Summary

  • Follows a story spanning 40 years of a guy named Karsan, the heir of Pirbaag, a Sufi Shrine in India
  • As a boy he never wanted to be next in line, but it was his father’s wish. For 700 years it always went from father to son, so it was a big deal.
  • karsan eventually went to Harvard for university and renounced his religion over a letter to his father. He never went back to India until 40 years later
  • He gets married in the US, has a son of his own, and his son dies at a young age, less than 10 if I remember correctly.
  • He goes back to India after 40 years. His parents are dead at this point. His brother is a Muslim fanatic. Pirbaag is destroyed due to the riots a few years prior.
    • interesting to note that his mother went insane after he left and dies in mysterious circumstances. It’s never clearly stated, but likely was suicide.
  • He finally accepts his destiny and ‘bows’ to the duty of becoming heir of Pirbaag
  • Besides this story, the book also follows the story of the original Pirbaag Sufi, Nur Fazal, who was Karsan’s ancestor.
  • Nur Fazal’s origins are unknown but eventually Karsan figures out that he was part of the Ismaili Assassins sect who fled after the Mongols defeated them

Analysis

Main Idea of the Book / Key Themes

  • Your past has a tendency to follow you around
    • even in the US, it seems that Karsan couldn’t truly escape Pirbaag. Various followers of his father were in the US and kept in contact with Karsan.
  • The universe has an interesting way of making sure you follow the path it wants you to follow
    • the death of Karsan’s little son led to him going back to Pirbaag and ‘accepting’ his destiny
  • You always end up where you truly belong…
    • Karsan’s brother, the Muslim fanatic ends up in Pakistan, following his uncle’s footsteps
    • Karsan himself ends up back in Pirbaag, following his father’s footsteps
  • It’s interesting that Karsan, in the middle of the book, becomes just like father. Just like his father, he pushes his wife away. Just like his father, he loses a son. Only in the end is Karsan redeemed by taking his father’s important post.
    • Karsan says “I had been punished for my arrogance” (talking about how his life fell apart) “In my desperation to escape my father I had become my father”
  • there’s always wisdom in those who came before, even if you cannot see it. You should seize being arrogant lest karma might come after you too.
    • Karsan mentions that one of Nur Fazal’s nicknames was “Qaatil”, meaning killer in Arabic, referring to his assassin upbringing. Karsan also mentions how the death of his son was karma: “I had been punished for my arrogance. What perfect, terrible karmic symmetry I had called upon myself.” So the nickname Qaatil could, in an abstract way, apply also to Karsan, who indirectly ‘killed’ his son through karma.
    • What’s also interesting is that Nur Fazal’s wife and child died while his wife was giving birth. He did not want to have kids, he was celibate (he was a Sufi mystic). He was forced to impregnant his wife by his father-in-law. After his wife’s death, his father-in-law said “you were right Sufi. Aware of your wisdom and goodness, I misjudged you; aware that her time was short, in all my royal arrogance I forgot and thus hastened her death.” - p. 122
    • So Nur’s wife’s father was punished for his arrogance through the death of his daughter and grandchild, and Karsan was also punished for his arrogance through the death of his son. Both these crimes were done against the better wisdom of the Pir Bawa, Nur Fazal and Karsan’s father.

Reflections

  • One thing that I struggle to understand is what significance does Nur Fazal being an Assassin have? What does this mean? The book is called “The Assassins Song” so it must have some significance… Here’s what I think:
    • Similar to Nur Fazal, who becomes a wanderer after the Mongols destroyed his home, Karsan becomes a wanderer too. When Karsan is still in Pirbaag, he sees his mom fueling the ‘eternal flame’, which completely destroys his faith in his belief system and in Pirbaag (the belief was that the eternal flame was miraculous and was burning for 700 years straight). This begins his journey of being a wanderer. His life is like a song, a tragic song. He loses his wife and son. Similarly Nur Fazal lost his home, his life was also tragic. Both had to experience a ‘destroying’ or ‘life shattering’ experience in order to go on the journey of being a wanderer.
    • So, both Nur Fazal and Karsan are what the title is referring to: The Assassins Song. Nur being a literal assassin, Karsan being his descendant. Both experiencing tragic life events, i.e. a tragic song.