The Murder of Aziz Khan - Paperback

by Zulfikar Ghose (Author)

First published in London in 1967, The Murder of Aziz Khan has acquired an important place in the literary history of Pakastani writing in English. It presents a picture of Pakastani society in its earliest years in the persons of Aziz Khan, who represents ancient and traditional values, and the Shah brothers, who are out to exploit the resources and people of the new country for their personal gain. The story is built around this central conflict between the Shah brothers and Aziz Khan, whose land they are determined to possess and which he refuses to sell. Intricately plotted, the story gradually unfolds, revealing the emotions of its characters. It exposes the ruthless brutality of the Shah brothers and the effects of moral corruption on them; and finally, in brilliant prose imbued with an astonishing poetical intensity, the book describes the suffering of Aziz Khan with such poignancy that it seems a symbolic vision of a wound in the heart of the new nation.

Author Biography

Zulfikar Ghose is internationally known as a critic, poet and novelist. His books include Jets from Orange, Figures of Enchantment and a trilogy, The Incredible Brazilian. His work has received praise from T. S. Eliot, Anthony Burgess, John Fowles and Michael Moorcock, amongst others. Born in 1935 in Sialkot, Pakistan, Ghose emigrated to England in 1952. After graduating from Keele University with a BA in English and Philosophy, he lived in London where he was a cricket correspondent for The Observer and wrote for the Times Literary Supplement, The Spectator and the Western Daily Press. In 1960, he met the novelist and poet B. S. Johnson, with whom he became close friends, and in the same year he joined The Group - a collection of poets who met at Edward Lucie-Smith's house in Chelsea to discuss their work. These meetings were attended by, amongst others, George MacBeth and Philip Hobsbaum, and occasionally by Ted Hughes. In 1963, Zulfikar Ghose was put forward for the E. C. Gregory Award by the judges T. S. Eliot, Herbert Read, Henry Moore and Howard Sergeant; but when Eliot fell ill, his place on the committee was taken by a solicitor who raised an objection concerning Ghose's nationality. The committee decided to overcome the legal hurdle by giving him a "Special Award". His works comprise books and poems published on both sides of the Atlantic and where his rich prose has been described as "remarkable, imagistic, witty and original" and all his writing "sheer literary pleasure, exciting, effective, evocative and the beauty of great art". In 1969, Ghose emigrated to the U.S.A after an invitation to teach at the University of Texas at Austin. He had tea with Patricia Nixon at the White House who presented him with a copy of The Complete Poems of Elizabeth Bishop. He became a US citizen in 2004 and went on to hold the distinguished position of Susan Taylor McDaniel Regents Professor in Creative Writing. Ghose, now retired from full-time teaching, is the Professor Emeritus, University Texas at Austin. He lives with his wife Helena de la Fontaine, an artist from Brazil, whom he married in London in 1964.