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katiez624 's review for:
A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza
What a spectacular debut.
The sections bounce back and forth between characters and timelines, but the author always gives enough clues for the reader to find a foothold in the time and place the story is being told. There is nothing dramatic or exciting about their lives; they are quite ordinary. But the way that Mirza paints a picture with her words and reveals their innermost thoughts transform a normal family into one with a riveting and compelling story to tell.
The portrayal of the family dynamic of the three siblings and their parents is poignant and relatable, bringing back memories of the experiences and emotions during my own childhood and early years; each event feeling monumental and catastrophic as I experienced them in real-time.
The family must navigate their own personal issues while adjusting to life in a country where they are perceived as other. Each of the characters had unique strengths and flaws, making them feel more like real people than just words on a page. The family dynamic is incredibly genuine, with scenarios and conversations that could happen in real life. The link within a family can feel so strongly tethered yet so easily broken, difficult to repair because of unspoken words and superfluous pride. We are invited to observe the development and growth of each family member as individuals and as a family unit. At the end of this book, I felt like I KNEW this family like I knew my own. Mirza's ability to capture the essence of a family and all of its intricate strands is seamless and exceptional.
The sections bounce back and forth between characters and timelines, but the author always gives enough clues for the reader to find a foothold in the time and place the story is being told. There is nothing dramatic or exciting about their lives; they are quite ordinary. But the way that Mirza paints a picture with her words and reveals their innermost thoughts transform a normal family into one with a riveting and compelling story to tell.
The portrayal of the family dynamic of the three siblings and their parents is poignant and relatable, bringing back memories of the experiences and emotions during my own childhood and early years; each event feeling monumental and catastrophic as I experienced them in real-time.
The family must navigate their own personal issues while adjusting to life in a country where they are perceived as other. Each of the characters had unique strengths and flaws, making them feel more like real people than just words on a page. The family dynamic is incredibly genuine, with scenarios and conversations that could happen in real life. The link within a family can feel so strongly tethered yet so easily broken, difficult to repair because of unspoken words and superfluous pride. We are invited to observe the development and growth of each family member as individuals and as a family unit. At the end of this book, I felt like I KNEW this family like I knew my own. Mirza's ability to capture the essence of a family and all of its intricate strands is seamless and exceptional.