title: The Pakistani Bride: A Novel
author:  Bapsi Sidhwa 
description: <DIV>As a youth, Qasim leaves his tribal village in the remote Himalayas for the plains. Caught up in the strife surrounding the creation of Pakistan, he takes an orphaned girl for his daughter and brings her to the bustling, decadent city of Lahore. Amid the pungent bazaars and crowded streets, Qasim makes his fortune and a home for the two of them. As the years pass, Qasim grows nostalgic about his life in the mountains while his hopelessly romantic teenage daughter, Zaitoon, imagines Qasim's homeland as a region of tall, kindly men who roam the Himalayas like gods. Impulsively, Qasim promises his daughter in marriage to a tribesman, but Zaitoon's fantasy soon becomes a grim reality of unquestioning obedience and unending labor. Bapsi Sidhwas acclaimed first novel is a robust, richly plotted story of colliding worlds straddled by a spirited girl for whom escape may not be an option.</DIV>
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  # Praise for Sonya Lalli
  
  
  ![](../images/page_i_2.jpg)
  
  
  “From yoga studios to finding oneself in trips abroad to online dating, Lalli
  gives readers a wonderful novel about love and belonging and [the] meaning of
  happiness and home.”
  
  
  —Soniah Kamal, award-winning author of _Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in
  Pakistan_
  
  
  “Anu’s struggle to find herself is wrought with obstacles and sometimes
  frustrating, but the resolution of her story is both satisfying and realistic.
  A moving look at one woman’s journey between her family and her desire for
  independence.”
  
  
  — _Kirkus Reviews_
  
  
  “Sonya Lalli offers up a tale of familial pressures, cultural traditions, and
  self-discovery that is equal turns heartbreaking and hilarious. . . . Lalli
  tears down stereotypes with humor and warmth.”
  
  
  — _Entertainment Weekly_
  
  
  “An engaging love story that delivers on the promi