Review by Booklist Review
This rich, unafraid debut novel offers a masterclass in perspective-taking and will leave readers deep in their feelings. Pregnant by her ex-husband, the only man she's ever been with amongst relationships with women, Seema is visited in San Francisco by her dying mother and estranged sister, coming from Chennai and Texas, respectively, as the time of birth draws near. This Muslim Indian family struggles to close the emotional distances that have grown between them, mirroring their physical distances. Seema's unborn child contributes to the novel's narration as it works to understand the experiences shaping the multiple generations of humans awaiting its birth. Seema's fracture with her family of origin, her queer community, her political work on Obama's first election, her navigation of the United States as an Indian American woman, and her takeaways and leave-behinds from her family's religion all impact this important moment. Ahmed's impressive insight into his characters' lives is lifted up by a lovely use of intuitive and beautiful language. Additionally, the author's project of showing his characters honestly and authentically in the full ranges of their different and shared humanities succeeds in meaningful ways. Recommended for readers who enjoy multi-generational epics with deep emotionality.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This dazzling, heartrending debut follows two Indian sisters and their mother as they work to patch up fractures in their family. In 2010, pregnant Seema Hussein, 40, hosts her terminally ill mother, Nafeesa, from Chennai, and her devoutly Muslim doctor sister, Tahera, from Irvine, Tex. Seema's father disowned her when she came out as a lesbian, and the visit is a tentative step to mend fences as she frets about the birth and how involved in mothering she wants her younger Chinese American lover to be. The narration, artfully and convincingly handled from the point of view of Seema's son, Ishraaq, moves backward to 2003, when Seema meets 34-year-old Bill Miles, a Black lawyer, at an anti-war protest and is disarmed by his "princely masculine courting." They marry, and Seema throws herself into work for political campaigns. Then, while going through a divorce with Bill, Seema discovers she is pregnant. Back in the present, Nafeesa plans an elaborate meal for Seema's friends, while Tahera learns troubling details of anti-Muslim activity back home and struggles to reconcile her religious views with her role as a sister. Ahmed brilliantly maps the tension between the three women with emotional acuity, and as Seema's pregnancy unfolds, Ahmed slowly builds to a showdown, culminating in a shattering and unforgettable conclusion. This is a gem. Agent: Anjali Singh, Pande Literary. (Aug.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Ejected from her Muslim Indian family after coming out as a lesbian, political activist Seema now lives in San Francisco. She wants to reconcile with her family, and soon her mother is winging her way from India even as her devout ob-gyn sister arrives from Texas. From a Kundiman and Lambda Literary Fellow.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Muslim Indian family, splintered by forces from within and without, attempts to reconnect over one fateful week in San Francisco. "Oh, Grandmother, you're not asleep yet. The voices from the kitchen are no lullaby. Your daughters are fighting, and you blame yourself. There must have been something you could have done, before the rifts widened to such chasms." Ahmed's complex, ambitious debut is narrated by a fetus who--like his literary cousin in Ian McEwan's Nutshell--has narrative art to spare. Having just emerged from his mother's lifeless body in the delivery room, he unfolds a tragedy of classic proportions, fluently incorporating the poetry of Wordsworth, Keats, and the Quran and including masterful descriptions of the skies of San Francisco, of Muslim ritual, of LGBTQ+ protests, of Indian cooking and theater, of the volunteer organizations of then--District Attorney Kamala Harris and presidential candidates Howard Dean and Barack Obama. The story unfolds in a confusing manner, with some intent to mislead, but is essentially this: Seema, estranged from her family in India and uprooted to the U.S. when she came out as queer decades ago, briefly married Bill, a Black man. After their rancorous breakup, one instance of farewell sex led to the conception of Ishraaq (the name his mother chooses after learning he's a boy). As Ishraaq's due date draws near, Seema's mother, Nafeesa, comes from Chennai, though she is dying of cancer. Younger sister Tahera, a devout Muslim in hijab and jilbab, a mother of two and an OB/GYN, also arrives from her home in Irvine, Texas--though she is poisonously jealous of her sister and disgusted by her gay friends. Every difficulty and heartbreak takes its place alongside many others in this painful story shaped by both Islamophobia and homophobia. Ahmed swings for the fences in this luminously intelligent, culturally magisterial debut. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
