Omar Khayyam Shakil had three mothers whoshared the symptoms of pregnancy, as they dideverything else, inseparably. At their six breasts,Omar was warned against all feelings and nuancesof shame. It was training which would prove usefulwhen he left his mothers' fortress (via the dumb-waiter) to face his shameless future. As captivatingfairy-tale, devastating political satire and exquisite,uproarious entertainment, shame is a novelwithout rival.

I Escapes from the Mother Country

Chapter One  The Dumb-waiter

Chapter Two  A Necklace of Shoes

Chapter Three  Melting Ice

II The Duellists

 Chapter Four  Behind the Screen

Chapter Five  The Wrong Miracle

Chapter Six   Affairs of Honour

III Shame, Good News and the Virgin

Chapter Seven  Blushing

Chapter Eight  Beauty and the Beast

IV In the Fifteenth Century

Chapter Nine  Alexander the Great

Chapter Ten   The Woman in the Veil

Chapter Eleven Monologue of a Hanged Man

Chapter Twelve Stability

V Judgment Day

Acknowledgments