The novel is set in various cities across Pakistan, beginning in the enigmatic Old Lahore, with a fresh take on...
BOOK REVIEW
Book: The Pilgrims
Author: Muhammad Asif Nawaz
Reviewed by: Samreen Agha
The Pilgrims takes you on an insightful and often tormented journey through the lives of four friends—Mehr, Bina, Aariz, and Feroze—as they grapple with crises ranging from identity to existential struggles. As a reader, it feels like living inside their heads as they navigate each day, almost as if it were illegal to be so privy to their thought processes. It also feels surreal to encounter chapters and excerpts that you can relate to in a hauntingly precise manner.
The novel is set in various cities across Pakistan, beginning in the enigmatic Old Lahore, with a fresh take on the Thirteen Doors, as Mehr both curses and, in a way, loves the place she has spent her life in. We then move between Islamabad and Sukkur, with all these cities described in vivid detail. For those who have traveled through these cities, the descriptions transport you back there. For those yet to visit, they will experience a strange sense of familiarity when they do, all thanks to the way these places are depicted.
What struck me the most was the precise, and at times very dark, depiction of the realities of our society in a way that is not only relatable—something every Pakistani has faced at some point in their life—but also deeply painful. The portrayal of our funerals, the way our marriages are celebrated, the careless commentary on a woman's character, the divide of religion and ethnicities that runs through our lives and generations, and how religion and history are depicted—all of it resonates powerfully.
Living in Pakistan and experiencing societal shifts over the years is one thing, but reading about it all at once, and seeing how different lives are intertwined and ruined because of these realities, despite it being a fictional piece, feels very different. The difficulties Feroze faces, despite his wealth and power, subtly show us that money truly cannot buy happiness, and even with power, some things remain out of reach. Mehr's trials, from enduring abuse to living in desolation, demonstrate that resilience and happiness are ultimately a state of mind. Aariz moves through life, outwardly functioning as a normal human being, while inwardly battling a storm that must eventually be calmed. Bina, fighting against the injustices of life, stemming from the injustices she herself experienced, is ultimately forced to stay silent about the greatest injustice inflicted on her.
The book is an intelligent read; it is not your typical casual fiction that you can easily put down, pick back up, and immediately remember where you left off. It requires effort to keep pace with the shifts in time and another effort to grasp the philosophical underpinnings.
At times, it awes you because you relate to the thought process, such as the interconnectedness of world events in chapter fourteen when Aariz writes his article. The book also gives you goosebumps when the friends gather at Madhu Lal Hussain’s shrine, hoping for fresh beginnings, only to be haunted by the past as new chapters of their lives unfold.
The novel overwhelms you at times, with many things going on, and mostly towards the darker side: the dark side of history, society, and the characters’ lives. The tying up of too many issues and topics, even though done intelligently, at times exhaust you.
Overall, for a debut novel, it couldn’t have been executed better than this. The way snippets of history, geography, traditions, politics, injustices, and religion, have been interwoven in the emotionally charged and happening lives of the four friends has not been done with this finesse by local authors. The characters should have sought some help to deal with their myriad issues and then maybe our lives would have been easier reading it too, but of course that’s just on the lighter side.
