“THE ZAHIR”, is a first of its kind for the author. After writing some brilliant stuff, he aces it all in his own inimitable style. The backdrop for his previous works, Alchemist and The Fifth Mountain (those are the ones that I have read) has been an old era, though the wisdom applies universally across the eons. This book is set in today’s age and time.
The protagonist is a writer who has an ideal life, a great wife, a great career, money, and fame. Yet, somewhere down the line his idyllic world shatters, when one day he awakens to find his wife has disappeared and he has been charged with her disappearance and probable murder. There is no suicide note, no evidence of a kidnapping or any kind of foul play and our writer is finally set free…..afterall he is a influential man too. After the scandal that follows, subsides; he is faced with a more grave and haunting question. Where did his wife vanish?
This is what Zahir is all about. A man’s quest for his wife that leads him on untravelled, unseen paths and the truths he discovers along the way; about himself, about their marriage and about life. Its basic philosophy is that a marriage needn’t just be about 2 people living together after the initial euphoria has ceased. It’s about wanting, demanding and extracting more from life than just cruising along like a ship on a windless day. It’s about living life to its fullest, asking oneself some tough questions and not stopping until you have explored and exploited your potential, and continuing to do so.
It’s a great novel, one that makes you think and makes you uncomfortable. Therein, I think, lies its greatness. The meaning of Zahir is, one that cannot be forgotten. Apt. This is one book that cannot be forgotten in a hurry.