BOOK REVIEW: AKS BY UMERA AHMED
Title: Aks Author: Umera Ahmed Rating: 4.5/5
Umera Ahmed is one of my favorite novelists. Her uncanny ability to hook readers into her stories is unmatched. Reading Umera Ahmed's novels always leaves me in awe, be it Amarbail or Man O Salwa. A similar thing happened when I first completed Aks. It was a big emotional rollercoaster ride.
Aks is not one of the very usual stories written by Umera Ahmed. Therefore, many people may find the story hard to accept and digest. It is a kind of story that challenges traditions and stereotypes around us. It may not change the mindsets, but its primary purpose is to start a debate on such issues.
The story revolves around many characters meeting at a certain point, like a puzzle or a riddle to be solved. Chiriya is an eight years old little girl who lives with her grandfather, who is a civil cook at the government residence of the deputy commissioner. She has 7 imaginary friends called dwarfs. One summer, she befriends Aibek Sultan, who visits this uncle's government residence. A life-shattering incident happens in their life, leaving them in trauma for the next many years. After this, Chiriya's colorful childhood changes into a nightmare.
Then, there is the character of Sher Dil Sultan, a young handsome civil servant living with his wife, Shehar Bano and a four years old daughter, Misaal. They live in a government residence haunted by supernatural creatures called dwarfs. Sher Dil is a caring father and a loving husband. Now, you may think you know where this story is going but prepare to be surprised, VERY SURPRISED!!!
Finally, there's Aks Murad Ali, the protagonist of this story, by all her objectives. She is an adequate civil servant. Aks and SherDil are batch mates and best friends too. and yes, I know what you are thinking; they have a history together; you got it right, but it works deeper than what's conjectured. Their association with each other is the most amazing thing in the novel. No time, no distance could ever leave a mark on their friendship. It was beautiful.
Another relationship in this book was that of Chiriya and her grandfather, Khair Dinn, which reminded me of little Amraha and her grandfather from Yaraam by Sumaira Hameed. After a tragic incident happened in their lives, everything was dark for them. It was Khair Dinn who carried his family forward on his shoulders. All the sacrifices he made to protect the future of Chiriya. It was all a heartbreaking journey. It kept Chiriya motivated to achieve everything later in her life.
Aks Murad Ali's character was the book's best part. She was a sweet and polite woman. Before reading the novel, I thought of her as a homewrecker, but I was so wrong, and in the end, it all turned out so differently. She was too smart to be a homewrecker. She was too wise to let her heart ruin someone else's life. And what did she do in the end? At the very end? that put her character above everyone and all. She was a gem. I love her!!
"When I grow up, I will invent a game in which that queen will be monarch and all the other pieces will use their strength to work for her. When the queen is the most powerful of all figures, then the board should belong to the queen and not the king." Chiriya concluded seriously, "And Nana, in my game, the king will, too, use his clout for the queen".
Thou, Aks is a tale of love; it is also a story where Umera Ahmed took a bold step and tackled the sensitive issue of Child Abuse. She so brilliantly talked about pedophilia. She often challenged the readers to examine multiple perspectives on this issue and then devised a logical solution to the prevailing problem. The story mainly shakes out the readers hanging on to traditional narrow-minded ideas. Aks strongly surrounds the sentiment that Rape isn't the victim's fault. And trust me, I appreciate that a lot.
The story deeply affected me as a reader. The writer presented complex, gray characters like Aks, SherDil and Shehr Bano. She showed the humanized characters with all their faults and self-destructive nature. In this respect, Munazzna (SherDil's Mother) and ShehrBano stand apart from all others. Both caused a greater mess in others' lives than anyone else. However, while I hate Munazza, I still can not dislike ShehrBano. Umera Ahmed went a little extra with her character in the end. Still, everything about this book was brilliant.
Well, these are my thoughts about the novel Aks. Have you read this novel before? If so, share your thoughts below.
Thank you for reading, Allah Hafiz
Aks is not one of the very usual stories written by Umera Ahmed. Therefore, many people may find the story hard to accept and digest. It is a kind of story that challenges traditions and stereotypes around us. It may not change the mindsets, but its primary purpose is to start a debate on such issues.
The story revolves around many characters meeting at a certain point, like a puzzle or a riddle to be solved. Chiriya is an eight years old little girl who lives with her grandfather, who is a civil cook at the government residence of the deputy commissioner. She has 7 imaginary friends called dwarfs. One summer, she befriends Aibek Sultan, who visits this uncle's government residence. A life-shattering incident happens in their life, leaving them in trauma for the next many years. After this, Chiriya's colorful childhood changes into a nightmare.
Then, there is the character of Sher Dil Sultan, a young handsome civil servant living with his wife, Shehar Bano and a four years old daughter, Misaal. They live in a government residence haunted by supernatural creatures called dwarfs. Sher Dil is a caring father and a loving husband. Now, you may think you know where this story is going but prepare to be surprised, VERY SURPRISED!!!
Finally, there's Aks Murad Ali, the protagonist of this story, by all her objectives. She is an adequate civil servant. Aks and SherDil are batch mates and best friends too. and yes, I know what you are thinking; they have a history together; you got it right, but it works deeper than what's conjectured. Their association with each other is the most amazing thing in the novel. No time, no distance could ever leave a mark on their friendship. It was beautiful.
Another relationship in this book was that of Chiriya and her grandfather, Khair Dinn, which reminded me of little Amraha and her grandfather from Yaraam by Sumaira Hameed. After a tragic incident happened in their lives, everything was dark for them. It was Khair Dinn who carried his family forward on his shoulders. All the sacrifices he made to protect the future of Chiriya. It was all a heartbreaking journey. It kept Chiriya motivated to achieve everything later in her life.
Aks Murad Ali's character was the book's best part. She was a sweet and polite woman. Before reading the novel, I thought of her as a homewrecker, but I was so wrong, and in the end, it all turned out so differently. She was too smart to be a homewrecker. She was too wise to let her heart ruin someone else's life. And what did she do in the end? At the very end? that put her character above everyone and all. She was a gem. I love her!!
"When I grow up, I will invent a game in which that queen will be monarch and all the other pieces will use their strength to work for her. When the queen is the most powerful of all figures, then the board should belong to the queen and not the king." Chiriya concluded seriously, "And Nana, in my game, the king will, too, use his clout for the queen".
Thou, Aks is a tale of love; it is also a story where Umera Ahmed took a bold step and tackled the sensitive issue of Child Abuse. She so brilliantly talked about pedophilia. She often challenged the readers to examine multiple perspectives on this issue and then devised a logical solution to the prevailing problem. The story mainly shakes out the readers hanging on to traditional narrow-minded ideas. Aks strongly surrounds the sentiment that Rape isn't the victim's fault. And trust me, I appreciate that a lot.
The story deeply affected me as a reader. The writer presented complex, gray characters like Aks, SherDil and Shehr Bano. She showed the humanized characters with all their faults and self-destructive nature. In this respect, Munazzna (SherDil's Mother) and ShehrBano stand apart from all others. Both caused a greater mess in others' lives than anyone else. However, while I hate Munazza, I still can not dislike ShehrBano. Umera Ahmed went a little extra with her character in the end. Still, everything about this book was brilliant.
Well, these are my thoughts about the novel Aks. Have you read this novel before? If so, share your thoughts below.
Thank you for reading, Allah Hafiz
اس کائنات ِمحبت میں ہم مثلِ شمس و قمر کے ہیں
ایک رابطہ مسلسل ہے، ایک فاصلہ مسلسل ہے
میں خود کو بیچ دوں پھر بھی تجھ کو پانہیں سکتا
میں عام سا ہمیشہ ہوں ، تو خاص سا مسلسل ہے
THIS IS AMAZING!!
ReplyDeleteBEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN
PLEASURE READING ♥️♥️
ReplyDeleteMesmerizingly concluded😘
ReplyDelete