**FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING PHILOMENA**, MADE INTO
THE AWARD-WINNING FILM STARRING STEVE COOGAN AND JUDI DENCH****
Ayesha's Gift is the true story of a young woman, born in
Pakistan, living in Britain, whose life is thrown into desperate turmoil
by the violent death of her father. The Pakistani authorities talk of
suicide, but why would Ayesha's happy, gentle father kill himself?
Ayesha's quest to find the truth takes her away from her safe English
existence and into Pakistan, where she is met with threats, violence and
smiling perjurers. She is warned that her life is in danger; powerful,
ruthless men have reasons to want her silenced. But there are things she
needs to know, that compel her to press on with her search for the
truth.
Was her father an innocent victim? Can she continue to revere the image
of him she grew up with, that of a good, loving parent? Or will she be
forced to accept that her father was not the person she thought he was?
As the two countries she had considered home reveal themselves as
foreign and inimical, Ayesha is forced to confront the tormented issues
of identity and belonging. When she travels to Pakistan, Martin Sixsmith
goes with her. A shared tragedy and an unlikely friendship lead them
both to question the things that give meaning to their lives, and
ultimately find solace in the common human values of kindness and
respect.
'Written at thriller pace.' Telegraph
'Wonderful ... What I find so striking about ** Ayesha's Gift
** is that it's a book in which the writer is changed by the writing
of the book.' Andrew Marr
