Momina's Space

I read this novel a while back but didn't get a chance to post its review here, so here it goes:  The novel is a story of a young man, Dorian Gray, who gets his portrait made by a renowned artist, Basil Hallward, and the portrait in question eventually becomes the reason for his ruin. In the beginning, the character of Dorian Gray is introduced to us as a youth possessing astonishing charm and beauty. It's his beauty that first mesmerises Mr. Hallward who then tries to replicate his likeness onto the canvas. The painter falls in love with his own handiwork and also with the person who inspired it in the first place. He begins treating Gray as an artwork himself and develops a strange tendency to protect him from the prying eyes of the world lest he be "spoilt" by the exposure. Speaking of spoil and exposure, another important character, Lord Henry, Hallward's friend, is introduced here, who upon realising Gray's importance in Hallward's eyes grows...

For those of you who don't know Urdu, this book claims to have the 13 best Short stories by Prem Chand, the famous Hindu Urdu writer of the Subcontinent. Following is the list of stories included in the book: 1. Kaffan 2. Sila e Matam 3. Baray Ghar ki Beti 4. Haj e Akbar 5. Nayi Biwi 6. Zaad e Rah 7. Do Bel 8. Eid Gah 9. Burhi Kaki 10. Sawa Seer Gehun 11. Insaan ki Qeemat 12. Chori 13. Pos ki Rat Prem Chand is one of those writers who exhibit the quality of writing both complox and obscure topics as well as about simple things in life simultaneously. And because of this reason, his writing is quite unpredictable. Most of his stories included in this collection have simple themes related to daily household issues faced by people which makes reading this book very interesting. He often makes the usual skirmishes between family members, whether they be husband or wife or brothers or sisters, the subject of his tales. Reading it makes you realize how good of an ob...