The Language of Ashes: A Story of Love, Silence, and the Voices History Tried to Bury

The Language of AshesA Novel by Abdul RafaySome voices vanish in war. Others return in fire.When London-based playwright Zohra Khan discovers a faded photograph in her late grandmother's drawer, it unlocks a secret buried for over fifty years-a missing aunt, Nilofer, a poet and student activist who vanished during the violent crackdown in Dhaka, 1971. Determined to uncover the truth, Zohra embarks on a journey from Karachi to Bangladesh, tracing the fragments of a life erased by history and shame.As she unearths banned poems, survivor testimonies, and the stories no one dares to speak, Zohra finds herself confronting not only a silenced past but her own fractured inheritance. Through a bold reimagining of The Tempest, she gives voice to the disappeared-and forces her family, and her country, to reckon with the ghosts they tried to forget.Taut, lyrical, and emotionally resonant, The Language of Ashes is a haunting exploration of memory, silence, and the power of art to reclaim what was lost. Spanning generations and borders, this is a novel about women who dared to speak when silence was survival-and the fire their words still carry.