Jamil Ahmad Book order (chronological)

The boy known as Tor Baz - the black falcon - wanders the tribal landscape of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. He meets men who fight under different flags, and women who risk everything if they break their society's code of honour. Where has he come from, and where will fate take him? 'Remarkable. Written in a style that has about it the reverberant clarity of fables, but their intention is realist, uncovering a largely neglected world, and their cumulative effect is deeply moving' Sunday Times 'Shocking. Its setting alone, in the cruel and punishing highlands, deserts and rocky altitudes where the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran meet, is worth the price of admission. Here is a book, to my knowledge the first in fiction, that gives an insider's account of the hard-bitten lives of the scores of tribes, collectively known as the Pawindas, or foot-people. The result is mesmerising.' The Times 'Striking. One of the finest collections of short stories to come out of south Asia in decades. Rarely has a writer shown greater empathy for its people, or brought such wisdom and knowledge to writing about a terrain largely inaccessible. The power and beauty of these stories are unparalleled in most fiction to come out of south Asia.' Guardian 'Brilliantly evokes the harshness of nomadic life. Chilling.' Metro 'authentic and poetic.' The Times 'Astonishing.' Independent

A haunting literary debut set in the forbidding remote tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Traditions that have lasted for centuries, both brutal and beautiful, create a rigid structure for life in the wild, astonishing place where Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan meet—the Federally Administered Tribal Lands (FATA). It is a formidable world and the people who live there are constantly subjected to extremes—both of geography and of culture. The Wandering Falcon begins with a young couple, refugees from their tribe, who have traveled to the middle of nowhere to escape the cruel punishments meted upon those who transgress the boundaries of marriage and family. Their son, Tor Baz, descended from both chiefs and outlaws, becomes “The Wandering Falcon,” a character who travels throughout the tribes, over the mountains and the plains, in the towns and tents that comprise the homes of the tribal people. The media today speak about this unimaginably remote region, a geopolitical hotbed of conspiracies, drone attacks, and conflict—now, told in the rich, dramatic tones of a master storyteller, this stunning, honor-bound culture is revealed from the inside. Jamil Ahmad has written an unforgettable portrait of a world of custom and compassion, of love and cruelty, of hardship and survival, a place fragile, unknown, and unforgiving.