s an oral historian, Aanchal Malhotra is keenly interested in documenting stories around the subcontinent’s partition. Her book, Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition, is a unique recounting of individual oral histories of the Partition through particular objects. Since she is also the co-founder of the Museum of Material Memory, I was not surprised when her latest offering, The Book of Everlasting Things, trod the same waters. The book, set in the backdrop of Lahore, revolves around two lovers and two nations, separated by elements falling out of their control.

Samir Vij, an apprentice at a local’itr (perfume) shop, falls in love with Firdaus Khan, a calligrapher’s apprentice. While they appreciate each other’s ancient crafts, they dream of pursuing a life together. However, as the freedom movement takes momentum, they witness their city crumbling to ashes. As Samir is on the Indian side of the border and Firdaus in Pakistan, their love is forbidden. What follows is a series of crucial decisions that take their lives in an unforeseen direction. They contemplateletting go of their past and what fate awaits them as they grow further apart. In the broadplot scheme, the book dwells on how people of different religions see themselves in this Great War.

The book has a romantic, spellbinding feel to it. It is layered with intricate details of perfumery and calligraphy, persistent grief and arrested development. The whole book is filled with vivid descriptions of immensely sensual scents – I am definitely opting for a sandalwood fragrance next time. Malhotra’s writing style is a feast for the senses and the heart. The love between a Hindu and a Muslim is beautifully depicted as a parallel for the strained relationship between India and Pakistan.

The novel, on the whole, has everything I love: a likeable main character who pulls at your heartstrings, atmosphere, drama, love, loss and hope. Malhotra has beautifully written each word with vivid descriptions that evoke the right emotions and can transport one to the days gone by. 

The Book of Everlasting Things is split into five sections, each with several chapters. Seeing the good ol’ chapter numbers and titles after a long mill of books without them was heartening and refreshing, to say the least. The text in the first half progresses at a snail’s pace. At times, one feels disconnected as elements are helmed on recurrence, despite the narrative being driven by the characters. I felt that the story revolved mostly around Samir, while Firdaus seemed like a shadow, a whisper, or a lost thought. It left room for Firdaus to evolve as a character. The plot, I felt, had some redundancy, probably to emphasise how painful it was for both the characters to let go of their past. But after a while, this seemed to start losing its effect. Maybe some tough decisions at the editing stage would’ve made the book a crisper read.

The novel, on the whole, has everything I love: a likeable main character who pulls at your heartstrings, atmosphere, drama, love, loss and hope. Malhotra has beautifully written vivid descriptions that evoke the right emotions and can transport one to the days gone by. It emanates a quiet power, a slow drawing in and the reader’s connection to the book, one that I found myself lost in due to the imaginative details and the depth of emotion. All partition literature lovers must have The Book of Everlasting Things in their to-be-read pile.

The Book of Everlasting Things

Author: Aanchal Malhotra

Publisher: Harper Collins, 2022

Pages: Hardback, 472

The reviewer is a freelance journalist based in Karachi