
Mehreen Arshi is a Pakistani-born, Australia-raised writer, researcher, and reader based in Canberra. After fifteen years in scientific research and writing, she turned to fiction to explore family, identity, belonging, cultural expectation, and the private desires that shape a life.

She is the author of *I carry your heart*, a family romance set between Pakistan, Australia, and London. Her second novel, currently in progress, follows the long shadow of the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan.


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Pakistani-born, Australia-raised writer based in Canberra.

Mehreen Arshi


My latest book pick was Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. After previously reading his novel All the Light We Cannot See, I was excited to begin my journey into Cloud Cuckoo Land.

The story unfolds across three different time periods. It begins with Konstance, a fourteen-year-old girl attempting to decipher an ancient script. Earth is no longer habitable, and she finds herself aboard an interstellar ship with a select group of individuals from different generations. They are hurtling through space, headed toward Beta Oph2, a newly discovered planet.

In the mid-1400s, Omeir is born with a cleft lip and is considered an ill-fated soul, forcing his family to relocate and live in seclusion. Anna, an orphan, struggles with everyday tasks but possesses an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a deep commitment to preserving an ancient text. Her destiny intertwines with Omeir’s as Constantinople comes under siege.

In present-day Idaho, Zeno Ninis, a Korean War veteran, directs a play based on an ancient story with a small group of fifth graders at the public library. Simultaneously, seventeen-year-old Seymour, an autistic boy, plans an attack on the neighbouring property, an act that could endanger everyone inside the library. These three timelines are interconnected through an ancient book detailing the journey of Aethon, a man who transforms into a donkey, then a fish, then a crow, before ultimately regaining his human form. His quest for Cloud Cuckoo Land is woven into the fabric of each timeline.

Doerr adeptly manages the passage of time by offering subtle reminders to the reader, such as “Twelve-year-old Omeir is sitting…”. This technique seamlessly propels the story forward, preventing confusion while emphasizing character growth and narrative development. It helps readers navigate the three distinct timelines and track each character’s movement within them. My only critique is that the pacing occasionally slows due to Doerr’s expansive storytelling, resulting in a lengthy read.

That said, Doerr’s portrayal of a child on the autism spectrum is both realistic and compelling. Cloud Cuckoo Land progresses across its three timelines as various characters encounter the ancient text, maintaining cohesion throughout. As each character journeys through time, the message gradually becomes clear. The story symbolically encourages taking chances in life while preserving what we already possess, a message that ultimately ties the timelines together and resonates deeply with each character.

This book delivers a powerful reminder: rather than escaping the harsh realities of life, we should embrace what we have. While we may seek paradise in the clouds above, the world we inhabit is the paradise we need to cherish.


Cloud Cuckoo Land

Cloud Cuckoo Land is a novel that connects characters across centuries through their love of a story and a yearning for a hopeful future.

Cloud Cuckoo Land - A review


A controversial author of his time, well known for shaking sections of the Muslim population to their deeply embedded religious roots with The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie also penned Midnight’s Children, a tale so intricately woven that not a single stitch feels misplaced in the fabric of its narrative. One can disagree with a person’s ideology and opinions without losing respect for their craft. It was this very thought that prompted me to read Midnight’s Children.

It is an epic tale that encapsulates the events before and after the Partition of the Indian subcontinent into Pakistan and India, a division that sliced the land along ideological and religious lines. The protagonist, Saleem Sinai, is born at midnight on August 15, 1947, at the exact moment of his nation’s birth. Saleem believes that his fate, along with that of the other children born in that midnight hour, is inseparably tied to the destiny of the nation; they are destined for greatness. It is a story of how Saleem and Mother India grow together, how their lives progress despite being repeatedly shaken, and how they struggle against what appears to be a predetermined fate.

Rushdie paints an emotionally and thematically vivid picture, showcasing his command over all five senses, expertly woven into the prose. The flying spittle juice, the humming of Mian Abdullah, the leitmotif “whatsitsname” of Reverend Mother, the stains of blood and mercurochrome, all drop the reader directly into the setting and immediately familiarise them with the characters. When we read of crawling mountains, blue skies, and frozen lakes, we know we are in Kashmir. Rushdie proves himself adept at assigning distinct physical attributes to nearly every character. These peculiar traits not only cement the characters in the reader’s mind but also sketch their personalities. The mere mention of a “centre parting of hair” signals Methwold; “powerful knees” invariably refer to Shiva; the “rhymeless and wordless poet” is Nadir, the impotent lover. There seem to be as many characters as pages, yet the consistent references to physical characteristics keep the narrative cohesive, sparing the reader from flipping back and forth. The imagery is so sharply etched that one keeps pace without confusion.

This book is a fine example of magical realism. The tone is established early on, the ancient boatman Tai, said to be hundreds of years old; the blind man who is an avid admirer of art. These implausibilities are introduced so naturally that we never question Saleem’s telepathic link with the other midnight’s children, his extraordinary nose that can detect not only smells but fears and emotions, or even the detail that, as a baby, he never blinks.

This novel stands as a reminder that we do not read merely to follow a story. We read for the passion of language, for expression, for the privilege of witnessing an author’s creative liberty. It is an art to take familiar words and arrange them in such a fresh order that they continue to sing long after the final page is turned.


Midnight's Children

An intricately woven tale of India's partition, rich in magical realism and metaphors, that examines historical events through the life of its protagonist, Saleem Sinai, while also reflecting the author's evident biases.

Historical Fiction.

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Midnight's children