Cover of Salt and Saffron

Salt and Saffron

Una terribile leggenda percorre la storia pluricentenaria dell'aristocratica ed ec-centrica famiglia indiana dei Dard-e-Dil: la maledizione dei quasi-gemelli. E per colpa di due quasi-gemelli se i Dard-e-Dil non sono diventati sovrani dell'India inte-ra, e se la famiglia si e divisa al momen-to della Partizione del Pakistan dall'In-dia. Finche Aliya era bambina, le vicende dei quasi-gemelli erano tutto quello che serviva per spiegare il male del mondo; crescendo, pero, si accorge che quelle immaginifiche storie di famiglia non le bastano piu per capire la vita, per capire l'amore. Tornata a Karachi per le vacanze dopo quattro anni di college in America, cerca cosi la risposta a una serie di do-mande, a cominciare dal perche dei sen-timenti contrastanti che prova per l'ame-ricanizzato Khaleel, cosi sexy e pero cosi irrimediabilmente originario del quartiere "sbagliato" della citta. Forse alla fine tutto quello che c'e da scoprire e che non e l'a-ristocratico zafferano il sapore della vita. L'ingrediente che da senso all'esistenza e un altro, meno nobile eppure assolu-tamente indispensabile: quel sale senza il quale le pietanze non sanno di niente; l'amore, senza il quale nessuna storia al mondo ha un senso.

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The Dard-e-Dils are characterised by their clavicles and love of stories. Aliya may not have inherited her family's patrician looks, but she is as much a prey to the legends of her family that stretch back to the days of Timur Lang. Aristocratic and eccentric - the clan has plenty of stories to tell, and secrets to hide." "But there is a sting to most tales, for the Dard-e-Dils are cursed by their 'not-quite' twins. Aliya begins to believe that she is another 'not-quite twin' cosmically connected with her aunt Mariam and in a way that hardly bodes well." "'Mariam Apa' mysteriously arrives the day Aliya is born, claiming that she is the daughter of the long lost Taimur - a great uncle of Aliya's. She offers no proof except the characteristic collarbone but is warmly embraced into the family fold. Mariam utters not a single word except to dictate the daily menu to Masood the family cook. Under her direction, Masood's masterful cooking becomes ambrosial. The stories that Aliya tells are full of the aroma of pulaos, and the mouth-melting softness of kababs. Food and love collide and soon scandal erupts in the family." "Mariam's story becomes especially relevant for Aliya when she falls in love with Khaleel - a boy from an unsuitable background. Determined to solve the mystery of Mariam, and resolve her dilemma, Aliya sets out to discover what the meaning of the family curse truly is.

Audience
adult
Length
medium · 300 pages

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