Review of "In the Company of Strangers" by Awais Khan

 

Awais Khan, a Pakistani author, has written feminist and post-colonialist novel which has touched on sensitive issues of Pakistani society. 

In the Company of Strangers is the story of Mona, Ali and Bilal. It is the story of an elite-class female who has been oppressed by a patriarchal society. It is the story of a middle-class male who has suffered a lot because of colonialism and imperialism elements of his society. It is the story of an elite-class male who is the product of a patriarchal society but he has suffered a lot because of it. They made a love triangle in which every person suffered, and in the end, gained nothing. 

The novel revolves around elite class issues, the black world of the fashion industry, and terrorism issues which Pakistan is facing for decades. It gives you a peek into the lives and thought structure of terrorists, it tells you how females have been oppressed in the elite class, it tells you how a middle-class man is struggling in the post-colonialist society, how an elite class and terrorism dissolve middle-class man's identity and personality. 

Mona is an elite-class woman who is stuck with an abusive husband. Peeks into her friends' and fellows' lives have also shown that all elite class females are suffering to some extent in their lives. 

Meera, Mona's old friend, is shown as a different type of female. Affected by patriarchal society during her college days, she had become resistant to male-dominancy. She had rejected the social norms of society which made her character quite interesting. 

Set in Pakistan's city Lahore, the novel starts with terrorist attack details. Immediately after it, a scene from the elite class started. The elite class, a total manifestation of Western Society, is least disturbed by this terrorist attack. Fashion shows, glamour and parties kept going on while the middle-class society was suffering from the aftermath of the terrorist attack.

 

Colonizers of the society were enjoying their lives and colonized people were suffering. 

Ali, the middle-class man, suffered because of the terrorist attack. To meet the ends and to recover from the attack, he had to rejoin the fashion industry. Elite class and the fashion industry's black holes consumed him leading him to self-destruction. The elite class, Western Class, consumed his personality and left him and his family to suffer. His end was quite surprising. Read it yourself to find out.

Bilal is a product of a patriarchal society. Though he loves his wife and is protective of her, patriarchal society has converted him into a monster. He does have positive points in his personality, but most of the time, they are suppressed because of the patriarchal society weaved around him. Struggling with the patriarchal elements present in him, his character is quite dynamic. 

Mona is an elite class female suffering from a patriarchal society. Though she had worldly comforts, she was devoid of inner satisfaction. And its main reason was the male-dominancy element in her life. Her character kept on taking different and difficult decisions till the end of the novel.

If you are a lover of social, feminist and post-colonial literature, do give this novel a chance! 

If you have read it already, share your reviews with me. And if you haven't, I will be waiting for you to finish it and give me your reviews.