“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
“A striking portrait of the resiliency of humanity and the communities it can build.”—Chicago Review of Books, A Best Book of December
“Piercing. . . . poignant. . . . Rafiq artfully peels back the layers of his characters’ emotions, exposing raw truths and complex entanglements. . . . These revelatory stories leave a mark.”—Publishers Weekly
“Stunning. . . . In understated but lyrical prose, these stories reveal moments of beauty—a box decorated with poppies, the yellow silk lining of a ruined suitcase—amid overpowering loss. Recommend to fans of Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie.”—Booklist, Starred Review
“Rafiq writes crisply and tenderly, with occasional flashes of humor and exquisite attention to the trials of day-to-day life.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Through the haunting themes of violence, loss, displacement, and longing, Zahid Rafiq is also able to capture the profoundness of ordinary life, and this collection urges us toward beauty, laughter, and refuge in the face of darkness.”—Electric Literature, A Best Short Story Collection of 2024
“Poignant. . . . heartbreaking. All these stories are, because people are.”—Book Page
“Eleven stories bring forth eleven lives, changed by an encounter—with a stranger, personal grief, financial circumstances or the conflict that stains the quotidian conditions in Kashmir.”—Electric Literature
“Resounding. . . . offers 11 stories that distill quotidian moments–a walk, job search, new neighbors–into opportunities for deep insight. . . . Hauntingly astute, Rafiq is a storyteller to watch–and closely read.”—Shelf Awareness
“Piercing. . . . his powerful storytelling and brief moments of reprieve demonstrate the haunting complexity and delicate nuance of an investigative writer struggling to comprehend the interconnectedness of humanity.”—West Trade Review
“Zahid draws, with an elegant humour, the contours of a world on the verge of breaking apart. . . . an account of the human possibilities of continuity and discontinuity amidst the ravages of death, mourning, unemployment, and unrequited love.”—Inverse Journal
“Extraordinary. . . . A revelation. . . . he crafts narratives that transcend borders, delving into intimate and profound questions of survival, love, and connection.”—Flaunt Magazine
“Violence runs riverlike beneath Zahid Rafiq’s gorgeously restrained sentences: these are visionary tales shot through with longing and grief. Rafiq writes with gentle humor and profound grace, showing such compassion for the ways we are, all of us, so shabbily and persistently human. An utterly exquisite debut.”—Emily Fridlund, author of History of Wolves
“The World With Its Mouth Open is a brilliant debut collection, both restrained and revelatory. In eleven meticulously crafted stories, Zahid Rafiq details the human mechanics of modern-day Kashmiri life. There is so much of the world here, rendered in small intimate moments of grief, violence, humor, and wanting, every sentence taut as a tendon. Rafiq is a writer of considerable talent, and this collection marks the beginning of what will be a marvelous literary career. “—Omar El Akkad, author of What Strange Paradise
“A born storyteller doesn’t flinch from the beauty or the terror of the everyday. The World With Its Mouth Open is shot through with wonder and awe at how the humble story truly opens up the entire world. A fearless, outstanding collection.”—Manuel Muñoz, author of The Consequences
“A shopkeeper, a daydreaming boy, and an anxious expecting mother are but a few of the characters that inhabit the world of Zahid Rafiq’s moving and lyrical short stories. Rafiq’s empathic sharpness is in revealing the heart’s truth of what it is like to live in terrible times and still struggle against inhumanity. Reading each story, my heart pumps and I recognize myself.”—Helena María Viramontes, author of Their Dogs Came With Them
“Zahid Rafiq’s utterly riveting debut features beautiful, haunting and quietly shattering stories.”—Mirza Waheed, author of Tell Her Everything
“Tenderly and exquisitely rendered, these eleven powerful stories track everyday lives, Rafiq reminds us that Kashmir is not a news item, but a home to real people, a place thrumming with life. There is instability and violence, but amidst this shopkeepers still negotiate with good humor, children play, the elderly count their final days, women contend with societal pressures, and families simply try to survive. A powerful debut by a talented writer.”—Sindya Bhanoo, author of Seeking Fortune Elsewhere
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