Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2020

As India hurtles towards Partition, in Lahore's ancient inside city, Amrau Dar is not thinking about politics. She is waiting for a prediction about her son, Awais, to come true. Awais discovers not a secret garden but a secret city and his beloved sister, Maryam, discovers the world of maths. Fearing that the prediction has gone wrong, Amrau takes a series of decisions that will change all their lives.

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'The Inside City is a bold and vivid evocation of times and places on the fringes of our memories; a multi-patterned screen that reveals, through the secrets, mysteries, loves and tragedies of a multitude of characters, the inner life of a nation. A compelling and hugely entertaining debut.' - Aamer Hussein, author of Another Gulmohar Tree

'Brimming with compassion' - Mohammed Hanif, author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes