![The Golden Legend. By Nadeem Aslam.](/web/20170204153305im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/0/0/l/o/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gu01aa.png/1485751371414.jpg)
The Golden Legend
Nadeem Aslam
Faber & Faber, $29.99
Having set two of his recent novels in Afghanistan, Nadeem Aslam's The Golden Legend turns to the country of his birth. This book would seem to invite the magical realist tag – with its romantic sweep and rich symbolism; its desert-island refuge reminiscent of The Tempest – though the agonies of Pakistani society are depicted with such clear-eyed intensity the label doesn't feel apt. Against a backdrop of rampant sectarian violence, architects Nargis and Massud have devoted themselves to culture. When Massud is killed safeguarding books intended for the new library they have built, Nargis turns to her Christian foster child, Helen, who finds herself in danger and has fallen in love with a would-be Kashmiri terrorist. A luxuriant, fable-like novel that arms beauty against anger, hope against fear.