Some books are worth reading not just because of their storyline but also because of their characterisation and the feelings and thoughts of the characters, the psychology behind their actions, the light shed on various aspects of society and the up close and personal presentation of the realities of the society we live in.

One such book is Amidst the Dead by Faheem Sikandar. Sikandar has a Master’s in English Literature and Linguistics from Peshawar University; after a brief stint at teaching at Peshawar University, he joined the Civil Services of Pakistan. Amidst the Dead is his debut novel. The author calls it a work of literary fiction, though to some it may appear to be crime thriller due to the high content of crime investigation in the story.

The main protagonist, Ahsan, is a superintendent of police in Peshawar in 2020s. Like the author himself, he is passionate about literature and after completing his Master’s had begun teaching at Peshawar University, though he left it and joined the Civil Service to meet the expectations of his family. True to his ideals and principles, which is not a common and preferred commodity among civil servants in Pakistan, he is not in the good books of some of his seniors in the police force. He is posted as SP (Special Investigations), though, as the author clarifies in the introduction, it is not an actual designation in the police force and “is just for the sake of the story.”

He is disconsolate and depressed as “despite all his achievements, he couldn’t accomplish what he ardently wished for. The mundane part of his life had overwhelmed him so thoroughly that he had to forego the emotional part of his being. He was living a lifeless existence.” While his job doesn’t give him much satisfaction, he has also lost the love of his life, Ada. In this state of mind, he falls for another woman, Serena, with whom he has a tumultuous relationship, which he himself is not ready to accept as love but calls it infatuation yet is not ready to give up and is so obsessed with her that he not only visits her house but even goes to the mental facility to look for her. The mental turmoil that he experiences in his relationship with Serena is depicted in the book in terms of Jungian and Freudian psychology.

His life takes a turn when he reconnects with Ada but soon learns that the prime suspect in the kidnapping case on which he is working is the beloved cousin brother of Ada who she holds in great esteem. He is torn between his love and his ideals. He is not ready to give his pursuit of his suspect and Ada is not ready to hear anything against her so-called brother and defends him, though she herself is deeply in love with Ahsan and afraid of losing him again.

Belonging to an established family with values and knowing that values and traditions were supposed to be preserved and continued, he could not think of disappointing his parents. He does not share much of his personal problems with his parents, rather tries to hide them. He is highly emotional and sentimental and his younger brother who is his confidant and more practical has to often step in to steady him.

Ahsan is on special assignment of bursting a criminal gang, and is not ready to make any compromises. When Ahsan insists on taking action against his prime suspect who is a big businessman, the IG tells him, “‘There is a term ‘Career officers’. I hope you have an idea about that. They are those officers for whom the path of their career is very clear. They get their promotions on time as they get inducted in service on the right time. Such fine officers never do these type of reckless activities which you are doing at the moment.’” This shows the functioning of our police force.

The IG warns him, “I am giving you a chance. Prove yourself now. … If you are proven wrong, I will throw you out of this province with a bad report. You will never get a field posting for the rest of your career.”

Whether he will finally succeed and is united with his love, will he be able to nab his prime suspect and bust the kidnappers gang and elevate himself in the eyes of his superiors, are questions that linger in the readers’ mind for a while though much before the end things become somewhat predictable.

During the narration of the story, Sikander makes many literary references throughout the book bringing to light his and Ahsan’s passion for literature. Ahsan is often found to be thinking of literary character; for instance, when he is unable to decide whether to go and meet Ada when he is finally reconnected with her after many years or to go after his prime suspect, “He thought of Hamlet’s indecision and remembered how he used to criticise Hamlet vehemently for his inability to decide; … he felt himself indecisive like Hamlet though he had no luxury to procrastinate.”

Similarly, when a bullet grazes his lung and he falls to the ground, he thinks of Ada and then imagines meeting John Keats whose poetry he admires, and finds himself in the same situation. This chapter shows his love for literature as in his misery when he thinks he is again about to lose Ada he relates with Keats who is mourning the loss of his beloved. To a casual reader the chapter may seem irrelevant but to someone interested in literature it holds deep meaning as it portrays his feelings in literary terms.

Though the story is primarily based in Peshawar, it moves between Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Taxila, Peshawar, and London. The book moves from the past to present alternately, or should we say half the story is in flashbacks, and the reader moves along sharing Ahsan’s love life, his career, his mental turmoil, and his experiences and feelings.

The book presents an insight into the police setup and its working; how they often turn a blind eye and even ask their subordinates to forego things if an influential person—be it a politician or a businessman—is involved. He, too, is advised to do the same but he is too strict to his ideals. At the same time, we get a glimpse of how influential people support each other and make use of their contacts to gain power and cover up their misdeeds.

The reader is on the receiving end of a bit of history on and off—of Peshawar, Balahisar, and Taxila—though it is not hard on the reader. Since the story is based in Peshawar (the author too is from Peshawar), he talks about terrorism which has made life uncertain and vulnerable, about traffic— “the city’s traffic was amongst the worst of South Asian metropolitans”—, power outage and load shedding but then is quick to say, “However Peshawar was not always like that” and talks about it glorious days since the fourth century BC.

The book depicts the realities of Pakistani society. A stark reality touched upon is the lowly position of teachers in the eyes of the public. When Ahsan passed the Civil Services exam, he noticed a change in the attitude of people around him; “People’s perspective changed, they met him a little differentially. … In a power oriented society that was a fait accompli, … He wondered what had happened to the people. He was already in a good job, earning a handsome salary but nobody cared a fig, but when he was about to enter a service that was offering a very meagre salary, people were all dotting on him.”

Explaining the biradari (kinship) system, through Ada, the author writes, “Kinship is no ordinary thing in our social set up. It’s a combining factor which strengthens a community against all odd. … Violating the norms of kinship is like a social suicide which no one can afford in our social set up.” She tells how important decisions marriages, land inheritance issues, and even voting for a particular candidate in election are decided by kinsmen having influence. …”

“As someone said, ‘All politics is power politics’ and that is the rule of thumb here. …” she says, adding, “The patronage for getting things done and seeking jobs puts wrong and incompetent people at important slots. The result is dysfunctional government machinery. It is a sheer murder of merit in the country and … and outright crime.”

A subject which is not usually talked about, rather swept under the carpet, i.e. mental illness, is given some place in the book as towards the end Serena’s condition is discussed. Though from her actions and behaviour a vigilant reader can suspect that she has some problem, her behaviour is explained as a result of her illness for which she later seeks treatment.

Since the author has taken pains to not just narrate the story but also talks about various aspects of society, he has not forgotten to mention the deplorable treatment of minorities, though it does not have any bearing on the life of the main character or the flow of the story. Jasmine, Serena’s loyal assistant, is a Christian woman and through her Sikandar comments on the treatment meted out to the minorities in the country in terms of lack of employment opportunities and upward mobility.

While the story is narrated in the third person, the main characters at some point take over the narrative and talk about themselves and their feelings and actions in the first person. This gives the reader an insight into their feelings and thoughts from their perspective.

A lot of effort has been made to portray the psychology behind the characters’ actions, especially Ahsan’s, who is interested in psychology besides literature and one finds many references to Jung and Freud.

One may wonder at the title of the book but then one should keep in mind that it is based in the disturbed city of Peshawar where besides street crimes the wave of terrorism had made life uncertain and vulnerable and bomb blasts were a routine thing, killing and maiming people for no fault of their own.

Rizwana Naqvi is a freelance journalist and tweets @naqviriz; she can be reached at naqvi59rizwana@gmail.com

All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer