In the City a Mirror Wandering

Book excerpt: Magnificent . . . Ashk writes with a clear hand and is served well by Daisy Rockwell as she recreates a compelling narrative'-Dawn Unfolding over the course of a single day, Ashk's sweeping sequel to Falling Walls explores the inner struggles of Chetan, an aspiring young writer, as he roams the labyrinthine streets of 1930s' Jalandhar, haunted by his thwarted ambitions but intent on fulfilling his dreams. Smarting from his recent failures in Lahore and Shimla, Chetan is faced with the prospect of taking up a dead-end job. To make matters worse, he is married to a woman he does not love and is pining for another man's wife. Constrained by his circumstances, wracked with remorse and regret, he desperately seeks a way out of his myriad problems. And as he trudges around Jalandhar, constantly running into people he'd rather avoid, Chetan finds himself confronting the tangled memories, frailties and fears that assail him. Intensely poignant and vividly evocative, In the City a Mirror Wandering is an exploration of not only a dynamic, bustling city but also the rich tapestry of human emotion that consumes us all.