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9781938603778_FC.jpg

A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna

$17.95

A perfect book club read for those who love morally gray women

In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is watching and waiting. The smell of dung and dust hangs over her world. She is desperate to leave her petty life in the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother.

Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife is not enough. She wants what the rich mothers at her children’s school have. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession—one for which she’ll push her marriage and herself to the brink. When her brother comes back into her life, dragging the specter of all she’s escaped, Tara must decide if there are any lines she won’t cross to live the life she deserves.

Set against a hypnotic, oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, between motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping, it is an extraordinary achievement by Dur e Aziz Amna, an exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own.

Publication Date: April 14, 2026
Paperback
ISBN: 9781938603778

A perfect book club read for those who love morally gray women

In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is watching and waiting. The smell of dung and dust hangs over her world. She is desperate to leave her petty life in the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother.

Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife is not enough. She wants what the rich mothers at her children’s school have. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession—one for which she’ll push her marriage and herself to the brink. When her brother comes back into her life, dragging the specter of all she’s escaped, Tara must decide if there are any lines she won’t cross to live the life she deserves.

Set against a hypnotic, oppressive backdrop of political violence and natural disaster, A Splintering traces the class struggle of a woman stuck between province and metropolis, between motherhood and ambition. Disquieting and utterly gripping, it is an extraordinary achievement by Dur e Aziz Amna, an exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own.

Publication Date: April 14, 2026
Paperback
ISBN: 9781938603778

PRAISE FOR A Splintering

“Tara is an unforgettable character, seething, stubborn, and self-aware, demanding independence in a society that very much does not want to give it to her. Amna’s writing is gorgeous, and she does an excellent job pinning Tara’s story to events in recent Pakistani history. This is a remarkably bold novel from an undeniable talent. A fiery novel about a character who wants more than just a room of her own.” 

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This novel deserves a warning label: it’s a raw, unflinching portrait of feminine rage, gender constraints, class resentment, and the corrosive pull of worldly ambition...A bold, uncomfortable, and brilliantly executed character study."

—Booklist, starred review

“An intoxicating, high-voltage mix of female rage, economic ambition, erotic awakening, and biting disdain aimed at the expectations faced by women in contemporary Pakistani society, Tara's voice will sear itself in your consciousness like the scowl of a convict facing the firing squad. Never have my sympathies been so roused, tested, and provoked by a character both heroic and tragic, wily and cornered, raw and charred... a magnificent sophomore novel, replete with Amna's trademark lyricism and sparkling wit.” 

—Aube Rey Lescure, author of River East, River West

“A lacerating novel by a writer of great insight and deep compassion.”

—Mohsin Hamid, author of The Last White Man

“Smart and gripping – I read it in one sitting. Tara is a glorious creation, crackling with life and aspiration and sensuality.” 

—Kamila Shamsie, author of Home Fire​

“I am constantly amazed by how relentless this is. When you think it's gone too far it goes further. And I love it for that.” 

—Deepti Kapoor, author of Age of Vice

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dur e Aziz Amna is the author of American Fever, winner of the 2023 South Asian Book Award and the APALA Award for Literature. Her work appears in the New York Times, Financial Times, and Al Jazeera, among others. She was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022 and won the 2021 Salam Prize and the the 2019 Financial Times / Bodley Head Essay Prize. She is a graduate of Yale College and the Helen Zell Writers' Program at the University of Michigan. Born and raised in Pakistan, she now resides in New Jersey.