9th Ave: Aamina Ahmad with Ruchika Tomar

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Join us on Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm PT when Aamina Ahmad celebrates the launch of her debut novel, The Return of Faraz Ali, at 9th Ave!

Masks and Proof of Vaccination Required for In-Person Attendance

Praise for The Return of Faraz Ali

“A rich and deeply moving novel about confronting histories both personal and political. Marvelous.” –Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing and Transcendent Kingdom

“Aamina Ahmad has done the impossible: made her literary debut with an enduring classic. Essential and compelling.” – Adam Johnson, author of The Orphan Master’s Son and Fortune Smiles

“A gripping read — everything beautifully evoked, from the alleys of the Old City to the atmosphere of corruption and secrets. Noir with a heart.”—Kamila Shamsie, author of Home Fire

About The Return of Faraz Ali

Sent back to his birthplace – Lahore’s notorious red-light district – to hush up the murder of a child prostitute, a man finds himself in an unexpected reckoning with his past.

Not since childhood has Faraz returned to the Mohalla, in Lahore’s walled inner city, where women still pass down the profession of courtesan to their daughters. But he still remembers the day he was abducted from the home he shared with his mother and sister there, at the direction of his powerful father, who wanted to give him a chance at a respectable life. Now Wajid, once more dictating his fate from afar, has sent Faraz back to Lahore, installing him as head of the Mohalla police station and charging him with a mission: to cover up the violent death of a young kanjari.
It should be a simple assignment to carry out in a marginalized community, but for the first time in his career, Faraz finds himself unable to follow orders. As the city assails him with a jumble of memories, he cannot stop asking questions or chasing down the walled city’s labyrinthine alleyways for the secrets—his family’s and his own—that risk shattering his precariously constructed existence.

Profoundly intimate and propulsive, The Return of Faraz Ali is a spellbindingly assured first novel that poses a timeless question: Whom do we choose to protect, and at what price?

About Aamina Ahmad

Aamina Ahmad, a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, has received a Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University, a Pushcart Prize, and a Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award. Her short fiction has appeared in One Story, The Southern Review, Ecotone, and elsewhere; she is also the author of a play, The Dishonored. She lives in Berkeley, CA.

About Ruchika Tomar

Ruchika Tomar was raised in Southern California. She holds a BA in English literature from the University of California, Irvine, and an MFA from Columbia University. A recent Wallace Stegner Fellow, she is currently a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University.

FAQ

Seating for this event is first come, first serve. Standing room will be available after seating capacity, no one will be turned away for lack of space.

Metered parking is available though limited on 9th Ave and surrounding streets. There is a parking lot on 7th Ave (south of Irving St). There is free 3- and 4-hour parking available just inside the Golden Gate Park (at 9th Ave and Lincoln Way). Public transit is always recommended. We are close to the 9th Ave stops on the N Judah and Muni lines 7 and 44.

Purchase of the book is not a requirement for entry to this event, though it is always encouraged and appreciated.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.