The Last Courtesan

The Last Courtesan explores the invisible influence of various forms of power: patriarchy, the politics of shame, religious exploitation, the semblance of democracy. These forces are all used to exclude women in many societies and often operate in covert ways. It is told in a third person limited narration with alternating sections devoted mainly to the point of view of two female protagonists—an American doctor and Pakistani teen “virgin prostitute.” This term is a reference to women who have been raised to become sex workers when they come of age and can command a high price due to this status. Traditionally, prostitutes in Lahore’s red-light district belonged to courtesan clans known as Tawaifs, like Japan’s Geishas. However, British colonialism in South Asia diminished their status from purveyors of high culture to providers of sex. Today, teen prostitutes might be runaways or destitute, who are often tricked into becoming sex workers. Nevertheless, the class of young women are prized for their virginity. The novel’s teenage protagonist is yet to make a living through prostitution, but she survives by working as a model for nudist paintings. Public nudity is punishable by law and frowned upon by social mores in Pakistan’s socially conservative society. Nude models are sometimes drawn from among prostitutes in this oldest of red-light districts in the world, the Diamond Market. This teen “virgin” prostitute crosses paths with an American female doctor. The doctor, who has in recent years been disillusioned by America’s imperialistic ventures and a rise of Islamophobia, has returned to one of the regions of her ancestry to see if it will satisfy her search for belonging and provide healing from personal strife. The events take place in 2007, the year Pakistan's first and only female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated, enabling a deeper look at the post-9/11 Pakistan-U.S. relationship. The novel also sheds light on the impact of such global political alliances on the lives of ordinary citizens in the aftermath of the War on Terror, U.S. drone warfare and a rise in Islamophobia around the world and within the U.S.