one day to find a number like a magic bloom. Instead, he's appointed secretary to his father, a minister in the Party of Creation. His father wants Norman to help put the youth of Pakistan back on the Straight Path Instead of finding the Straight Path, however, Norman finds Zahoor. While the culture war between the Islamists and the secularists rages, Norman bats for both sides. The friendship between Norman, Zahoor, Aml and Mehwish grows. And then, at Amal's wedding, tragedy strikes. Zahoor is locked up. It seems it will take an old man on trial to make youth find itself.

About the Author :
Uzma Aslam Khan grew up in Karachi, and since 1998 (until recently) lived in Lahore, Pakistan. She is currently Writer in Residence at the University of Hawaii.

Review :
'Elegant, sensuous and fiercely intelligent, a wonderfully inventive story that pits science against politics and the freedom of women against the insecurities of men' - Kamile Shamsie From the Washington Times - Thursday 15th October 2009 "Throughout this complex narrative, Ms Khan writes with unfailing intelligence and linguistic magic. For Westerners, she unlocks doors and windows onto Pakistan and its Islamic culture. " - Claire Hopley -- Claire Hopley Washington Times 20091015 Uzma Aslam Khan, a fearless young Pakistani novelist, writes about what lies beneath the surface-ancient fossils embedded in desert hillsides, truths hidden inside the language of everyday life... Khan's urgent defense of free thought and action-often galvanized by strong-minded, sensuous women-courses through every page of this gorgeously complex book. -Cathleen Medwick, "Paperback Gem," in O: The Oprah Magazine -- Cathleen Medwick "Throughout this complex narrative, Khan writes with unfailing intelligence and linguistic magic. For Westerners, she unlocks doors and windows onto Pakistan and its Islamic culture." -- Claire Hopley The Washington Times "Vivid and rich. The reader is rewarded with new viewpoints, a welcome change from the sensationalized and often macabre portrayals of Pakistani people and the country they fight so hard to preserve." Story Circle Book Reviews 'With her sharp intellect, passionate politics, and love of her native Pakistan, Uzma Aslam Khan is a writer in every sense of the word. Khan grew up in post-Partition Karachi, an experience which indelibly informs her life as an activist, essayist, and teacher. Now, with three novels behind her, and another on the way, Khan aggressively combats the stereotypes surrounding Muslim women, both in the way she leads her own life and through her characters who are sensual, fully developed women in control of their own destinies.' World Pulse 'It is the abstract perspectives offered by Mehwish, a character who sees the world with her inner eye, tastes its truths and tells them 'slant', that are the most original and captivating ... we become attuned to her quietly anarchic voice, and to the sense in the slippages that, in this censored world, it can record.' -- Madeline Clements TLS 20100716 'In her third book, Aslam gives us a female paleontologist, charged writing about the erotic, and a profound inquiry into the often-vexing relationship between faith and reason. Add to these riches the voice of a blind child 'taste-testing' words, and THE GEOMETRY OF GOD becomes that rare creature, a novel where the urgency of the message is matched by the verve of the narrative.' Asian Review of Books 'The author's intelligence, imprinted on every page like a watermark, blooms into full color when delving into Mehwish's strange and lovely inner world ... (a) gorgeous, complex stunner of a novel.' The Asian Review of Books 201007