A season for martyrs

The U.S. literary debut of an up-and-coming Pakistani essayist and novelist This novel revolves around the last three months of Benazir Bhotto's life -- from her arrival back in Pakistan in October of 2007 to her death in a suicide bombing on December 27th -- as told through the eyes of Ali, a young journalist who is the estranged son of a wealthy landowner. The contemporary narrative has flashbacks to the history of Ali's feudal family, Sufi mystics, a warrior clan, and the history of outside British and American interference. With Bhutto serving as the centerpiece of the deadly turmoil, Bina Shah reveals the many contradictions of a country that is struggling to enter into modernity. A Season for Martyrs is her US debut, and we have lightning in a bottle with this very, very talented novelist and journalist.