What is inspired by Jane Austen and set in Pakistan? Nothing... until Austenistan came along. The book is now the talk of literary circles and is drawing interest worldwide.
InstepREport
Enthusiasts of the celebrated author have reimagined Austen’s 18th century world in a Pakistan of today. The result is intriguing, to say the least.
Lahor: What is inspired by Jane Austen and set in Pakistan? Nothing... until Austenistan came along. The book is now the talk of literary circles and is drawing interest worldwide. It is the fiction anthology published by Bloomsbury and written by Jane Austen enthusiasts in Pakistan. The idea for the book was first conceived at a meeting of the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan by founder and editor of the book, Laaleen Sukhera.
A panel discussion was held at Lahore’s literary hub, The Last Word a few days after the launch of the book. The panel constituted of the writers - a mix of journalists, editors and teachers - with one thing in common: their love for Jane Austen’s writings. Faiza Khan, editorial director of Bloomsbury India, a Pakistani and an Austen devotee, was also present. All stories are situated in Pakistan, from the 1980s to today. Replace the flouncy dresses with Ali Xeeshan or Elan’s latest collection, the balls with mehendis and shaadis, the Darcys with foreign returned young men and that’s the setting of Austenistan. People have criticized the stories compiled in the book for portraying an affluent segment of society only but Sukhera begs to differ.
“One can only say that if they haven’t read the book,” she states. She explains that many of the issues experienced by characters in the stories are not limited to a particular social class. These issues include substance abuse, toxic relationships, domestic abuse, adultery, unhappy marriages and closeted homosexuality.
In what ways are the short stories similar to the original writings they’re inspired by?
“The cynicism is echoed and for Austen’s time she used contemporary language so we wanted to keep it the same way. She had letters and we have emails and text messages as we are a reflection of our time like she was of hers. We were inspired by various elements – and we also shifted points of view the way Bennet did,” the writers chimed in at the event.
On her inspiration to write the book, Mahlia Lone said that it was when she saw Bride and Prejudice and disliked it so much that she knew she wanted her own Pakistani version. Nida Elley shared, “When Laleen spoke to us about the project I knew everyone would go for Pride and Prejudice so I read this lesser known novella called Lady Susan and that’s what inspired me.”
Faiza Khan agreed that Austen’s appeal lies in its relevance to Pakistani society now.
“I bought it before I read a word of it. Prior to being approached I’d been thinking about how to set Austen in Pakistan because it’s such a natural fit – sexism, importance placed on marriage, double standards to name a few things.” When asked about who their target market was Sukhera smiled, “We are introducing the younger generation to popular fiction and I think that’s the best part about all of this.”
