{"product_id":"9780008531720_broken-threads-my-family-from-empire-to-independence","title":"Broken Threads: My Family From Empire to Independence","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003cem\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e TOP 10 BESTSELLER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING FINALIST \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE WESTMINSTER BOOK AWARDS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'One of the best memoirs I've read in years’\u003cstrong\u003e SATHNAM SANGHERA\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Beautifully written, emotional and deeply personal, yet universal … One can't help but be moved by this story of upheaval and transformation’ \u003cstrong\u003eSADIQ KHAN\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn extraordinary family memoir from acclaimed newsreader and journalist, Mishal Husain, uncovering the story of her grandparents' lives amidst empire, political upheaval and partition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘I witnessed the dwindling glow of the British Empire. I saw small men entrusted with great jobs, playing with the destiny of millions’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eThe lives of Mishal Husain’s grandparents changed forever in 1947, as the new nation states of India and Pakistan were born. For years she had a partial story, a patchwork of memories and anecdotes: hurried departures, lucky escapes from violence and homes never seen again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDecades later, the fragment of an old sari sent Mishal on a journey through time, using letters, diaries, memoirs and audio tapes to trace four lives shaped by the Raj, a world war, independence and partition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMumtaz rejects the marriage arranged for him as he forges a life with Mary, a devout Catholic from an Anglo-Indian family, while Tahirah and Shahid watch the politics of pre-partition Delhi unfold at close quarters. As freedom comes, bonds fray and communities are divided, leaving two couples to forge new identities, while never forgetting the shared heritage of the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Husain has written an arresting family memoir … her explanation of partition is more level-headed than that of many professional historians’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A spectacular achievement. It is an incisive and carefully researched historical account, and as moving and true a personal narrative’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e'[Husain] has managed to make such a complex story so accessible' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eOBSERVER\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘I was so moved by this stirring and deeply moving account that is at once a love story as well as a chronicle of one of the most cataclysmic events in South Asia’ \u003cstrong\u003eBARKHA DUTT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Like silks in the precious fragment of the heirloom sari of its title, \u003cem\u003eBroken Threads\u003c\/em\u003e is woven from rich sources. It is a beautiful book, informed and informative, cool and factual, poetic and elegiac' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A deeply engrossing book … I was completely gripped by it’ \u003cstrong\u003eINDIA KNIGHT\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mishal Husain","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46899295387797,"sku":"9780008531720","price":24.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008531720_c632135b-edc6-43fe-90ae-22cd1a7bd001.jpg?v=1776888282","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008531720_broken-threads-my-family-from-empire-to-independence","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}