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Narrating Pakistan Transnationally: Identity, Politics and Terrorism in Anglophone Pakistani Literature after “9/11” Gohar Karim Khan A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English and Comparative Literary Studies University of Warwick, Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies December 2013 iii In loving memory of my father, Rafat Karim, who no longer lives to see the fulfillment of our shared dream iv What’s going on out in the world?” “The last fire has almost burnt out.” Kim pointed in the direction of the looming emptiness outside before coming to sit down on the sofa. “That’s not the world, it’s just the neighbourhood,” Hiroko said sharply. —Kamila Shamsie, Burnt Shadows !!! I feel obligated to point out, though, that I have always been a sucker for ideas I find aesthetically pleasing. The cosmic sweep of the thing - an interstellar kula chain - affirming the differences and at the same time emphasizing the similarities of all the intelligent races in the galaxy - tying them together, building common traditions... The notion strikes me as kind of fine. ― Roger Zelazny, Doorways in the Sand v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... viii Declaration ......................................................................................................................... ix Published Work ................................................................................................................. ix Abbreviations Used ........................................................................................................... x Abstract ................................................................................................................................ xi Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Literature after 9/11 ................................................................................................................. 1 Writing Terror/Transcribing Trauma ............................................................................. 18 Contemporary Pakistan in the Euro-American Imaginary ........................................ 26 Writing “Woman” Transnationally: ................................................................................... 31 The Writers and their Works .............................................................................................. 37 Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................... 50 Imagining a Connection: Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows ............................. 50 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 50 1.2 The “Nation” in Transnational ..................................................................................... 57 1.3 Transnational Terrorism: .............................................................................................. 67 1.4 Problematic notions of “home” .................................................................................... 83 1.5 Hiroko as Transnational Feminist .............................................................................. 87 Chapter 2 ......................................................................................................................... 100 “A Fellowship of Wounds”: War & Peace in Nadeem Aslam’s The Wasted Vigil .................................................................................................................................... 100 2.1 Plurality and AestheticiZation .................................................................................... 100 2.2 ‘Worlding’ Afghanistan ................................................................................................. 112 2.3 Transnational Terrorism ............................................................................................. 118 2.4. Aslam as Feminist .......................................................................................................... 132 2.5 A Wasted Vigil? ................................................................................................................ 145 Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................... 150 Deconstructing 9/11 in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist .. 150 3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 150 3.2. Multiculturalism: A Misnomer? ................................................................................ 159 3.3. ChangeZ’s “Double Consciousness”: How does it feel to be a problem? ...... 163 3.4. ChangeZ’s 9/11 ............................................................................................................... 176 3.5. HistoriciZing “Ground Zero” ....................................................................................... 184 Chapter 4 ......................................................................................................................... 199 Imagining “Difference”: Daniyal Mueenuddin and Mohsin Hamid .............. 199 4.1 Negotiating “Global” and “Local” ............................................................................... 199 4.2 A Corrupt & Violent Nation: ........................................................................................ 213 4.3 No “Single Story” ............................................................................................................. 222 4.4 “This Most Unequal City” .............................................................................................. 239 vi Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 249 Illustrations .................................................................................................................... 256 Works Cited ..................................................................................................................... 260 vii Acknowledgements I am very grateful to my supervisor Pablo Mukherjee for supporting, encouraging and challenging me throughout the course of my PhD. I feel exceptionally fortunate to have gained from his intellectual guidance and knowledge in the past few years. I thank Maureen Freely, Neil Lazarus and Muneeza Shamsie for their feedback in the initial stages of my thesis. I am grateful to Claire Chambers for her support and for her extensive work on Anglophone Pakistani writers, which has been an invaluable resource for me. I am grateful to the faculty at the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick as well as to the administrative staff, in particular Cheryl Cave. I extend heartfelt gratitude to my friends who have shared my love for literature over many years. They have sustained me in countless ways—Sana Balagamwala, Sobia Haleem, Kiki Marinou, Shafia Husein, Davinia Yip, Mate Vince and Kate Scarth. I owe my thanks to Sorcha Gunne, Norbert Bujea and Malachi Macintosh for generously sharing their time and thoughts with me. I am particularly grateful to Natasha Richardson and Kate Adams who have looked after my children so lovingly while I had to work. I owe special gratitude to Vedita Cowalasoor who has been an integral part of this PhD—a dear friend, a genuine critic and someone who understands the euphoria of words. I thank her along with Honita Cowalasoor for their love. My deepest gratitude goes to my family. I love and thank my beautiful daughter, Aleena, who shows extraordinary wisdom at the age of five. My feisty son Samih I thank for providing me the much-needed diversions from the demands of my research. They are undoubtedly my two best achievements. My brother Farrukh and my sister Saba: I thank them for being those two exceptional human beings with whom I can communicate without words. Their wholesome and honest criticism of my work has been invaluable. I thank my mother, Nasreen, for loving me unconditionally, for worrying about me, for wanting the best for me and for giving me “an education”. To my husband, Omar, a mere thank you is not enough. He has believed in my research, and this work would not have been possible without his unwavering love, honest criticism and constant support. I thank him for having been “on-call” for me these past nine years, 24/7. Finally I thank my beloved father. You are irreplaceable, and your loss is unbearable. This is for you. viii Declaration This work has not previously been submitted for any other degree and is not being concurrently submitted for candidature in any degree. Signed: _________________________________ (Candidate) Date: 20 December 2013 Published Work Extracts from Chapter