Night of the Golden Butterfly
Tariq AliPub date 1st May 2010
Original publisher Verso (UK/US)
International publishers Buybook (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Editora Record (Brazil), Al Kotob Khan (Egypt), Sabine Wespieser (France), Random House (Germany), Editions Agra (Greece), Lambook (Poland), Laguna (Serbia), Alianza (Spain)
Completing Tariq Ali’s much-lauded Islam Quintet, Night of the Golden Butterfly tells of a quest to write the life of an enigmatic Pakistani painter nicknamed Plato – the irascible Mohammed Aflatun. In the course of his research, Plato’s old friend Dara travels from Lahore to London, from Paris to Beijing, unearthing stories both salacious and startling from the recesses of living memory and the forgotten pages of history. To comprehend one man, Dara must struggle to understand the land where they were both born.
‘Ali spins metaphors, re-establishes certain truths, shines a light on issues shrouded in ignorance. He enthralls, entertains, instructs. This is high art.’ – Le Figaro
