“A lovely, strange and very moving novel. The colours and shape develop as you read while the couple’s mutual understanding moves forward and upward over the years like two branches of blossom meeting at the top of the tree.”—Ruth Padel
Usman and Lydia meet in postwar London and fall in love. But as the years flit by, Usman feels a growing distance between them. When he realizes that he hasn’t noticed the buds of the gulmohar tree unfurl, he understands that he has lost sight of his love for his wife.
Aamer Hussein
was born in Karachi in 1955 and moved to London in his teens. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.