Shame - Opening

I
Escapes from the
Mother Country
CHAPTER ONE

The Dumb-waiter

In the remote border town of Q., which when seen from the air resembles nothing so much as an ill-proportioned dumb-bell, there once lived three lovely, and loving, sisters.

FOR SAMEEN

First published 1983
Copyright Salman Rushdie 1983

Jonathan Cape Ltd, 30 Bedford Square, London WCI

Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome and London