"Sorrows of the Moon" by Iqbal Ahmed

The Dawn, Pakistan

Books and Authors
January 29, 2006

AUTHOR: Exile, London and the world

By Muneeza Shamsie

In the summer of 2005, Iqbal Ahmed published his first book Sorrows of the Moon, an extraordinary, original, and enjoyable account, which is both an exploration of London by the Srinagar-born author, as well as a personal odyssey. In a sparse elegant prose, Ahmed takes the reader across London. He throws many original, unusual and little known-insights into well-known districts, through the lives of fellow exiles — people who are Londoners but do not quite belong. Received warmly by British literary circles, it was selected by Lain Sinclair in The Guardian and Lillian Pizzichini in The Independent as one of the best books of the year.

Ahmed arrived in London in 1994. His first job was at a corner shop in Hampstead. He now works as hall porter in a well-known hotel, but his narrative begins with an area he had left unexplored: Tower Hamlets in the East End. He is shown around by Anwar Mian, a Bangladeshi tailor. He builds up vivid, cross-cultural images of Anwar Mian’s life, as well as the ambience and history of Brick Lane. The chapter culminates with Lime Street where the East India Company premises had once stood. He writes, “It all began here, when the East India men set out on their maiden voyage to India."

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