Karachi Vice : Life and Death in a Contested City book cover

Contemporary Pakistani City Portrait

Travel Writing

Karachi Vice : Life and Death in a Contested City

by Samira Shackle

Pakistan's largest city is a sprawling metropolis of 20 million people.


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About the book

A place of political turbulence, where lavish wealth and absolute poverty sit side by side, and where the lines between idealism and corruption can quickly blur. Through the stories of those who know the city best - including a journalist, an activist, and an ambulance driver - Samira Shackle paints a vivid, vibrant and often violent portrait of Karachi over the past decade: a period during which the Taliban arrived in Pakistan, adding to the daily perils of its residents and pushing their city into the international spotlight. Nuanced and fast-paced, Karachi Vice is an immersive, electrifying journey around one of the most compelling cities in the world.

Book details

Published by Granta Books

Paperback ISBN: 9781783785407 3 Feb 2022 129 x 199 x 21 (mm) 198g