by Bapsi Sidhwa
More Fiction from Milkweed Editions
To order books or for more information,
contact Milkweed at (800) 520-6455
or visit our Web site (www.milkweed.org).
Katya
Sandra Birdsell
My Lord Bag of Rice:
New and Selected Stories
Carol Bly
The Tree of Red Stars
Tessa Bridal
The Clay That Breathes
Catherine Browder
A Keeper of Sheep
William Carpenter
Seasons of Sun and Rain
Marjorie Dorner
Winter Roads, Summer Fields
Marjorie Dorner
Blue Taxis
Eileen Drew
Crossing Bully Creek
Margaret Erhart
Trip Sheets
Ellen Hawley
All American Dream Dolls
David Haynes
Live at Five
David Haynes
Somebody Else’s Mama
David Haynes
The Children Bob Moses Led
William Heath
Pu-239 and Other Russian Fantasies
Ken Kalfus
Thirst
Ken Kalfus
Ordinary Wolves
Seth Kantner
Distant Music
Lee Langley
Persistent Rumours
Lee Langley
Hunting Down Home
Jean McNeil
Swimming in the Congo
Margaret Meyers
Tokens of Grace
Sheila O’Connor
Roofwalker
Susan Power
Hell’s Bottom, Colorado
Laura Pritchett
Sky Bridge
Laura Pritchett
Tivolem
Victor Rangel-Ribeiro
The Boy Without a Flag
Abraham Rodriguez Jr.
Confidence of the Heart
David Schweidel
An American Brat
Bapsi Sidhwa
Cracking India
Bapsi Sidhwa
The Crow Eaters
Bapsi Sidhwa
The Country I Come From
Maura Stanton
Traveling Light
Jim Stowell
Aquaboogie
Susan Straight
The Empress of One
Faith Sullivan
What a Woman Must Do
Faith Sullivan
Falling Dark
Tim Tharp
The Promised Land
Ruhama Veltfort
Justice
Larry Watson
Montana 1948
Larry Watson
Milkweed Editions
Founded in 1979, Milkweed Editions is one of the largest independent, nonprofit literary publishers in the United States. Milkweed publishes with the intention of making a humane impact on society, in the belief that good writing can transform the human heart and spirit. Within this mission, Milkweed publishes in four areas: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s literature for middle-grade readers.
Join Us
Milkweed depends on the generosity of foundations and individuals like you, in addition to the sales of its books. In an increasingly consolidated and bottom-line-driven publishing world, your support allows us to select and publish books on the basis of their literary quality and the depth of their message. Please visit our Web site (www.milkweed.org) or contact us at (800) 520-6455 to learn more about our donor program.
Interior design by Wendy Holdman
Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro
by Stanton Publication Services
Printed on acid-free Rolland Enviro recycled
(100% postconsumer waste) paper
by Friesens Corporation
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
© 1983, Text by Bapsi Sidhwa
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415. (800) 520-6455 www.milkweed.org
Milkweed Editions, a nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from Emilie and Henry Buchwald; the Bush Foundation; the Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation; CarVal Investors; the Timothy and Tara Clark Family Charitable Fund; the Dougherty Family Foundation; the Ecolab Foundation; the General Mills Foundation; the Claire Giannini Fund; John and Joanne Gordon; William and Jeanne Grandy; the Jerome Foundation; Dorothy Kaplan Light and Ernest Light; Constance B. Kunin; Marshall BankFirst Corp.; Sanders and Tasha Marvin; the May Department Stores Company Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and private funders; an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art; the Navarre Corporation; Debbie Reynolds; the St. Paul Travelers Foundation; Ellen and Sheldon Sturgis; the Target Foundation; the Gertrude Sexton Thompson Charitable Trust (George R. A. Johnson, Trustee); the James R. Thorpe Foundation; the Toro Foundation; Moira and John Turner; United Parcel Service; Joanne and Phil Von Blon; Kathleen and Bill Wanner; Serene and Christopher Warren; the W. M. Foundation; and the Xcel Energy Foundation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data
Sidhwa, Bapsi.
[Bride]
The Pakistani bride / Bapsi Sidhwa.—
1st American ed.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-571-31904-3
(pbk. : acid-free paper)
1. Orphans—Fiction. 2. Women—Pakistan—Fiction. 3. Culture conflict—Fiction. 4. Himalaya Mountains Region—Social life and customs—Fiction. 5. Pakistan—Social life and customs—Fiction. I. Title.
PR9540.9.S53B7 2008
823’.914—dc22
2007032041 CIP
This book is printed on acid-free, recycled (100% postconsumer waste) paper.