This is a novel that will stay with me for a long time. I loved it. It's the story of an Indian-American Muslim family living in California. The mother and father were born in India and moved to the US after they married, and their two daughters and one son were born here. I learned a lot about Muslim traditions and beliefs just by reading this although I confess that some of the rituals were hard to understand. But the core of the book is all about the relationships and conflicts between the members of the family and how their faith and community affect their lives.
It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. The descriptive writing is beautiful, and the characters are so well developed. Layla, the mother, is a fascinating character as we learn about her marriage after only seeing her future husband twice but never speaking with him until after the ceremony. Hadia, the oldest daughter, wants a different life for herself where she follows her faith but is not as restricted by her culture as her parents. And then Amar, the son, who struggles with his faith and the strict rules imposed by his father..... and how he ultimately must make difficult decisions as to how to live his life.
Definitely recommend this one. -June
1 comment:
I'm smiling because when I wrote June that I was reading A Place for Us as recommended by her, she replied "Did I like it?" YES you did and I'm grateful because, then, I read it and it is truly a masterpiece of character development. Agree that some of the Muslim words remain foreign, but were seldom used without sufficient context to understand what they meant. Liked this book very much.
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