Deen has everything going for him: looks, education, personality. Unfortunately he also has an alter ego with some less than respectable “habits” and the sleazy company to match. Like a Diamond in the Sky explores
Deen’s struggle to emerge from his private hell with the support of a goddess in a chiffon kameez who is as feisty and adventurous as she is sweet.
Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll are classic themes but in Shazia Omar’s first book we see these transported to the emerging megacity of modern Dhaka. The subtle rot that pervades all classes of society finds its playground in the gritty underworld, an aspect of the city which has rarely been exposed in a novel and certainly never with the crackling pace and energy that marks this remarkable debut. An anthropological page-turner of the highest class, full of sharply drawn, unforgettable characters. In this complex, and sometimes savage setting, Deen battles to master the two sides of his nature.
“Shazia Omar's energetic debut novel heralds a new voice in Bangladeshi fiction. Located in the urban chaos of Dhaka city, Like a Diamond in the Sky shines a light on the crime, drug addiction, love, and loneliness at the heart of the modern metropolis.”
- Tahmima Anam, author of A Golden Age
"A fierce meditation on suffering. Shazia Omar's debut novel captures, with a great deal of energy, the hope and hopelessness of contemporary Dhaka--and of the human condition."
– Samrat Upadhyay, author of Arresting God in Kathmandu
“Like a Diamond takes its place among other edgy, urban South Asian narratives – such as Mohsin Hamid’s Moth Smoke, and Mohammed Hanif’s A Case of Exploding Mangos – addressing the urgent and poignant questions challenging the youth of this region. As much a love story as a crime story; a spiritual journey as well as a descent into the darkest hell of heroin addiction.
- Preeti Gill, Zubaan India
