Obituary: Qurratulain Hyder

A leading writer of Urdu fiction, Qurratulain Hyder died at the age of 80. Along with her short stories, she was the author of 12 novels.

From the BBC:

The theme of many of Hyder’s books was the pain caused by the partition of the Indian subcontinent.

Her best known novel is the epic Aag ka dariya (River of Fire) – a massive historical tale that moves between the fourth century BC to the modern day.

The book, originally written in Urdu, was later translated into English by the author herself.

River of Fire is available in the States from New Directions. It didn’t receive a ton of attention, but the reviews it got were quite decent.