Pakistani-American author's book wins the 2005 Norumbega Fiction Award

"Beyond the Cayenne Wall", a collection of short stories by Pakistani-American author Shaila Abdullah received the Jury Prize for Outstanding Fiction in the 2005 Norumbega Fiction Awards. It's an annual literary competition open to American and Canadian writers who have completed a work of fiction since 2003.

In her book, Abdullah eloquently captures the cultural chasm––sometimes even the collision between the East and the West––as the characters struggle to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. In the first story, “Amulet for the Caged Dove,” Abdullah describes the perils of Tannu, a woman who is forced to give up her firstborn child to the caretakers of the temple of Shah Daullah in order to uphold the tradition of sacrifice. Then there is the story of Dhool in “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust,” who confronts the five mistakes in her life and ventures out among the wolves in human clothing to make the lives of her children better. In “Crimson Calling,” a young woman in Texas regrets her affair with a married professor and flees back to Pakistan for an arranged marriage. Perhaps the most striking account of alienation and the clash of two worlds comes in “Forever Dusk,” where a young married woman returns to her native country to bring her widowed mother back to live with her brother in the United States. “Demons of the Past” is a disturbing account of a young mother in search of her birth mother who uncovers bitter realities that were perhaps best left uncovered.

In these and several other stories, Abdullah weaves together a fine collection of events that spin around betrayals, confessions, lost opportunities, misunderstandings, revenge, acceptance, and denial, shaken in with exotic spices and flavors that result in a treat for the senses. The stories meander seamlessly into each character’s past and present and are presented to the readers like pearls of memory sewn together.

Abdullah has been writing for Dallas Child, About Families, Sulekha,Women's Own, Fashion Collection, and other publications since 1993. She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature, and her creative work focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of Pakistani women and their often unconventional choices in life. She is a member of the Texas Writers’ League and enjoys meeting readers at book signings.

An excerpt of Beyond the Cayenne Walls  is available online.

BEYOND THE CAYENNE WALL
 By Shaila Abdullah
 Publication Date: October 17, 2005
 Price: $10.99, iUniverse
 Pages: 114
 ISBN # 0-595-37009-8
 PDF EISBN # 0-595-81417-4
Available: Amazon | Barnes and Nobles

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