The Comeback : A Novel  (Hardcover, Annie Zaidi)

Riding high on the success of his first major film, actor John K. lets his ego get the better of him and says too much in a fateful interview. The fallout shatters the life of his college friend, Asghar Abbasi. Disgraced, unemployed, his marriage in jeopardy, Asghar’s stable middle-class life is thrust into crisis. Broken but unbowed, Asghar retreats to his hometown, Baansa, where he rediscovers his true calling—the stage. Devastated by the betrayal, he is determined to cut John out of his life; John, while remorseful, is equally determined to claw his way back in. As Asghar’s grassroots small-town theatre takes off, John’s star begins to dim, leaving him stuck in a career that pays the bills but is artistically stultifying. On the outside and desperate to be part of Asghar’s theatre comeback, John is forced to discover the limits of his self-centredness, and confront his ego, the shallow allure of fame, and the false hierarchies of the arts. Restrained and incisive, The Comeback is a story of the price of betrayal, friendship and forgiveness, second chances, and the transformative power of art.