Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

"Karachi Vice'' is a deeply engaging work of narrative non-fiction. The extent of Samira Shackle's research, visits and interviews is clear throughout. These aren't characters in a story. They're real people, with rich lives which Shackle explores with empathy and respect. The book provides some historical detail, particularly with regards to politics. Glossaries and timelines are provided and I found this helpful. Shackle paints a beautifully nuanced portrait of the city of Karachi through the eyes of its residents. I found the book to be an extremely interesting and informative read.

This was a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of Karachi. I felt that the author did an excellent job of diving into the myriad issues affecting the city and its population, and really bringing them home by telling the story through the lives of those that live there. However, I did find that the narrative style was not the strongest point of the book, particularly towards the beginning of the book it felt a little too disjointed, and while the threads were brought together better towards the end, I feel that it could have benefited either from fewer threads (although then we would have lost out on some essential voices) or being longer so that each voice could be thoroughly explored and tied with the others. Still, this is a book that should be read and it was an eye-opening read from start to finish.

Karachi Vice is an enthralling work of nonfiction with a strong narrative thread that reads more akin to a novel. The exploration of modern Pakistan told through the lives of five narrators through the decades sheds a spotlight on the history of a little examined country. The sights and smells of Karachi and the surrounding areas leap off the page centering the reader into the world of the narrators. Filled with love and hope alongside the relentless violence and poverty Karachi Vice is impossible to put down. Reading on a Kindle made referencing the political acronyms listed at the beginning of the book tricky, but this is a minor grumble of what is an outstanding book.

Terrific read non fiction bat it’s best.An eye opening look at Karachit through the eyes of five people who live there.Will be recommending to all my friends who love learning about new places without leaving their chairs,#netgalley#granataboojs

A bloodied painting of Karachi. A town at the mercy of violence, gangs, drug lords, deep rooted corruption, ethnic issues and heartbreaking poverty. The town comes to life through the lenses of a few characters that Shackle has interviewed: an ambulance driver, a former teacher turned activist, a young village wife, a television journalist and a self-employed administrative worker. Each story is touching in its own way. Despite leading different lives, the characters are united by their quest to help their own people and by the injustice of living in a society where those in power are more concern with getting rich than in helping to build a secure state with opportunities for all.
Over the years I've read a bit about Pakistan/Bangladesh, therefore the general background more or less came as a confirmation of what I knew. Luckily Samira has packed enough details in her stories to keep my interest alive and teach me a thing or two. And of course I couldn't not be touched and enraged at the same time by everything that innocent people have to endure.

Many thanks for the opportunity!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a well-written work of non-fiction that brought together the stories of five people who operate in a climate where justice is a distant dream. At first, I thought the book would continue to focus on individual stories, Shackle made it much better by tying them all together. I also felt, as someone who genuinely never pays attention to politics, and has never been to Karachi, that this book is also a good way to understand the politics that governs that city.

Samira Shackle has been reporting on life in Karachi as a freelance journalist for over a decade, so she knows the lay of the land. Karachi Vice is a work of narrative non-fiction that brings together the stories of five individuals to give the reader a real insight into life in Karachi. Through extensive interviews, and spending time with each individual, Shackle has taken their voices out into the world. I can't help but think how brave these individuals are to have shared their stories, and to admire how Shackle has interweaved them into this eye-opening read. She not only tells the story of these people, but she captures the characters of her subjects. The result of which is a fascinating book that I shall be thinking about for quite some time.

Samira Shackle, journalist and editor, presents an eye opening, astonishingly intimate, inside picture of Karachi, a city of the displaced and migrants, with a mind boggling population of 20 million. It begins with a timeline of Pakistan's deadly and volatile political history and crises, a background that becomes all too viscerally and vividly alive through 5 diverse and ordinary citizens of Karachi, although some names have been changed. It is these inhabitants that are the inspiring stars and beating heart of this book, they humanise the stories we have heard on the news, a tribute to the endurance of the human spirit in the face of the worst of humanity, helping to make life more bearable in creating caring, courageous and kind communities.

We are introduced to the five in some depth, all from poor families, Safdar is the Edhi Charitable Foundation's low paid ambulance driver who is not afraid of driving into danger, picking up patients and corpses, working incredibly long hours, a man for whom his job is his vocation, driven to alleviate suffering enduring by poor families like his, they were forced to wait long waits outside hospitals to return home after operations his polio suffering brother, Adil, had to undergo. Parveen is the incredible activist and street school teacher, she is unafraid of taking on gangsters and militias, campaigning against child marriages for girls, domestic violence and the abductions and disappearances of activists in Balochistan. Siraj is the obsessive and determined map maker of water resources, a target for attack by those intent on controlling the supply of water. Jannat is a traditional married woman, married at 16, living in a village facing and fighting land grabbing developers. Zille is a crime reporter, addicted to the dangers and high risks of his profession that relies on his contacts.

All operate in a climate where justice is a pipe dream with the police and judicial corruption, you need money, power and connections to make any headway in a system where more often there is nothing to differentiate the criminals and gangsters from the political parties and politicians. Our five face intimidation and threats, extortion, running gunfights and gang wars, drug dealers, a corrupt politics and the emergence of deadly terrorist attacks as the Taliban and other extremists flood into the country after the US invaded Afghanistan. Through Safdar, Parveen, Siraj, Jannat and Zille, we are given remarkable insights into the complexities of Karachi, its culture, communities, its traditions, attitudes and societal norms when it comes to women, the different religious factions, the many political parties, and where if you are poor and powerless, everyday is a battle for survival. On a personal level, I was particularly blown away by the wonderful Safdar and Parveen.

If you are interested in understanding the complexities of Karachi, the power structures, divisions, its vibrant and colourful communities and people, then this book is a must read, although it did make me want to weep and simultaneously rage at a Pakistani political system that is clearly failing the majority of its people and in providing any viable sense of security. Many thanks to Granta Publications for an ARC.

Narrative non-fiction is not a type of writing that's easy to do - or more precisely, it's not easy to do well. Some of my all-time favourite books fit that genre but Karachi Vice disappointed me. Whilst the book follows the lives and experiences of a handful of people living and working in Karachi, the threads tying their stories together were, in my opinion, just not strong enough to keep me flicking through the e-pages. I didn't feel I really got to know any of them as deeply as I wanted to.

My passion is for books set in India, but I also read a lot set in Pakistan. For a non-local, I'm probably relatively rare in that I've been to Karachi and found the place fascinating. Whenever I travel, I have moments looking out of train or autorickshaw or taxi windows when I glimpse somebody just going about their business and find myself wondering how their life might be, how different it is from mine, and wondering if they are happy with what they have. Books like this offer a window into other people's lives and I actively seek them out.

The five people this book focuses on all have interesting lives and my disappointment with the book is not disappointment with them. It was the way the 'story' was put together that frustrated me, not the people it was about. I felt that the author held herself so far apart from her subjects that she might have been better to have left herself out of the book altogether.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ahead of publication.

Karachi Vice reads like an essay into the lives of some of the cities high risk jobs. It shows us the lives of crime reporters, ambulance, social and community workers. A study in crime, chaos and life thriving on the same.

Karachi is an underreported city in the West. I have to confess I had no idea it was a big as it is - 20 million people! This book takes a look at several intertwined lives there, from . It focuses on the poorer and undeveloped parts of the city - the author alludes to the richer districts of Clifton and Defence, but we don’t spend any real time there - so it’s not a complete picture of the megalopolis, but it is an eye opener. Running gun battles in the streets, entire districts under the control of gangs, the complete entanglement of politics and crime, these aren’t things this Bristolian is used to. Shackle makes the streets come alive, with a vivd and evocative sense of place. The people she follows are drawn in well rounded and sympathetic prose. They may be living in a very different world to mine, but the common humanity is clear, and the book is best when it focuses on these small moments of decency and courage. Safdar the ambulance driver in particular is a real hero. The saddest story is Jannat’s, a bright young woman whose schooling is cut short by circumstance and tradition (although I should make it clear that she doesn’t seem to be unhappy or regretful). A very interesting book that opened a window onto a society previously largely unknown to me past cliche, well worth a read.

A remarkable book describing a city that is both complicated and violent but also incredibly hopeful.

Even amongst the chaos and violence humanity remains and people truly care for others.

This book is the study of 5 different people and their experience of the city they call home.

At times heartbreaking and incredibly visceral this is a book not to be missed.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this and absorb this work.

Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan (though not its capital) and among the largest cities in the world. It is also a troubled city; and Karachi Vice tells a bit of its story through accounts of the lives of five people. Safdar is an ambulance driver for a charity called Edhi; Parveen a resident and activist from Lyari, a densely populated area fought over by rival gangs ; Siraj a map researcher whose research into water resources make him vulnerable to attack by those with, um, business interest in controlling water supplies; Jannat a woman from a village near Karachi who tells of its near-destruction because of illegal land possession by a private developer; and Zille a crime reporter who lives for the thrill of real-time reporting on notable incidents. Some names have been changed.

The book is astonishing and has the feel of authenticity since it is based on the actual experiences of these people. It is also something of a dark book, as you would expect from the title. It is a somewhat disjointed read, particularly in the first half of the book, since the various stories are interspersed; you read a chapter on one, then on another, than back to the first, and so on. There is a common thread though, and it all begins to make sense when you go back to re-read the prologue, having finished the rest of the book. There we find a timeline of major events as well as some of the background. Karachi, Shackle explains, “has been home to a series of complex and ever-evolving conflicts, with sectarian and ethnic resentment mingling with politics and organized crime.” The author concludes that “this is the front line of global urbanization at its most unforgiving.” It is important for all sorts of reasons, demonstrating the human cost of corruption and sectarian conflict.

The tone is measured and matter of fact though you cannot read it without feeling angry at times. One incident that I found particularly stirred my emotion was the account of the 2012 Baldia Town fire, a fire in a textile factory where “all but one exit had been locked by bosses who did not want the workers to take breaks or steal the products … anyone who made it to the front gate of the compound found it locked too.” Many lives were lost.

Karachi Vice has been a long time coming. Author Samira Shackle is a freelance journalist and editor of the New Hamanist, a rationalist quarterly. Shackle is based in London but her mother is a Karachiite. Shackle lived there between 2012 and 2013, a tumultuous period ahead of the Karachi Operation, an effort to stem the violence and crime and one that had considerable success. Shackle was also in Karachi following police patrols in 2015 and 2016 and has first-hand knowledge of incidents like those she describes. In 2018 she won a book prize enabling her to get the book deal that has enabled publication. Parts of the book have been previewed in the Guardian as long ago as 2015.

While I highly recommend Karachi Vice for anyone with an interest in world affairs, I do not find the approach of the book entirely to my taste. I preferred the Guardian pieces where the main subjects are referred to by surname rather than forename; I could have done with a bit more background; the jumping around between subjects makes things hard to follow at times.

None of that matters. Shackles tells real stories from people who get too little attention; the book is gripping, sad but also in a way inspiring, thanks to those moments when courage, love and human decency shine despite dark times.

‘Karachi Vice’ is an interesting piece of reportage, but less entertaining and compelling than I hoped it might be. Written by Samira Shackle, a British journalist with English and Pakistani parents, it follows the lives of five citizens of the capital of Pakistan, Karachi. The book is constructed from interviews she did did on two trips to the city and certainly gives a flavour of life in such a turbulent metropolis. What it lacks is the energy and strong storytelling that might have made it a more gripping read. It certainly doesn’t live up to the exploitative promise of its title.
There are certainly some interesting characters here, I particularly enjoyed reading about Safdar, an ambulance driver who spends most of his time collecting corpses and Zille, a television journalist whose work frequently puts him in the firing line. In fact all five are well chosen and each adds something different to the picture of Karachi that Shackle paints. Of course, the city itself comes out as a character too: violent and desperate as it is fractured again and again by terrorism, crime and political corruption.
The problem for me was that the writing is never as good as the subject matter. It’s all a bit staid and scholarly. Shackle writes well about politics but less well about crime, and so the book lacked the drama I wanted it to have. I don’t normally nitpick on the intricacies of an author’s writing, but the fact that Shackle re-uses two dollar words didn’t help matters. “Higgledy piggledy” and “febrile” both cropped more than once.
If the subject matter appeals, this is still worth a read though. The subjects are all interesting and Karachi itself is fascinating. What’s more, there’s never been a more important time than now to understand the lives and experiences of fellow humans around the world. ‘Karachi Vice’ certainly gave me a better awareness of everyday life in Pakistan.