Salt and saffron

The Dard-e-Dils are characterised by their prominent clavicles and love of stories. Aliya may not have inherited her family's patrician looks but she is prey to the legends of her family that stretech back to the days of Timur Lang. Aristocratic and eccentric, the clan has plenty of stories to tell and secrets to hide. But there is a sting to most tales for the Dard-e-Dils consider themselves cursed by their 'not-quite' twins. Amidst her growing attraction to a boy from the wrong side of the tracks Aliya begins to beleive that she is another 'not-quite' twin, linked to her scandalous aunt Mariam in a way that hardly bodes well. Through its overlapping stories from the time of the Mughal rule in India to contemporary Pakistan via Patrition, Salt and Saffron hints at larger tales of divisions- of both nation and class. This novel is about the shapes stories can take- turning into myths, appearing in history books and entering into our lives.