Genre: Comedy & Drama
Publisher: Random House India
Pages: 272
Year: 2014
Do you recall those days when Bollywood heroes
carried the mullet not so gracefully and romanced heroines upon hill tops of Switzerland, running towards each other in a dramatically filmed action sequence? It was hard to resist the temptation of wondering what would happen next and would sit through the entirety of the 3 hour saga. Take a moment to process the culmination of emotions you felt back during that time and now transport yourself into a deeply intertwined story of Karachi’s high society for a drama filled tale of passion, liquor, extra marital affairs and establishing oneself with a illustrious career against the backdrop of a politically charged and violence ridden city.
The novel follows the daily trial and tribulations of the twenty-something female journalist Ayesha. The character quickly gains the readers support due to her constant lack of a romantic life, a slow paced job and the constant pressure to keep up appearances within the Karachi social scene. However the most pressing problem which evolves is the sudden fascination with the foreign CNN journalist and her mission to write a stellar piece of journalism that could act as her one way ticket to the land of golden opportunity, the United States.
“Karachi You’re Killing Me”, is a tastefully written fictional novel recounting the upper crust socialite scene of the city forever immersed in target killings, bootleggers and second hand copies of Birkin bags. This story is enjoyable, fast paced and a delightful read centred from the perspective of a female journalist based in Karachi which allows for a wide range of perspectives from the escapades of Karachi¹s upper crust socialites to the conservative middle class bourgeois city dwellers. For a reader, nothing is more satisfying than reading a novel which pleases and fulfills your inner most literary desires. Karachi, You¹re Killing Me just so happens to be one of those books.
(originally published here on Zardozi Magazine)
