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Abdullah Hussein obituary Abdullah Hussein obituary
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Abdullah Hussein, who has died aged 84, became known to the anglophone literary world when his novel The Weary Generations was published in London in 1999. An elegant saga of India’s struggle for freedom from British rule and the subsequent partition of the country, the novel came at a time when two Booker prize winners – Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy – had paved the way for the enthusiastic reception of writers from the Indian subcontinent, as had the phenomenal success of Vikram Seth. Abdullah Hussein, who has died aged 83, became known to the anglophone literary world when his novel The Weary Generations was published in London in 1999. An elegant saga of India’s struggle for freedom from British rule and the subsequent partition of the country, the novel came at a time when two Booker prize winners – Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy – had paved the way for the enthusiastic reception of writers from the Indian subcontinent, as had the phenomenal success of Vikram Seth.
Hussein’s novel, published in the aftermath of the 50th anniversary of Indian independence, also echoed the surge of interest in the Raj and Britain’s colonial history that had begun nearly two decades before. What few critics in the UK observed at the time was that The Weary Generations was the author’s own translation – or, more accurately, rewriting – of his first novel, Udas Naslain, published in 1963 and now one of the most celebrated Urdu novels. Hussein’s novel, published in the aftermath of the 50th anniversary of Indian independence, also echoed the surge of interest in the Raj and Britain’s colonial history that had begun nearly two decades before. What few critics in Britan observed at the time was that The Weary Generations was the author’s own translation – or, more accurately, rewriting – of his first novel, Udas Naslain, published in 1963 and now one of the most celebrated and influential Urdu novels.
He was born Mohammed Khan in Rawalpindi, northern Punjab, in what was to become Pakistan, later adopting Abdullah Hussein as his nom de plume. He was brought up by his father, a customs inspector, after his mother died when he was a baby, and trained as a engineer in Pakistan and Canada.He was born Mohammed Khan in Rawalpindi, northern Punjab, in what was to become Pakistan, later adopting Abdullah Hussein as his nom de plume. He was brought up by his father, a customs inspector, after his mother died when he was a baby, and trained as a engineer in Pakistan and Canada.
He began writing in his 20s after his father’s death and had published only a handful of short stories before his first novel appeared. He was, and remained, something of an outsider to the local literary scene, claiming that he did not even know the Urdu language very well, and was mostly influenced by the world classics he had grown up reading in English.He began writing in his 20s after his father’s death and had published only a handful of short stories before his first novel appeared. He was, and remained, something of an outsider to the local literary scene, claiming that he did not even know the Urdu language very well, and was mostly influenced by the world classics he had grown up reading in English.
But Udas Naslain won the Adamjee prize, Pakistan’s highest award for fiction, and he soon acquired a reputation as a leading literary figure. The youngest of a particularly gifted generation that also included Intizar Hussain, Qurratulain Hyder, Nisar Aziz Butt, Jameela Hashmi and Khadija Mastur, he would go on to write – after the silence of 17 years following his success, and always sporadically – a series of long and short fictions, that confirmed his stature as one of Pakistan’s most innovative writers.But Udas Naslain won the Adamjee prize, Pakistan’s highest award for fiction, and he soon acquired a reputation as a leading literary figure. The youngest of a particularly gifted generation that also included Intizar Hussain, Qurratulain Hyder, Nisar Aziz Butt, Jameela Hashmi and Khadija Mastur, he would go on to write – after the silence of 17 years following his success, and always sporadically – a series of long and short fictions, that confirmed his stature as one of Pakistan’s most innovative writers.
A collection of his stories, Downfall by Degrees (which first appeared in Urdu as Nasheb, 1981), was published in translation in 1987 in Canada. Including some of his most significant shorter works, the book made him one of the first contemporary Urdu writers to receive international attention. Yet, at times he complained that he was only known for his first success; in this, as in other aspects of his career, he echoed Hyder, his contemporary, whose classic Aag ka Darya also became an albatross. (She, too, rewrote her book in English, and it was published as River of Fire, in 1998). A collection of his stories, Downfall by Degrees (which first appeared in Urdu as Nasheb, 1981), was published in translation in 1987 in Canada. Including some of his most significant shorter works, the book made him one of the first contemporary Urdu writers to receive international attention. Yet, at times he complained that he was only known for his first success; in this, as in other aspects of his career, he echoed Hyder, his contemporary, whose classic Aag ka Darya also became an albatross. (She, too, rewrote her book in English, and it was published as River of Fire, in 1998.)
Unlike Hyder, though, Hussein felt he had been denied adequate critical attention. He avoided the spotlight, producing much of his work in south London, to where he had moved at the peak of his success. For many years, he ran an off-licence in Clapham which was, he recounted, patronised by Angela Carter. As he grew older, he grew increasingly peripatetic and spent more and more time in Pakistan with his family.Unlike Hyder, though, Hussein felt he had been denied adequate critical attention. He avoided the spotlight, producing much of his work in south London, to where he had moved at the peak of his success. For many years, he ran an off-licence in Clapham which was, he recounted, patronised by Angela Carter. As he grew older, he grew increasingly peripatetic and spent more and more time in Pakistan with his family.
Yet his long sojourn in Britain, and perhaps the possibility of international recognition, led him to write the two works for which he is known in English. The Weary Generations was quietly, and respectfully, received. He followed it a year later with the novel Emigré Journeys (2000), an original work set almost entirely in England. Part of it revisited the themes of his earlier Urdu novella The Journey Back (which was filmed by Udayan Prasad as Brothers in Trouble, 1995). Its contemporary framework, however, was reminiscent of a new wave of migrant writing in Britain. Yet his long stay in Britain, and perhaps the possibility of international recognition, led him to write the two works for which he is known in English. The Weary Generations was quietly, and respectfully, received. He followed it a year later with the novel Emigré Journeys (2000), an original work set almost entirely in England. Part of it revisited the themes of his earlier Urdu novella The Journey Back (which was filmed by Udayan Prasad as Brothers in Trouble, 1995). Its contemporary framework, however, was reminiscent of a new wave of migrant writing in Britain.
I first met Hussein at the launch of Emigré Journeys. A tall, genial man in his late 60s, he asked with a grin if I had meant a passing comparison of his new novel to Hanif Kureishi’s work as a compliment or otherwise. On that occasion, and at a second meeting later that year, he seemed excited about a massive new novel he was working on, again in English, set during the period of the Afghan wars.I first met Hussein at the launch of Emigré Journeys. A tall, genial man in his late 60s, he asked with a grin if I had meant a passing comparison of his new novel to Hanif Kureishi’s work as a compliment or otherwise. On that occasion, and at a second meeting later that year, he seemed excited about a massive new novel he was working on, again in English, set during the period of the Afghan wars.
But there were to be no more major novels by Hussein in Urdu or in English, though a final collection of stories, Faraib, appeared in 2012. When I last saw him, in 2013, at a literary festival in Islamabad, he was living in Lahore and still talking about the unpublished English novel in his drawer. Another literary giant, Intizar Hussain, had been shortlisted for the Man Booker international prize, and was being feted at the festival as one of the first Urdu writers to receive such serious international attention. But there were to be no more major novels by Hussein in Urdu or in English, though a final collection of stories, Faraib, appeared in 2012. When I last saw him, in 2013, at a literary festival in Islamabad, he was living in Lahore and still talking about the unpublished English novel in his drawer. Another literary great, Intizar Hussain, had been shortlisted for the Man Booker international prize, and was being feted at the festival as one of the first Urdu writers to receive such serious international attention.
But Hussein laid claim to his own space in a long, free-flowing, characteristically maverick on-stage conversation, in which he implicitly acknowledged his stature as a grand old man whose works had outlasted all trends and who could now command a new generation of readers and fans. This may not have been his very last public appearance, but it certainly was a grand exit.But Hussein laid claim to his own space in a long, free-flowing, characteristically maverick on-stage conversation, in which he implicitly acknowledged his stature as a grand old man whose works had outlasted all trends and who could now command a new generation of readers and fans. This may not have been his very last public appearance, but it certainly was a grand exit.
He is survived by his wife and a son and daughter.He is survived by his wife and a son and daughter.
• Abdullah Hussein (Mohammed Khan), writer, born 14 August 1931; died 4 July 2015• Abdullah Hussein (Mohammed Khan), writer, born 14 August 1931; died 4 July 2015