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A review by komet2020
The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Book of Everlasting Things is a generational saga spanning a century and across continents (from the India of the British Raj - which gave rise to Partition and the emergence of India and Pakistan in August 1947 following the end of British rule - to Europe).
The heart of the novel is centered on 2 families in Lahore - one Hindu and the other Muslim - 2 people from those families --- Samir, a Hindu boy born in 1927 in the midst of a monsoon with a nose possessing an extraordinary sense of smell -- and Firdaus a young Muslim girl born in 1929 whose loving father, recognizing early her growing talent for calligraphy, encouraged her and made it possible for her to study calligraphy in a school normally reserved for boys --- who, meet by chance during the late 1930s in the ittar shop owned and run by Samir's family and, over the following decade, fall in love and carry out a subtly discreet exchange of love letters.
But for Samir - a perfumer's apprentice - and Firdaus - a calligrapher's apprentice - their love, so pure, tender, and all-encompassing, was not fated to be fully realized. Both are young adults when India in the mid-1940s becomes convulsed in religious strife as Muslims are pitted against Hindus and Sihks, with whom they had long lived together harmoniously, in the countdown to Independence. Samir finds himself caught up in a tragedy that destroys his family and has his heart broken, leaving him little choice but to leave Lahore and, eventually, India for France.
The novel goes into considerable detail in describing the resultant arcs of Samir's and Firdaus' lives, showing how both their families over time were impacted by the reverberations arising from Partition.
I felt a deep sense of loss and sadness from reading The Book of Everlasting Things. And yet, I could appreciate Samir's ability to endure and absorb the weight of his sorrow, making a life and livelihood in a foreign land. As for Firdaus, her life in Lahore became one in which she sacrificed personal happiness in fulfillment of filial duty (which taught her that love can assume many forms, allowing some compensations for the heart) for the rest of her life.
The heart of the novel is centered on 2 families in Lahore - one Hindu and the other Muslim - 2 people from those families --- Samir, a Hindu boy born in 1927 in the midst of a monsoon with a nose possessing an extraordinary sense of smell -- and Firdaus a young Muslim girl born in 1929 whose loving father, recognizing early her growing talent for calligraphy, encouraged her and made it possible for her to study calligraphy in a school normally reserved for boys --- who, meet by chance during the late 1930s in the ittar shop owned and run by Samir's family and, over the following decade, fall in love and carry out a subtly discreet exchange of love letters.
But for Samir - a perfumer's apprentice - and Firdaus - a calligrapher's apprentice - their love, so pure, tender, and all-encompassing, was not fated to be fully realized. Both are young adults when India in the mid-1940s becomes convulsed in religious strife as Muslims are pitted against Hindus and Sihks, with whom they had long lived together harmoniously, in the countdown to Independence. Samir finds himself caught up in a tragedy that destroys his family and has his heart broken, leaving him little choice but to leave Lahore and, eventually, India for France.
The novel goes into considerable detail in describing the resultant arcs of Samir's and Firdaus' lives, showing how both their families over time were impacted by the reverberations arising from Partition.
I felt a deep sense of loss and sadness from reading The Book of Everlasting Things. And yet, I could appreciate Samir's ability to endure and absorb the weight of his sorrow, making a life and livelihood in a foreign land. As for Firdaus, her life in Lahore became one in which she sacrificed personal happiness in fulfillment of filial duty (which taught her that love can assume many forms, allowing some compensations for the heart) for the rest of her life.