"Book: The Last Shrine of the Unknown Village
Author: Rauf Klasra
Pages: 360
Rating: 9/10
After the coronavirus, the first book fair was held at the Expo Center in Lahore, and we went there to collect treasures. The first thing I did was head to the book corner, which was filled with beautifully illustrated and excellently bound books. While selecting books, my eyes were caught by a beautifully illustrated book with an image of an ancient shrine on it. The book was titled "The Last Shrine of the Unknown Village" by Rauf Klasra. Since I had heard many positive things about the author and the cover of the book was so captivating, I didn't hesitate for a second and immediately picked up the book, paid for it, and returned home with the rest of the books.
While buying the book, I thought it would be a novel rich in intrigue and historical events, but when I picked up the book, I was greatly disappointed as it did not contain what I was expecting.
This book is a collection of various columns written by Rauf Sahib, in which the author has mentioned many thoughtful events and observations of his life. Anyone familiar with Rauf Klasra's writing knows that his basic reason for fame is his columns and high-quality journalism published in various newspapers.
The book repeatedly mentions Rauf Sahib's friends, friends' parents, his brothers, Layyah, Multan, Lahore, and Islamabad. But all these stories do not revolve around any specific person; instead, every column contains stories of ordinary people, yet these ordinary people's stories are so enlightening and impactful that they seem special. Whether it is the story of a person who invites his son's friend to stay at his house without any benefit for several days, or the story of a person who is busy stealing a CD player from a car and is forced to drink the bitter cup of humiliation in front of his younger brother, or the story of a boy working at a canteen in Multan cantonment who is forced to swallow his pride just for the sake of his stomach, you will not be able to remain unaffected by any story.
The author has written the book in a very simple style, so there is no need to pick up a dictionary, but there is a complaint about the book that in some columns, the same thing has been repeated several times (as can be seen in the author's other books as well). However, the book was good, and its publication was even better, as the publisher has done a great job with the book."
This book is only available in Hard form.