I thought that this book would come closest to my heart as it focuses so avidly on the link between food and love, my two major preoccupations! The tale is told in two strands - one about an upper class Indian family torn part by the partition of India & Pakistan in 1947; the other a modern-day view of one of these genealogical branches. Author Kamila Shamsie even takes the trouble of drawing a family tree lest the reader loses track of the plot. And herein lies the problem of the book - a thin plot with too many dead-end branches being needlessly explored.

Shamsie uses the "not quite twins" theme to link the characters of the past to those of today. A ruse used in all families to help explain how a child born four generations later can resemble an ancestor so closely. Of course, science can readily explain this with its theory of dominant and recessive genes. Interestingly, Shamsie focuses more on the personality traits rather than the physical similarities between her linked characters.

The book examines the Dard-e-Dil family microscopically. Why does Aunt Miriam elope with the cook? Is it because his gastronomic skills win over her heart? Is it because she can't face the thought of losing such a wonderful cook? Or is she just rebelling against an arranged marriage to a partner from the same class. And herein is the crux of this book - Class. Upper class masters, lower class servants. The Indian caste system versus the Pakistan class system. American-educated Aliya, fifth generation Dard-e-Dil is the daughter of Naser & Ayesha who is returning home to Pakistani when she meets Khaleel Butt on the plane. Khaleel 'Cal' also American-educated is from the "wrong side of the tracks", hailing from Liquatabad in Karachi. Aliya's cousin Samia sums up the position neatly "the poor live in Liaquatabad. The Poor, the lower classes, the not-us. How else do you want me to put this? There's no one we know who would have exchanged Karachi phone number with him, Aloo". The classes clash once again and Aliya is left wondering if she is "not quite twins" with her aunt Miriam, destined to elope with a lower class partner.

In this novel, Shamsie describes an upper-middle class existence in Pakistan. A sheltered, indulged life that is perhaps not shared by many of the readers. On her return to Karachi, Aliya unravels the mystery of Aunt Miriam and the reader is left wondering if its resolution will help Aliya win her man.

Although I enjoyed Shamsie's style of writing; she has a good ear for the modern-day Urdu-English vernacular and the pages devoted to details of food are mouth-watering; I found the whole story static and a little fairy-tale like . Shamsie's food, though, deserves a special mention: from succulent kebabs to delicately spiced lamb and the aromatic biryanis - such gastronomic attention to details brought a tear to my eye and a rumble in my stomach.

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