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A review by riannasimons
The Mismatch by Sara Jafari
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
(This is going to be long, so bear with!)
Sara Jafari's The Mismatch is a triumph and I loved every single page.
The story largely follows Soraya Nazari, a newly graduated Iranian-British Muslim girl unsure of what the hell she's going to do with the rest of her life. At graduation she becomes reacquainted with Magnus Evans, star of the uni rugby team and the apple of everyone's eye and things really do take off from there...
This book is so much more than a romance. When I went into it, I thought it was going to be cut and dry: the two love interests from different cultures don't really like or know each other and then they fall in love. This book is SO much more than that! Jafari paints this sprawling web shaky family dynamics starting in Brighton before going to Iran, Liverpool and London - she captures family conflict and the interpersonal traumas that our loved ones can inflict on us in such a poignant and at times painful way. The characters in this book are so whole and they leap of the page every time they speak and she interweaves history, time and place so effortlessly - it's unreal.
I was so enthralled by this book - I inhaled it over the course of two days. Jafari's Soraya is a fantastic character and I was so sucked into her world. Throughout the novel we see her battle internally about who she is, what she wants and what it means to be a good person, namely a good Muslim, just as her mother Neda has done in her own young adulthood. I thought the pacing of the book and the structuring between the present day and the past was so smart and slick, I found myself becoming so wrapped up in Neda's life just as I did Soraya's which was such a welcome surprise since the book isn't necessarily marketed as a generational story. Their dynamic was also really great to see and it was so fascinating watching them learn about themselves in a kind of parallel together.
There also needs to be a shout out for the minor characters in this book, like Oliver and Priya, Parvin and Amir, even Hossein - they all leapt right off the page and it felt like Jafari had really taken the time to craft each of them. They felt just as central to the plot as the novel's main characters, which to me is the sign of a great writer. I should also say that the writing in this books is something else, there were lines in this book that stayed with me for hours afterwards, and so many small quips and sarcastic moments! The subtle and often dry humour of the book fit in perfectly with my taste and it was great to find the humour in some the lighter situations Soraya found herself in.
The two things I really loved about this book were Soraya and Magnus' relationship (their honesty with one another, their vulnerability, their playfulness) and the inner turmoil of the Nazari household. I thought that the kind of slow decent into the chaos was excellent and I really felt for Soraya feeling like she had to hide who she was and what she doing. I appreciated Magnus also kind of living this double life as a lad whilst Soraya was living in her duality, I thought that mirroring was really smart and so when they things kicked off then settled it felt really satisfying. The same goes for the conflict within the Nazari family, I was really impressed by the way that things unfolded and found myself screaming aloud when things started to take a turn for the worst before eventually settling into a calmer, joyous state.
This book is amazing and it's much more than a so-called millennial novel. I found the parts about contemporary young adulthood really stark and real, but the way Jafari depicts Neda's young adult life was frankly superb and such a welcome part of this already fantastic story.
Overall, this is a dizzying feat of a (debut!!!) novel and I'm so excited to see what Jafari comes out with next. This was honestly one of the best things I've read in a while and I HIGHLY recommend it!
Sara Jafari's The Mismatch is a triumph and I loved every single page.
The story largely follows Soraya Nazari, a newly graduated Iranian-British Muslim girl unsure of what the hell she's going to do with the rest of her life. At graduation she becomes reacquainted with Magnus Evans, star of the uni rugby team and the apple of everyone's eye and things really do take off from there...
This book is so much more than a romance. When I went into it, I thought it was going to be cut and dry: the two love interests from different cultures don't really like or know each other and then they fall in love. This book is SO much more than that! Jafari paints this sprawling web shaky family dynamics starting in Brighton before going to Iran, Liverpool and London - she captures family conflict and the interpersonal traumas that our loved ones can inflict on us in such a poignant and at times painful way. The characters in this book are so whole and they leap of the page every time they speak and she interweaves history, time and place so effortlessly - it's unreal.
I was so enthralled by this book - I inhaled it over the course of two days. Jafari's Soraya is a fantastic character and I was so sucked into her world. Throughout the novel we see her battle internally about who she is, what she wants and what it means to be a good person, namely a good Muslim, just as her mother Neda has done in her own young adulthood. I thought the pacing of the book and the structuring between the present day and the past was so smart and slick, I found myself becoming so wrapped up in Neda's life just as I did Soraya's which was such a welcome surprise since the book isn't necessarily marketed as a generational story. Their dynamic was also really great to see and it was so fascinating watching them learn about themselves in a kind of parallel together.
There also needs to be a shout out for the minor characters in this book, like Oliver and Priya, Parvin and Amir, even Hossein - they all leapt right off the page and it felt like Jafari had really taken the time to craft each of them. They felt just as central to the plot as the novel's main characters, which to me is the sign of a great writer. I should also say that the writing in this books is something else, there were lines in this book that stayed with me for hours afterwards, and so many small quips and sarcastic moments! The subtle and often dry humour of the book fit in perfectly with my taste and it was great to find the humour in some the lighter situations Soraya found herself in.
The two things I really loved about this book were Soraya and Magnus' relationship (their honesty with one another, their vulnerability, their playfulness) and the inner turmoil of the Nazari household. I thought that the kind of slow decent into the chaos was excellent and I really felt for Soraya feeling like she had to hide who she was and what she doing. I appreciated Magnus also kind of living this double life as a lad whilst Soraya was living in her duality, I thought that mirroring was really smart and so when they things kicked off then settled it felt really satisfying. The same goes for the conflict within the Nazari family, I was really impressed by the way that things unfolded and found myself screaming aloud when things started to take a turn for the worst before eventually settling into a calmer, joyous state.
This book is amazing and it's much more than a so-called millennial novel. I found the parts about contemporary young adulthood really stark and real, but the way Jafari depicts Neda's young adult life was frankly superb and such a welcome part of this already fantastic story.
Overall, this is a dizzying feat of a (debut!!!) novel and I'm so excited to see what Jafari comes out with next. This was honestly one of the best things I've read in a while and I HIGHLY recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism and Racial slurs