A review by richytofu
A Dutiful Boy by Mohsin Zaidi

4.0

When I saw the title of this memoir, I assumed it was ironic. A tongue in cheek sarcastic remark: “yeah of course I’m totally a dutiful boy, a dutiful gay Muslim boy”. I thought the whole book would show someone coming to terms with their true identity and letting go of their incompatible roots as part of the process of growing up. That’s usually what happens to people who go through what Mohsin went through. I’ve thought about similar things, of cutting off people close to me who I think won’t support me as I appear to change my beliefs and lifestyle.

What I didn’t expect was that the title, and the whole book, was totally sincere in its use of the adjective “dutiful”. Mohsin tries so hard to maintain his relationship with his parents, even through their apparent crisis in having a gay son. I suppose his story is a rarity. Nevertheless it’s important to hear a story about never giving up on family.