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teavani's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
i think i enjoyed the childhood and young adulthood sections more than parts 3-4, especially since the shift to Rafiq was a bit slow paced. i did appreciate the point of view though. would have liked to see some of the same from Huda - why did we get everyone else and not her? parts of it hit really hard and i think overall the characters were pretty complex. i understand why Amar’s path went the way it did, but it was definitely sad and I wish we could have explored it a bit more. like the stuff about the fourth child and him as a newborn felt a little extra. and then Rafiq’s relationship with his own father. i really liked Hadia and her portions
lines:
She should not have spoken: the girlish sound of her own voice makes her cry. She has made herself weak in front of him. She has lost (98).
The thought was not, what have I hidden, what rules have I broken? But rather, look at what I would do for you. I would keep from my parents your presence in my life until we were ready for the next step. I would risk isolating myself, however temporarily, from them. It was what she was willing to sacrifice, what she could overlook, that proved to her the love she felt (240).
i think i enjoyed the childhood and young adulthood sections more than parts 3-4, especially since the shift to Rafiq was a bit slow paced. i did appreciate the point of view though. would have liked to see some of the same from Huda - why did we get everyone else and not her? parts of it hit really hard and i think overall the characters were pretty complex. i understand why Amar’s path went the way it did, but it was definitely sad and I wish we could have explored it a bit more. like the stuff about the fourth child and him as a newborn felt a little extra. and then Rafiq’s relationship with his own father. i really liked Hadia and her portions
lines:
She should not have spoken: the girlish sound of her own voice makes her cry. She has made herself weak in front of him. She has lost (98).
The thought was not, what have I hidden, what rules have I broken? But rather, look at what I would do for you. I would keep from my parents your presence in my life until we were ready for the next step. I would risk isolating myself, however temporarily, from them. It was what she was willing to sacrifice, what she could overlook, that proved to her the love she felt (240).
kittycat2302's review against another edition
5.0
This was SO GOOD. Everyone should read it, for real. Beautiful, moving, amazing. Can’t wait to discuss in book club tonight!!
agrinczel's review against another edition
4.0
This took quite a while for me to get into at first, but I’m glad I stuck with it.
abbyprinceatwood's review against another edition
5.0
Oh this book! These characters are so dear and so wonderful. The story so tender and so heartbreaking. I felt like I knew these folks so well. The timeline jumps around a lot but I felt the author expertly guided the reader into each timeline and into each character’s voice. While there isn’t a strong sense of place in general, there is a very strong sense of the titular place for several characters.
moco71's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a long time since I read a book that I enjoyed as much as this one. It's about an INdan American family and their relationships with each other told in 4 parts...I don't want to give anything away. The writing is beautiful and I highly recommend.
pinkystardust's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I mostly read fantasy books but this was recommended to me by a friend so I dove in. This is a beautiful, sad, story and had me feeling all the emotions. Very heavy. Worth it but now I'm sad. I need another fantasy break.
owenkl's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
mjhoke68's review against another edition
5.0
I would not have chosen this book if not for the recommendation of Kerry from Women Reading Great Books. It is early in 2020 but I feel that Fatima Farheen Mirza’s first published novel will stay with me and become one of my top reads for the year. The character development and interpersonal communication of this family is so well written and haunting. I will be following the author and eagerly await her next book. Highly recommend!
halthemonarch's review against another edition
5.0
I knew I would love this book after reading the first chapter. This story is about a family, Layla and Rafiq, and their three children, Hadia the oldest, Huda in the middle, and Amar, the youngest and the only boy. Their dynamic reminded me irresistibly of mine growing up— I had cousins who reminded me of Hadia and Amar respectively. Hadia is steady and responsible, gentle and reliable but loyal to her father. There was always tension because Rafiq was so strict and often quick to anger when met with circumstances he doesn’t understand; Hadia and Huda always imagined Amar to be the favorite child. He was always so sensitive and so complete in his sadness. Hadia too, struggled with her place in the world and her faith, but Amar’s path was 10x more explosive.
We bounce from the future to the present in this book. One moment we are with them as children, and the next we are at Hadia’s wedding to a suitor of her own choosing. Then we are witnessing the horrible fight that leads to Amar running away— his father suggesting rehab for his apparent heroin addiction and being thrown into a wall for his efforts. I could relate to Amar, his squirming at any sort of bounds imposed on him by his father specifically, believing in his heart he could change while still nursing pill and alcohol dependency— as though in his position he could be the kind of man to ask for his childhood lovers hand in marriage some day. Their social circle put limits on them, separating the sexes and demanding certain allegiances in God and his prophets that Amar seems to buck at every opportunity. Meanwhile, Hadia becomes the sort of daughter that her parents could depend on and gives her parents grandchildren once she becomes a doctor and marries. She inherits Rafiq’s watch which is the kind traditionally passed to sons. Amar steals it in his youth and leaves it for her at her wedding before bailing at the last minute, too drunk and upset for the family photo. Let me tell you, I would Kill My Cousins In The Face if they dared to make my wedding all about them! Yet the Ali family persisted, flourished even. In Rafiq’s old age he found calm and some clarity and forgiveness seems on the horizon at the end of the book.
This book reminded me of Pachinko a lot, though the ensemble isn’t quite as big, it’s ultimately a story about family and human nature— how it’s different culture to culture, beautiful and although different, wholly recognizable.
We bounce from the future to the present in this book. One moment we are with them as children, and the next we are at Hadia’s wedding to a suitor of her own choosing. Then we are witnessing the horrible fight that leads to Amar running away— his father suggesting rehab for his apparent heroin addiction and being thrown into a wall for his efforts. I could relate to Amar, his squirming at any sort of bounds imposed on him by his father specifically, believing in his heart he could change while still nursing pill and alcohol dependency— as though in his position he could be the kind of man to ask for his childhood lovers hand in marriage some day. Their social circle put limits on them, separating the sexes and demanding certain allegiances in God and his prophets that Amar seems to buck at every opportunity. Meanwhile, Hadia becomes the sort of daughter that her parents could depend on and gives her parents grandchildren once she becomes a doctor and marries. She inherits Rafiq’s watch which is the kind traditionally passed to sons. Amar steals it in his youth and leaves it for her at her wedding before bailing at the last minute, too drunk and upset for the family photo. Let me tell you, I would Kill My Cousins In The Face if they dared to make my wedding all about them! Yet the Ali family persisted, flourished even. In Rafiq’s old age he found calm and some clarity and forgiveness seems on the horizon at the end of the book.
This book reminded me of Pachinko a lot, though the ensemble isn’t quite as big, it’s ultimately a story about family and human nature— how it’s different culture to culture, beautiful and although different, wholly recognizable.