Filming — Tabish Khair

Set primarily in India and spanning the twentieth century, Filming tells a series of stories, including that of one-time whore, Durga, who is persuaded to give away her young son, Ashok, and that of Saleem, the son of a whore and two-time star of the silver screen. These stories are narrated by a writer who relates the details of other peoples lives but is evasive about his own, a daughter who has inherited her fathers hand-me-down version of their family history, and a scholar who deals in words but learns to read between the lines. They intertwine and overlap, and combine to create a novel that is simultaneously about the small details and the bigger picture. Weaving together major historical eventsincluding Partition, the assassination of Gandhi, the rise of photography, and the development of barbed wirewith the everyday moments that make up the main fabric of our lives, Filming is both ambitious in its scope and impressive in its execution.