A Place For Us
Author: Fatima Farheen Mirza
Published by: Hogarth, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK
Pages: 385
Format: Hardback
My Rating: ★★★★
A wayward son, a dutiful daughter, a family caught between two cultures.
A Place For Us catches an Indian Muslim family as they prepare for their eldest daughter’s wedding. But as Hadia’s marriage – one chosen of love, not tradition – gathers the family back together, there is only one thing on their minds: can Amar, the estranged younger brother of the bride, be trusted to behave himself after three years away?
A Place For us tells the story of one family, but all family life is here.
Rafiq and Layla must come to terms with the choices their children have made, while Hadia. Huda and Amar must reconcile their present culture with their parents’ world, treading a path between old and new. And they must all learn how the smallest decisions can lead to the deepest betrayals.
This is a novel for our times: a deeply moving examination of love, identity and belonging that turns our preconceptions over one by one.
My thoughts:
I was delighted when Penguin Random House kindly sent me an advanced copy of A Place For Us, and asked me to provide an honest review ahead of the UK release.
It is the first book selected by Sarah Jessica Parker for Hogarth, and will be available to buy in hardback on 14th June 2018.
A Place For Us is a timely tale of belonging. Opening with the marriage of Hadia, friends and family gather for her wedding day, but it soon becomes clear that certain family tensions may have resurfaced during the celebratory occasion.
Each of the key characters are introduced in this first part, and then the book goes back and forth in time, as family members reflect on various important memories. Each flashback allows the reader to delve a little deeper into the complex relationships between family members, and offer really interesting and moving backstories. Some of these reflections I found a little more engaging than others, and I was surprised that I felt particularly drawn to the stories involving Amar, the troubled male sibling.
Raised by strict and very traditional Muslim parents, the children initially struggle with growing up and fitting in with everyday life in America. The two sisters, Huda and Hadia, work hard to please their parents and bring pride to the family name, managing to balance their cultural and religious beliefs in the outside world as well as at home.
The girls are successful in being active well-respected members of their community, and both are happily able to lead the kind of lives their parents’ always wanted for them. For Amar, however, finding his place in the world doesn’t come quite so naturally. He is torn between his family’s expectations, and his own feelings and beliefs. For years he secretly struggles with the religious views of his family and friends, and constantly feels like an outsider in his own community. Sadly, as heartbreak and circumstances around him impact Amar directly, he begins to feel more and more isolated. Turning to alcohol, wild partying and eventually drugs, the distance between him and his family widens more and more. It is only the wedding of his sister, Hadia, which finally brings him back to the family home after three years of absence.
This intriguing novel beautifully depicts Amar’s struggle to understand his faith; to find out what he truly believes in, and as a result, how he chooses to live his life. There is a constant theme throughout the book of characters finding balance in a complicated and entangled society.
I found the tale of this family extremely moving and insightful, and I am so pleased that I got to read their story. The book feels very timely, and so many of the issues raised are relevant in today’s world. It is a captivating contemporary tale of acceptance, loyalty and individualism. I particularly loved the quiet romance explored between Amra and Amira, which is subtle and innocent but so delicate and beautifully written that it really does tug at the heartstrings. This moving debut is a novel that can speak to everyone.
Fatima Fahreen Mirza’s writing is gripping, emotional and a joy to read. A Place For Us is a really wonderful debut novel, deserving of great success, and one I cannot recommend highly enough.
Overall reaction:
Published by: Hogarth, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK
Pages: 385
Format: Hardback
My Rating: ★★★★
A wayward son, a dutiful daughter, a family caught between two cultures.
A Place For Us catches an Indian Muslim family as they prepare for their eldest daughter’s wedding. But as Hadia’s marriage – one chosen of love, not tradition – gathers the family back together, there is only one thing on their minds: can Amar, the estranged younger brother of the bride, be trusted to behave himself after three years away?
A Place For us tells the story of one family, but all family life is here.
Rafiq and Layla must come to terms with the choices their children have made, while Hadia. Huda and Amar must reconcile their present culture with their parents’ world, treading a path between old and new. And they must all learn how the smallest decisions can lead to the deepest betrayals.
This is a novel for our times: a deeply moving examination of love, identity and belonging that turns our preconceptions over one by one.
My thoughts:
I was delighted when Penguin Random House kindly sent me an advanced copy of A Place For Us, and asked me to provide an honest review ahead of the UK release.
It is the first book selected by Sarah Jessica Parker for Hogarth, and will be available to buy in hardback on 14th June 2018.
A Place For Us is a timely tale of belonging. Opening with the marriage of Hadia, friends and family gather for her wedding day, but it soon becomes clear that certain family tensions may have resurfaced during the celebratory occasion.
Each of the key characters are introduced in this first part, and then the book goes back and forth in time, as family members reflect on various important memories. Each flashback allows the reader to delve a little deeper into the complex relationships between family members, and offer really interesting and moving backstories. Some of these reflections I found a little more engaging than others, and I was surprised that I felt particularly drawn to the stories involving Amar, the troubled male sibling.
Raised by strict and very traditional Muslim parents, the children initially struggle with growing up and fitting in with everyday life in America. The two sisters, Huda and Hadia, work hard to please their parents and bring pride to the family name, managing to balance their cultural and religious beliefs in the outside world as well as at home.
The girls are successful in being active well-respected members of their community, and both are happily able to lead the kind of lives their parents’ always wanted for them. For Amar, however, finding his place in the world doesn’t come quite so naturally. He is torn between his family’s expectations, and his own feelings and beliefs. For years he secretly struggles with the religious views of his family and friends, and constantly feels like an outsider in his own community. Sadly, as heartbreak and circumstances around him impact Amar directly, he begins to feel more and more isolated. Turning to alcohol, wild partying and eventually drugs, the distance between him and his family widens more and more. It is only the wedding of his sister, Hadia, which finally brings him back to the family home after three years of absence.
This intriguing novel beautifully depicts Amar’s struggle to understand his faith; to find out what he truly believes in, and as a result, how he chooses to live his life. There is a constant theme throughout the book of characters finding balance in a complicated and entangled society.
I found the tale of this family extremely moving and insightful, and I am so pleased that I got to read their story. The book feels very timely, and so many of the issues raised are relevant in today’s world. It is a captivating contemporary tale of acceptance, loyalty and individualism. I particularly loved the quiet romance explored between Amra and Amira, which is subtle and innocent but so delicate and beautifully written that it really does tug at the heartstrings. This moving debut is a novel that can speak to everyone.
Fatima Fahreen Mirza’s writing is gripping, emotional and a joy to read. A Place For Us is a really wonderful debut novel, deserving of great success, and one I cannot recommend highly enough.
Overall reaction:
