I highly recommend DIANA JUXTAPOSED AND OTHER UNREALITIES, a gem of a book written by Salahdin Imam. In the production of great cheese, or memorable wine, a critical component is the “Terroir” from which they spring. The ground, the air, the sunshine, wind, all contribute. When it comes to books, the “terroir” is the personality and make-up of the author himself! Salahdin’s stories are interesting because he is.
Salahdin’s complex life incorporates boarding school in Pakistan, public school in England, Harvard, M.I.T., sojourns in Baghdad, Madrid, Paris, London, Riyadh, Massachusetts, Dhaka. He knows the liberation war of Bangladesh, as he knows the world of finance and banking. He is at ease in Bengali, and also in French and Urdu. He is rooted in spiritual Islam, and he has a recognizable, modern sensibility. All of which adds up to – insight! The reader will experience a delightful “juxtaposition” in his stories of something familiar, yet new, and always thought-provoking. What I especially appreciate is that Salahdin’s work is not “exotic”, which tends to accentuate the distance between the subject and the reader. Instead, he is unabashedly universal, deftly bridging nationalities, gender, class, generations and genres.
The wide-ranging stories cover sexually charged office politics, revolutions run amok, a sliver of Jesus’ trajectory, the awe-inspiring release of a man’s caged heart, the honor of a Samurai, and a riveting reimagining of the most famous death in the recent past. The plots move along with Salahdin’s unique relationship to language, whereby he rejects the tyranny of words and fearlessly commandeers them to do his bidding! This book will take you on a journey you will enjoy.
– Hayat Imam