Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

River of Fire by Qurratulain Hyder

Blurb from Goodreads

Never before available in English, River of Fire, originally published as Aag ka Darya in 1959, is without question the most important novel of 20th-century Urdu literature. An amazing, sui generis book, River of Fire spans two and a half millennia. Set during four Indian epochs (the classical, the medieval, the colonial, and the modern post-national), the novel is a meditation on history and human nature, tracing four souls through time. Each section is linked by characters who bear, in every period, the same names: Gautam, Champa, Kamal, and Cyril. Gautam (appearing first as a student of mysticism at the Forest University of Shravasti in the 4th century B.C.E.) and Champa (throughout embodying the enigmatic experience of Indian women) begin and end the novel; Muslim Kamal appears mid-way through, as the Muslims did, and loses himself in the Indian landscape; and Cyril, the Englishman, appears later still. In different eras, different relations from among the four — romance and war, possession and dispossession. Yet together the characters reflect the oneness of human nature: amidst the nationalist and religious upheavals of Indian history, Hyder argues for a culture that is inclusive.

Interweaving parables, legends, dreams, diaries, and letters, Hyder’s prose is lyrical and witty. There is really no book like River of Fire. Qurratulain Hyder was awarded the Bharatiya Gnanpith, India’s highest literary award, in 1989, and here is her masterpiece, her broadest canvas and her finest art.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Rather, happy Tuesday everyone! How was your weekend? I hope you spent it resting and preparing for the tough workweek ahead. I know, Monday is nearly everyone’s least favorite day of the week. How I wish weekends were longer. Thankfully, today is a holiday here in the Philippines. Nevertheless, I hope you had a great start to the workweek, or at least you kicked the ground running. There are still four (three) days before the next weekend so I hope you conserve your energy for the rest of the week. I hope everyone makes it through the week. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit, not only this week but for the rest of the year.

Speaking of. How time flies! Today is the first day of April. A new month and quarter have started. How has the year been? I hope it has been kind and generous to everyone. If it is going otherwise, I hope the coming months will shower everyone with blessings, good news, and kindness. With the start of the week, month, and quarter is a fresh Goodreads Monday update. This blogging week opener has become the perfect way to start the reading week. It allows me to feature books I am looking forward to. This year, I commenced my reading journey with works of East Asian writers. With the quarter done, I am transitioning to full Asian literature. As such, I will be featuring works of Asian writers in this month’s Goodreads Monday updates.

Kicking off the Asian Literature Month Goodreads Monday series is Qurratulain Hyder’s River of Fire. Honestly, I had never heard of Hyder until I searched for recommendations for female Asian writers; the previous month was Women’s History Month. One of the names that was recommended was the Indian writer who is considered by many as one of the foremost and most influential Urdu writers in contemporary literature. What pedigree she has. Both her parents were renowned writers. Her father Syed Sajjad Haider Yaldram (1880–1943) is a pioneer of Urdu short story writing while her mother Nazar Sajjad Hyder (1894–1967) was a novelist and protegee of Muhammadi Begam and her husband Syed Mumtaz Ali; Muhammadi Begum is known for being the first woman to edit an Urdu magazine.

Hyder, of course, was her own person. She managed to step out of the shadows of her own parents and create an equally prominent literary career that earned her several accolades. Among her works, River of Fire is considered her magnum opus. It was originally published in Urdu in 1959 as  آگ کا دریا (Aag Ka Darya). The novel was a critical success, with some pundits comparing its relevance to other literary classics. Some even compared its influence ni Urdu literature to One Hundred Years of Solitude’s influence in Hispanic literature. It is an epic work of historical fiction that takes the readers across various periods. This further piqued my interest in the book. I also see it as an opportunity to expand my foray into Urdu literature; I think I read only one book written by an Urdu writer and it was a memorable one as well.

For now, I just hope I get to obtain a copy of the book. It is also worth noting that it was Hyder who translated the novel into English. How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!