Non-Fiction
Verdict: Maybe if you have an interest in poets or Urdu
I bought this books because 1: the cover is pretty, and 2: because I thought it was poetry and I'm trying to expand my understanding of poetry. It turned out not to be poetry per say, but a biography.
The author is a relative of Firaq Gorkahpuri, and he makes it very clear from the beginning that he wishes to clear up misconceptions of the poet. Some of this he does, some of this he reinforces, so it's a little odd.
Overall, the man behind the poetry struck me as a simple man. Fussy, flawed and normal as any other man. I was particularly unimpressed with his obsession with how he was fooled into marrying a sub-optimal woman in his words.
It was interesting, as most biographies are, to watch the progress of someone's life and to understand how they ended up how they did. In spite of this not being a poetry book, there's quite a bit of poetry in this book to illustrate the poets mindset. I very, very much liked his poetry. I found myself spending way too much time translating in my head. I wasn't particularly impressed with the translations given, but that may just be a result of my not understanding Hindi/Urdu as well as I wish.
The book was quite a bit longer than it needed to be, and often circled back to the same content.
Read it if you enjoy Urdu poetry or want to understand about Firaq Gorakhpuri.
~Becky~
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