From Amazon: Before the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Ustad Ramzi was a famed wrestler, renowned for his enormous strength and unmatched technique. But Ramzi’s physical prowess is on the wane in later years, while his reckless younger brother Tamami is hungry for glory and eager to take on his brother’s mantle. In another part of the city is the courtesan Gohar Jan, who was once celebrated for her beauty and the seductive power of her singing. Gohar Jan’s world is changing, too, and the rarified fire of the courtesans is in danger of being extinguished by an increasingly intolerant state. As their world crumbles around them, Ustad Ramzi and Gohar Jan stand resolute against the catastrophe of change, with willpower their only protection. But to what lengths will they go to protect their traditions? Shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s artfully wrought novel Between Clay and Dust is an arresting account of love, honor, strength, betrayal, and the ways in which we wrestle with history.