Haalim Novel Review / Novel by Nemrah Ahmed

 

Haalim is an urdu novel written by Nemrah Ahmed, a well known urdu novelist in the South Asian region. Nemrah has written a number of books of which the most popular ones are — Jannat Kay Pattay, Namal, Haalim, Main Anmol, Mushaf etc. 

Talking about Haalim, it has left a 50-50 impression on it's readers. Many consider it a masterpiece that is not only fun to read but also leaves an impression on the reader. On the other hand many also consider it an unnecessarily long novel that bores you. 

About the story, it is quite difficult to summarise it in a few sentences, so here's my two cents on the book —

If I had to describe Haalim in a sentence or two, I would say — "A rollercoaster of emotions and a Biryani of genres." 

Now, if you know me well—you would know how much I love Biryani. 

Talking about Biryani of genres, Haalim has covered it all. From fantasy to thriller, a murder mystery but also a political story, oh but it also has romance and some moments of slice of life (my personal favourite)— in short, this book has everything in store for you. You name the genre, and Nemrah has already written it in Haalim. 

From Taliyah's brilliantly played con games to Fateh's political moves and Adam's messed up life that most of us relate to, Haalim has made its way to my list of favourite stories. 

Let's dig deep in the lives of these characters —

1) Wan Fateh Bin Ramzil — Forty Eight years old Wan Fateh is a Malaysian politician and a lawyer. He has had a dream since ages, to solve the crises of his people and become the prime minister of Malaysia. His wife Asra Mahmud is a loving soul and the mother of his three children. Their eldest daughter went missing when she was seven. 

2) Taliya Binte Murad — Twenty eight years old Taliya is a con artist. When ahe was eleven, she was found outside an orphanage in Kuala Lumpur with no memories of her eleven years of life. There she was adopted by a Pakistani family who then took her to Lahore, treated her like a maid and at twenty one she was married off to a Malaysian man. But, at the airport she came to know that the man used her as a source of money laundering. Disheartened and keen to live life somehow, she at first started to pick pockets and then went out to become one of the richest con artists' in the city. 

3) Adam Bin Muhammad — A Malaysian man in his early twenties, who has lost his job in the army and is now jobless. Adam somehow finds a job for eleven days, as a bodyman of a politician. While doing the job, he bumps into Taliyah who piques his interest in a strange way. Determined to uncover her story infront of the whole world, Adam gets strangled in a web of never ending adventures that develops his self from a guy who has low self-esteem to a man who's willing to do anything. 

Other important characters of the book are; Asra Mahmud —a lawyer and Fateh's wife. Ashar Mahmud— an architect and Asra's brother and Datin— Taliyah's friend. Murad Raja, Sultan Mursal Shah, Queen Yan Su Fu and Wang Lee are also some characters that play a major role in the story. 

While this is a good read, there are a few things that annoyed me. But other than that, it's worth giving a try! 

— Author