"Even the walls have ears."
What a wonderfully written book! Sana Balagamwala has fully encapsulated life in Pakistan's metropolis, Karachi, to perfection. From ten years post-partition to the late eighties, this book lends an insight to the country's history as a backdrop to the story.
The narrator is the actual house. Abandoned during partition, Haji Rahmat buys the house ten years later. This is house where Haji Rahmat's family grows up. The house sees and hears everything.
From the back garden jamun tree to the hired help -Balagamwala was able to weave details into the narrative that captured the atmosphere and every day life of living in Karachi. The story pushed itself along naturally and the author did a fantastic job with the mental health aspect when it came to Haji Rahmat's daughter Nadia and the distressing reason for her mental health issues.

3.5 stars

This was a very beautifully written story and had a very interesting narrator, the house. The house served as the narrator and the somewhat claustrophobic setting. As someone stated in another review it very much embodied the saying “if walls could talk” and that was something that really stuck with me. This is something I could find myself rereading the writing really brought you in and kept you engaged from start to finish. I won’t get too into the plot or details of the story because I feel like this is one of those reads that you definitely should go into without knowing too much. The only issue I did have with this was that the characters didn’t feel completely fleshed out.

This advanced copy was given by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is quite a story, and all told from the point of view of a house. Definitely a "if walls could talk" kind of story, which I found was a neat way to tell this story.
There is a lot going on in this book and it touches on war, culture, mental illness stigma, death, and family. I really enjoyed this book and it was well written.

This is such a beautiful book, it is beautifully written and I loved every second of it. Honestly one of the best books I have read this year

Everyone knows the saying “if these walls could talk...” Well, wonder no more! House number 12 on block number 3 is the narrator of this book. This was a quick read that could get heavy at times. (I don’t want to spoil anything, but I would add a trigger warning to this book.) There is some political/war/historical talk, but it wasn’t enough to be confusing or overwhelming, and it was important for parts of the plot.

I liked all of the characters (even the “bad” ones), but I sort of felt they were only superficially explored.

I think I went through every emotion while reading this book. Nostalgic for childhood, anger, sadness, pride, hope.

I would say this book is out of my usual “comfort zone,” but I am really glad I read it! 3.5 stars, but rounding up to 4 for my rating.