In the Light of What We Know - Hardcover

"Beautifully written and renewed evidence that some of the most interesting writing in English is coming from the edges of old empires." --"Kirkus "(starred review)

"This formidable and compelling novel offers the reader pleasures not often found in the same venue. Its boldness in engaging elements of our contemporary crisis is bracing. In presenting his cast of characters, Rahman supplies close readings of class, mores, and manners that are extraordinary. And throughout, he sustains an almost subliminal resonance with the conventions, strengths, and tone of certain classic social novels in the English canon--Conrad's in particular. This is a debut to celebrate." --Norman Rush, author of "Mating" and "Subtle Bodies"

"Here it is, the vast and brilliant debut novel of our time for which readers have been waiting. Set against the backdrop of economic crises and the war in Afghanistan, Zia Haider Rahman's novel about a troubled friendship between two men--one born in the United States to well-placed parents from Pakistan, and the other born in Bangladesh--is deeply penetrating and profoundly intimate, as if made by a muralist whose heart belongs to the details. "In the Light of What We Know" is a novel of startling vision, written in a prose that's as strong and bold as it is impeccable. Who's the true heir to such greats as George Orwell and V.S. Naipaul? It's Zia Haider Rahman." --Richard McCann, author of "Mother of Sorrows"

"Brilliant and heartbreaking, "In the Light of What We Know" is the first truly great book of the new century." --Ceridwen Dovey, author of "Blood Kin "

Praise for "In the Light of What We Know"

"[A] strange and brilliant novel . . . I was surprised it didn't explode in my hands." --Amitava Kumar, "The New York Times Book Review "

"Beautifully written and renewed evidence that some of the most interesting writing in English is coming from the edges of old empires." --"Kirkus "(starred review)

"This formidable and compelling novel offers the reader pleasures not often found in the same venue. Its boldness in engaging elements of our contemporary crisis is bracing. In presenting his cast of characters, Rahman supplies close readings of class, mores, and manners that are extraordinary. And throughout, he sustains an almost subliminal resonance with the conventions, strengths, and tone of certain classic social novels in the English canon--Conrad's in particular. This is a debut to celebrate." --Norman Rush, author of "Mating" and "Subtle Bodies"

"Here it is, the vast and brilliant debut novel of our time for which readers have been waiting. Set against the backdrop of economic crises and the war in Afghanistan, Zia Haider Rahman's novel about a troubled friendship between two men--one born in the United States to well-placed parents from Pakistan, and the other born in Bangladesh--is deeply penetrating and profoundly intimate, as if made by a muralist whose heart belongs to the details. "In the Light of What We Know" is a novel of startling vision, written in a prose that's as strong and bold as it is impeccable. Who's the true heir to such greats as George Orwell and V.S. Naipaul? It's Zia Haider Rahman." --Richard McCann, author of "Mother of Sorrows"

"Brilliant and heartbreaking, "In the Light of What We Know" is the first truly great book of the new century." --Ceridwen Dovey, author of "Blood Kin "

"Astonishingly achieved . . . "In the Light of What We Know" is what Salman Rushdie once called an 'everything novel.' It is wide-armed, hospitable, disputatious, worldly, cerebral. Ideas and provocations abound on every page."--James Wood, "The New Yorker"
"[A] strange and brilliant novel . . . I'm surprised it didn't explode in my hands."--Amitava Kumar, "The New York Times Book Review
""An ambitious novel by any measure . . . "In the Light of What We Know" is a novel of ideas, a compendium of epiphanies, paradoxes, and riddles. . . . [A] unique work of fiction bearing witness to much that is unspeakable in human relationships as in international relations, while it is also unknowable."--Joyce Carol Oates, "The New York Review of Books"
""In the Light of What We Know" is an extraordinary meditation on the limits and uses of human knowledge, a heartbreaking love story, and a gripping account of one man's psychological disintegration."--The Guardian (London)

Astonishingly achieved . . . "In the Light of What We Know" is what Salman Rushdie once called an everything novel.' It is wide-armed, hospitable, disputatious, worldly, cerebral. Ideas and provocations abound on every page. "James Wood, The New Yorker"

[A] strange and brilliant novel . . . I'm surprised it didn't explode in my hands. "Amitava Kumar, The New York Times Book Review"

An ambitious novel by any measure . . . "In the Light of What We Know" is a novel of ideas, a compendium of epiphanies, paradoxes, and riddles. . . . [A] unique work of fiction bearing witness to much that is unspeakable in human relationships as in international relations, while it is also unknowable. "Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Review of Books"

"In the Light of What We Know" is an extraordinary meditation on the limits and uses of human knowledge, a heartbreaking love story, and a gripping account of one man's psychological disintegration. "The Guardian (London)""

"Astonishingly achieved . . . In the Light of What We Know is what Salman Rushdie once called an 'everything novel.' It is wide-armed, hospitable, disputatious, worldly, cerebral. Ideas and provocations abound on every page." --James Wood, The New Yorker

"[A] strange and brilliant novel . . . I'm surprised it didn't explode in my hands." --Amitava Kumar, The New York Times Book Review

"An ambitious novel by any measure . . . In the Light of What We Know is a novel of ideas, a compendium of epiphanies, paradoxes, and riddles. . . . [A] unique work of fiction bearing witness to much that is unspeakable in human relationships as in international relations, while it is also unknowable." --Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Review of Books

"In the Light of What We Know is an extraordinary meditation on the limits and uses of human knowledge, a heartbreaking love story, and a gripping account of one man's psychological disintegration." --The Guardian (London)

WINNER: JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE 2015
SHORTLISTED: GOLDSMITHS PRIZE and SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS 2014
LONGLISTED: GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARD and ORWELL PRIZE FOR FICTION 2014