'I could not turn back time, I could not give life. All I wanted was to learn what had happened to the Malik sisters.'

The Maliks live a life of relative freedom in 1970s Karachi: Four beautiful sisters, Maria, Ayesha, Leila and Beena, are warily watched over by an unconventional mother. Captain Malik is usually away and so the women forge the rules of their own universe, taking in a few men: Amir, the professor who falls in love with Maria, and Jamal or Jimmy, the neighbour who tells this tale. The curious young man is drawn in by all four sisters and particularly by rebellious Ayesha. But slowly, it becomes clear he will never completely penetrate their circle-just as they will never completely move with the tide that swirls so potently around them.

In the quietly seething world of This Wide Night, Virgin Suicides meets Little Women in Pakistan. Moving from Karachi to London and finally to the rain-drenched island of Manora, here is a compelling new novel from the subcontinent-and a powerful debut to watch.