A darkly funny sharply observed and deeply moving novel about the surprises and struggles of
life in contemporary Delhi _____________________ 'Confirms Anjum Hasan as one of the most
important writers of our time' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE 'Our historical pasts and futures are
conjoined here tantalisingly with impressive skill and with real tenderness' AMIT CHAUDHURI
Alif is a middle-aged mild-mannered history teacher living in contemporary Delhi at a time
in India's history when Muslims are seen either as hapless victims or live threats. Though his
life's passion is the history he teaches it's the present that presses down on him: his wife
is set on a bigger house and a better car while trying to ace her MBA exams his teenage son
wants to quit school to get rich his supercilious colleagues are suspicious of a Muslim
teaching India's history and his old friend Ganesh has just reconnected with a childhood
sweetheart with whom Alif was always rather enamored himself. And then the unthinkable happens.
While Alif is leading a school field trip a student goads him and in a fit of anger Alif
twists his ear. His job suddenly on the line Alif finds his life rapidly descending into
chaos. Meanwhile his home city too darkens under the spreading shadow of violence. In this
darkly funny sharply observed and shockingly moving novel Anjum Hasan deftly and delicately
explores the life of Muslims in India and the force and consequence of remembering your
people's history in an increasingly indifferent milieu. 'Hasan's eye is sharp and her aim is
unerring. This is a work of sublime elegance' SHRUTI SWAMY author of The Archer 'Told in a
subdued sad ironical tenor it is compassionate without being sentimental' GEETANJALI SHREE
author of the International Booker Prize-winning Tomb of Sand 'Extremely timely . History's
Angel helps us view the erasures of the past through a living lens with sensitivity and nuance'
DAISY ROCKWELL
