A Splintering

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick

By: Dur e Aziz Amna

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Paperback | 4 November 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.6 x 13.5 x 2.4

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Set against an oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping.

'Smart and gripping - I read it in one sitting. Tara is a glorious creation, crackling with life and aspiration and sensuality' Kamila Shamsie, author of Home Fire

In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is waiting and watching. The smell of dung and dust hangs over her world. She is desperate to leave the petty life of the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother. Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife is not sufficient either. She wants what the rich mothers at her children's school have. She wants what their husbands have. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession. But can she truly shake her past? And what of the menacing spectre of her brother, a reminder of the threads that tie her to the life she left behind?

Set against a hypnotic, oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, between motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping, it is an extraordinary achievement by Dur e Aziz Amna, an exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own.

Industry Reviews

'An intoxicating, high-voltage mix of female rage, economic ambition, erotic awakening, and biting disdain aimed at the expectations faced by women in contemporary Pakistani society, Tara's voice will sear itself in your consciousness like the scowl of a convict facing the firing squad. Never have my sympathies been so roused, tested, and provoked by a character both heroic and tragic, wily and cornered, raw and charred... a magnificent sophomore novel, replete with Amna's trademark lyricism and sparkling wit' - Aube Rey Lescure, author of River East, River West

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