Among Muslims
Meetings at the frontiers of Pakistan

KATHLEEN JAMIE

"One of the most powerful accounts by a contemporary Western writer. Her clear-sightedness and honesty are captivating."
Times Literary Supplement
Published in the US by Seal Press

SYNOPSIS
When ten Pakistani men walk into Kathleen Jamie’s small Scottish town on a peace march, in November 2001, she is thrown back to her own travels in Northern Pakistan and a book she wrote a decade earlier.

Among Muslims is the account of Jamie’s time travelling alone and living among the Shia and Ismaili Muslims in the Northern Areas – the mountainous regions wedged between Afghanistan, India and China and one of the most volatile borderlands in the world.

A bold, sympathetic and superbly written book, Among Muslims delves into Jamie’s own Scottish upbringing to find links with the purdah-observing lifestyle of her Shia Muslim hosts. It is a privileged account from an acclaimed poet, who during her travels was often literally the only woman on the bus.

Among Muslims was originally published as The Golden Peak. For this edition, Kathleen Jamie returned to Pakistan to write an Afterword and Preface.
AUTHOR NOTES
Kathleen Jamie is one of the U.K.’s foremost poets; The Golden Peak was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Award, and she has won several prestigious poetry awards, including the Somerset Maugham, Forward, Creative Scotland Award, and Geoffrey Faber Memorial award (twice). As well as poetry, Jamie writes for the London Review of Books and is a frequent writer and presenter of travelogues for Radio Four.
KEY POINTS

A superbly written travel narrative by an award-winning poet.

A timely account of day-to-day life in a purdah-observing Muslim community that can help counter stereotypes in an intensely topical area (former Kashmir).

US and Dutch editions published in 2003.

Sort Of Books’ record speaks for itself: this is their first travel book since Driving Over Lemon
REVIEWS

"Genius is no stranger to the work of Kathleen Jamie, whose finely poised writing and subtly profound sensibility have made her such an artisan of the human heart." The Scotsman

"What is ultimately most impressive is the energy, good humour and panache with which Jamie’s language rises to the variety of its occasions." Patrick Crotty, Times Literary Supplement

"A beautifully crafted account... the power of Jamie’s prose is spare but magical. She writes tenderly but without sentimentality. Should be required reading." Daily Telegraph

  

"A wonderfully sensual study of the land and its people which feels more timeless than topical." The Observer

"Kathleen Jamie's prose writing is utterly luminous, as you'd expect from her poetry, but Among Muslims (Sort of Books) is much more than a well-written travel book, and its insights are even more urgent in the light of the dangerous and criminal crudity of President Bush's approach to the region" Independent on Sunday Book of the Year Choice 2002

"This eloquent tale with its plea for understanding and tolerance couldn't have been better timed." Sunday Times

  

" . . . It is her beautiful prose, drawn from a rural Scottish palate, that really illuminates the book - a wonderfully sensual study of the land and its people which feels more topical than timeless." The Observer

"A better emissary to the Karakoram could not be imagined. She displays a deep warmth unemcumbered by illusion." Scotland on Sunday

"Illuminated throughout with a vision that sees beneath surfaces. To share a journey such as this is an enriching experience." Norman Lewis
PUBLISHING INFORMATION

Pub date May 2002
ISBN 0-9535227-7-6

 Price £7.99
Format B format
 Extent 240pp
Illustrations b/w photo section
RIGHTS
For details of rights available please email Natania Jansz at Sort Of Books
PUBLICITY RESOURCES
A4 information sheet in PDF format (Muslims-BLAD.zip - 58k)

Sort Of Books [about us] are distributed worldwide, excluding
North America by the Profile/Independent Alliance and TBS.
For editorial, publicity and rights enquiries please email Natania Jansz