The Dard-e-Dils are known for their clavicles and love of stories. The
family is cursed by its not-quite twins, and Aliya, prey to her family's
legends, begins to believe that she is another 'not-quite twin',
cosmically connected with her aunt Mariam in a way that hardly bodes
well.
Kamila Shamsie was born in 1973 in Pakistan. She is the author of five
novels: In the City by the Sea, Kartography (both shortlisted for
the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Salt and Saffron, Broken Verses, and
Burnt Shadows (shortlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize). In 1999 she
received the Prime Minister's Award for Literature and in 2004 the
Patras Bokhari Award--both awarded by the Pakistan Academy of Letters.
Kamila Shamsie lives in London.