The World With Its Mouth Open by Zahid Rafiq
- Sale Date
- ISBN
- 9781959030850
- Page Count
- 192
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 5½ x 8½
- Imprint
- Tin House
Meet the Author
Zahid Rafiq
A New Yorker Best Book of the Year
As heard on NPR’s Weekend Edition
Finalist for the 2025 CLMP Firecracker Award
“An utterly exquisite debut.”—Emily Fridlund, author of History of Wolves
In eleven stories, The World With Its Mouth Open follows the inner lives of people in Kashmir as they walk the uncertain terrain of their days, fractured from years of war. From a shopkeeper’s encounter with a mannequin, to an expectant mother walking on a precarious road, to a young boy wavering between dreams and reality, to two dogs wandering the city, these stories weave in larger, devastating themes of loss, grief, violence, longing, and injustice with the threads of smaller, everyday realities that confront the characters’ lives in profound ways. Although the stories circle the darker aspects of life, they are—at the same time—an attempt to run into life, into humor, into beauty, into another person who can offer refuge, if momentarily.
Zahid Rafiq’s The World With Its Mouth Open is an original and powerful debut collection announcing the arrival of a new voice that bears witness to the human condition with nuance, heart, humor, and incredible insight.
As heard on NPR’s Weekend Edition
Finalist for the 2025 CLMP Firecracker Award
“An utterly exquisite debut.”—Emily Fridlund, author of History of Wolves
In eleven stories, The World With Its Mouth Open follows the inner lives of people in Kashmir as they walk the uncertain terrain of their days, fractured from years of war. From a shopkeeper’s encounter with a mannequin, to an expectant mother walking on a precarious road, to a young boy wavering between dreams and reality, to two dogs wandering the city, these stories weave in larger, devastating themes of loss, grief, violence, longing, and injustice with the threads of smaller, everyday realities that confront the characters’ lives in profound ways. Although the stories circle the darker aspects of life, they are—at the same time—an attempt to run into life, into humor, into beauty, into another person who can offer refuge, if momentarily.
Zahid Rafiq’s The World With Its Mouth Open is an original and powerful debut collection announcing the arrival of a new voice that bears witness to the human condition with nuance, heart, humor, and incredible insight.
Praise for The World With Its Mouth Open
-
“Powerful.”
NPR -
“Set in Kashmir, Rafiq’s rich collection draws the interior lives of ordinary characters – a reporter, a grieving brother, and a struggling shopkeeper – as they endure loss and injustice.”
The New York Times -
“This absorbing début story collection is composed of quiet snapshots of life in Kashmir. … characters are haunted by failures both personal and of their country, resulting in everyday heartbreak that is no less acute for being prosaic.”
The New Yorker, A Best Book of 2024
About the Imprint
Where the literary canon of tomorrow is born. Critically acclaimed titles that challenge, illuminate, and linger. Discover award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from emerging voices you’ll say you found first.
