This was a lovely, lyrical read. A very poetic writing style I found sometimes it was a little hard to follow but overall a lovely book and a story that will remain with me.

I found it difficult to read on the app, hence a limited review.
This is an important book addressing a series of interventions occurring in India affecting everyday lives of Muslims and other minority groups in India.
Alif teaches history to young students in a times when history is being revised and past is being erased. Further a global contraction of arts and humanities education and a push towards STEM also makes his career challenging.
An important book for our times.

Anjum Hasan's book "History's Angel" takes readers on a poignant journey through the worries and daily struggles of Alif, a gentle Muslim schoolteacher and his family. Set in Delhi in 2019, the book explores the profound impact of India's rising tensions and uncertainties on individuals and communities. The book highlights the disturbing times that Muslims in India are living through, shedding light on the complexities and anxieties of being a minority in a country grappling with its own identity crisis.

Alif is anxious and fearful about the current situation in India, where the government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) that granted citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries. The CAA sparked widespread demonstrations and violence across the country, especially among the Muslim community, which felt threatened and discriminated by the law.

Amidst the chaos, Alif turns to history to make sense of the increasingly perilous present. He finds comfort in the stories of medieval heroes and draws parallels between their struggles and the challenges faced by his community. History becomes a tool for Alif to understand his identity and his role as a member of a marginalised community in a society that has shifted towards majoritarian and sectarian ideologies.

Anjum Hasan is not afraid to voice her thoughts about the problems and challenges that India faces in the 21st century. The book can be seen as a critique of the country's turbulent political and social climate, as well as a warning about the dangers that divisive ideologies pose to the democratic and secular values enshrined in In India’s constitution. All these elements combine to make History's Angel a compelling and meaningful read.

"History's Angel" is also a testament to the power of compassion and empathy. Through her characters, Hasan invites readers to step into the shoes of those who are often overlooked or misunderstood. By shedding light on the struggles of marginalized communities, she encourages society to embrace diversity and foster a sense of inclusivity. Hasan's insightful and compassionate approach invites readers to question their own biases and prejudices, fostering a greater understanding of the challenges faced by minority groups in India and around the world.

This book is a perfect example of literary fiction where every word is important and it's placing within the sentence matters. You need to read this book like poetry. I wasn't surprised to find out when I finished the book that the author is more famous as a poet than as a writer of prose. The precise and careful language convey a strong sense of place and time and I found the images in my mind to be vivid. This is a lovely book.

The story of Alif, a primary school history teacher, and his family and friends. A microcosm of the struggle of middle-class Muslim Indians living in Delhi and trying to survive the day to day travails of life in contemporary India, exacerbated by the religious tension (and sometimes overt racism) with the Hindus. None of the protagonists are particularly special, and nothing that happens to them is particularly tragic. The tragedy, and it is a tragedy, is in the accumulation of minor grievances and occurrences that saddens and shocks.

Our protagonist, Alif, is a deeply complex character, and, perhaps, among the more complex I've seen in a while. In some ways, he has been taught by life to subdue himself and hide behind historical allusions, which make up his daily life. He's a loving father, a devoted husband, a committed son, and a good friend. All this notwithstanding, he is also troubled, demotivated, and afraid, incapable of displaying his emotions, fears, concerns, and, most of all, angers ("how to put across ... that the trouble is many-sided, that it involves relationships, work, faith, money, civilisational decay"). I am not sure how conscious this choice by the author was, but there is something allegorical in his personality - creating a microcosm of the fate, behaviour, and mindset of the Muslims in India more broadly.

The writing is fantastic. The story is interspersed with historical references, doing an incredible job in conveying the complexity of India's past. It takes a while to get used to them, but very quickly I learned to appreciate them, not just due to the novelty and interest, but, even more so, due to the role they play in proving, time and again, how the history of India is the history of its peoples, Hindu and Muslim alike. As the protagonist says at one point, there is no such thing as the history of Muslims in India, there is only the history of India.

I was incredibly impressed by the writing. It is perhaps among the more rich and layered usages of language in literature I experienced in many years. The choice of words, the sentence structure, and the overall language construct are incredible.

I also liked the nuanced representation of the Muslim-Hindu issue. The author does not shy away from describing the animosity that exists on both sides, and does not ignore the over-religiousity of some Muslims, which creates room for violence and retribution. A bold and courageous balancing act.

Recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary India, in Indian history, and the nuances of Muslim-Hindu relations in India. It's not an easy read, but it grabs hold of you, doesn't let go, and stays with you when you are done.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.