Summary

In “Lily - Islamabad,” pages 189 – 204, as Lily and Murad make plans to get married (her parents are happy, his family isn’t), narration suggests that “despite her past Lily at heart was a homebody” (190), efficient and organized, particularly when it came to her small dress design business and property ownership. Narration also comments that Lily and Murad “both acknowledged an intention to join together protectively and go forth” (190).

The story then flashes back to a time before their engagement when Murad took Lily to see his aging father, bedridden since the death of his wife some time before. In narration, Lily notes how the atmosphere and the manipulative servants are similar to those of her own family, and how the house where Murad’s father lives seems disorganized and unwelcoming. She is then introduced to Murad’s father, who makes an effort to...