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bongfullofpiss's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gdulecki's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Absolutely beautiful, devastating, messy, raw, oh my god. I really enjoyed the unconventional narration and the insight it ushered in for all of the characters. The opening pages caught me off guard, and the final pages felt complete and right. I’m surprised with how much I enjoyed the non-linear timeline, and the Nawaaz very skillfully wove together so many perspectives into this. There were a few small sections I did glaze over here and there, when they did not feel as pertinent to the story. Overall I adored this.
djvill's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
A very compelling story told beautifully, with well executed perspective shifts. As an American non-Muslim, I also appreciated getting the perspective of Tahera, the younger sister who navigates motherhood and devout Islamic practice in an early 21st century America that is not exactly welcoming. My main issue is that this book gets in its own way with at times overly florid language, as well as an extended side plot centered on the political history of the aughts that makes it seem like this book was making a bid for Great American Novel. (The editor really should've spared no red ink on the Coda section that took Barack Obama's perspective.) That said, due in part to this perceived GAN bid, this book reminded me of two others I admire: Middlesex and American Pastoral.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Medical content
bugzecat's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bazayas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
fruhjahr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ereadertson's review against another edition
4.0
This book is waxes poetic so have patient with this style of prose. I love poetry, so i felt it was beautiful. I thought it ended magically, however the ending was abrupt. This abruptness makes sense, however, given the context. Each character was flawed, which made them relatable but I wish we knew more about Lee. The narrator using "could-be" and "would-be" was a bit clunky in comparison to the rest of the prose. It took me a moment to get into the headspace of the narrator but overall it was a different vantage point, unbias but loving, so I appreciated the new perspective.
ldyb's review
4.5
Solidly 4.5. I struggled with the length and labor of the middle section covering 8 years of political/personal-as-political climate that, I felt, didn't shape or direct the story as much as a condensed version could have; however, I enjoyed much of the rest enough to situate it well above 4.
jenlovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to Partners NetGalley and Counterpoint Press for the digital ARC of Nawaaz Ahmed’s Radiant Fugitives in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on August 3, 2021.
Radiant Fugitives is an ambitious debut novel with an unusual premise: it’s a story told predominantly in utero by Ishraaq, a sort of omniscient first-person narrator, allowed entry into his relatives’ perspectives before he takes his first breath. We know from the beginning that his mother, Seema, has died during labor, a piece of knowledge that casts a shadow over the book. It’s then that Ishraaq takes us back, unveiling the pasts of Seema and of the rest of his family—his aunt Tahera, his grandmother Nafeesa, and his father Bill—to consider what has led them to this point.
What’s revealed is a complex story that made me ache: it’s full of misunderstandings and missed connections that show the way these characters love each other and yet hurt each other, over and over again. It’s set against the backdrop of the candidacy and election of Barack Obama as President, driven by hope and (all too often) disappointment from those who have dared to hope.
Seema and Tahera immigrated to the United States from India. Seema left home when, after coming out to her family, her father exiled her. Her sister Tahera, a doctor, moved to the U.S. because of her marriage to a man with whom she forges a family who adheres strictly to Islam. It has been many years since their mother Nafeesa saw Seema, but now they’re united because Nafeesa insists that she must help Seema through the end of her pregnancy . . . and also because Nafeesa is dying.
The narrative weaves together these characters’ lives, circling around and back through time, until we delve deeply into their thoughts and feelings, alternately empathizing with them and frustrated by them, by their stubbornness and their inability to reach outside of their own vulnerability to each other. There’s much to admire in the way that Ahmed explores identity, in the ways that Seema is embraced by some and exiled by others because of her sexuality and that Tahera faces the same treatment because of her faith. The fact that those inconsistent reactions occur both among strangers and within their family is painful.
While there’s much to love and admire about this book, I did find the pacing to be slow, and I took several breaks from it to read other books. I think part of my issue is because of the internal nature of the narrative, and part is because the book is, often, quite sad. Still, Ahmed is considering here questions that we are—and should be—asking, about who we choose to govern and why, about who and what we welcome and accept, and about how each of us shapes an identity because of and against our families.
Behind it all is Ishraaq, a character who loves his family with such compassion and empathy and understanding that he forgives all, sharing their stories as utterly beautiful and utterly alive, even in tragedy. The contradiction inherent in the title Radiant Fugitives is borne out beautifully through Nawaaz Ahmed’s novel.
Radiant Fugitives is an ambitious debut novel with an unusual premise: it’s a story told predominantly in utero by Ishraaq, a sort of omniscient first-person narrator, allowed entry into his relatives’ perspectives before he takes his first breath. We know from the beginning that his mother, Seema, has died during labor, a piece of knowledge that casts a shadow over the book. It’s then that Ishraaq takes us back, unveiling the pasts of Seema and of the rest of his family—his aunt Tahera, his grandmother Nafeesa, and his father Bill—to consider what has led them to this point.
What’s revealed is a complex story that made me ache: it’s full of misunderstandings and missed connections that show the way these characters love each other and yet hurt each other, over and over again. It’s set against the backdrop of the candidacy and election of Barack Obama as President, driven by hope and (all too often) disappointment from those who have dared to hope.
Seema and Tahera immigrated to the United States from India. Seema left home when, after coming out to her family, her father exiled her. Her sister Tahera, a doctor, moved to the U.S. because of her marriage to a man with whom she forges a family who adheres strictly to Islam. It has been many years since their mother Nafeesa saw Seema, but now they’re united because Nafeesa insists that she must help Seema through the end of her pregnancy . . . and also because Nafeesa is dying.
The narrative weaves together these characters’ lives, circling around and back through time, until we delve deeply into their thoughts and feelings, alternately empathizing with them and frustrated by them, by their stubbornness and their inability to reach outside of their own vulnerability to each other. There’s much to admire in the way that Ahmed explores identity, in the ways that Seema is embraced by some and exiled by others because of her sexuality and that Tahera faces the same treatment because of her faith. The fact that those inconsistent reactions occur both among strangers and within their family is painful.
While there’s much to love and admire about this book, I did find the pacing to be slow, and I took several breaks from it to read other books. I think part of my issue is because of the internal nature of the narrative, and part is because the book is, often, quite sad. Still, Ahmed is considering here questions that we are—and should be—asking, about who we choose to govern and why, about who and what we welcome and accept, and about how each of us shapes an identity because of and against our families.
Behind it all is Ishraaq, a character who loves his family with such compassion and empathy and understanding that he forgives all, sharing their stories as utterly beautiful and utterly alive, even in tragedy. The contradiction inherent in the title Radiant Fugitives is borne out beautifully through Nawaaz Ahmed’s novel.
joonswifey's review against another edition
3.0
this is more like a 3.5.
a lot of this was deeply triggering to me as someone who is culturally muslim but not really practicing. tahera is the worst kind of conservative south asian woman, and seema is the worst kind of liberal south asian woman. i hated reading about these characters and i really hated the plot line of this book (or lack thereof). it was battle and a fight to finish it.
i’m sad because the premise seemed really interesting and the prose/writing style was gorgeous, but at some points became far too flowery and made me start skimming. i was genuinely just bored through a lot of this. these characters are very very human, but they’re also all just the worst kind of humans to read about. i could not bring myself to care about any of them. i think this book could work for a lot of people, but it doesn’t really work for me.
this was a necessary book. i’m glad it exists somewhere and is a story that was written. the battle between faith and sexuality is a difficult one and the reader really really understands the motivations of almost every character. however, that doesn’t change the fact that i didn’t really like it.
thank god it is over because i would have been furious to start 2023 with the reading slump this book was about to send me into if i didn’t finish it asap.
a lot of this was deeply triggering to me as someone who is culturally muslim but not really practicing. tahera is the worst kind of conservative south asian woman, and seema is the worst kind of liberal south asian woman. i hated reading about these characters and i really hated the plot line of this book (or lack thereof). it was battle and a fight to finish it.
i’m sad because the premise seemed really interesting and the prose/writing style was gorgeous, but at some points became far too flowery and made me start skimming. i was genuinely just bored through a lot of this. these characters are very very human, but they’re also all just the worst kind of humans to read about. i could not bring myself to care about any of them. i think this book could work for a lot of people, but it doesn’t really work for me.
this was a necessary book. i’m glad it exists somewhere and is a story that was written. the battle between faith and sexuality is a difficult one and the reader really really understands the motivations of almost every character. however, that doesn’t change the fact that i didn’t really like it.
thank god it is over because i would have been furious to start 2023 with the reading slump this book was about to send me into if i didn’t finish it asap.