Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Soomro's nuanced debut contends with themes of sexuality and masculinity in Pakistan. Fahad, 16, reluctantly travels by train with his father, Rafik, to their rural estate in Abad. Rafik hopes to introduce the theater-inclined Fahad to an appropriate friend who can help him become "a man." Ali, a tough, local boy, initially intimidates Fahad, but soon captures his heart, the heat and wildness of the countryside mirroring Fahad's desire. In chapters from Rafik's points of view, Soomro delves into his struggle to cultivate his jungle property into farmland and his ruthless determination to maintain power by bribing officials and coercing his workers into building an audacious dam. Decades later, in what seems to be the present day, Fahad is a successful writer living an openly gay life in London when his comfortable existence is upended by a call from his mother claiming his parents are about to lose their house in Karachi. Fahad returns to Pakistan and discovers Rafik has squandered his money and is losing his memory. Together they travel back to Abad, and Fahad, brimming with nostalgia for Ali, reckons with the passage of time. In sharp prose, Soomro brings clarity and emotional heft to Fahad's wistfulness ("the Ali he was looking for was long gone... but still he kept looking"). This author is one to watch. Agent: Adam Eaglin, Cheney Agency. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In this debut from a British Pakistani lawyer-turned-writer, 16-year-old Fahad reluctantly travels with his father from London to rural Pakistan for what promises to be a challenging summer; his father isn't just reconnecting with family but hoping to toughen up the son he sees as too sensitive, hiring local teenager Ali to do the job. Instead, Fahad and Ali are mutually attracted, even as secrets about Fahad's father emerge that will return to haunt him decades later. Exploring issues of family and masculinity within the context of Pakistan's history; with a 75,000-copy first printing.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Pakistani boy is riven by duty and legacy and by his own desires. At 16, Fahad is a bookish, sensitive boy who can't seem to evade the critical eye of his tyrannical father, Rafik, in their home in Karachi. His hopes to spend the summer holidays in London with his doting mother are dashed when Rafik demands that the boy join him at the family's rural estate in Abad. Just as he's attempting to cultivate the lush jungle into farmland, Rafik intends to subdue his son's softer tendencies, to make "a man" of him, so that eventually the boy may grow up to assume power over the family estate himself. To accomplish this, Rafik introduces Fahad to local boy Ali, who appears, at first, to be his foil: tough, brooding, and dutiful. However, as the summer advances and the boys grow closer, Fahad finds himself attracted to Ali, a seductive spell that overflows into an admiration for the overgrown jungle that his father is attempting to tame at all costs. As the relationship between the two boys blossoms, Rafik's abuses of power take new extremes as he enlists his workers in building a dam whose construction is not only costly and ambitious, but places all of their lives at risk. A couple of decades later, Fahad has managed to effectively escape his father's grip. A successful writer, he has made a comfortable life for himself in London with his partner. However, a phone call from his mother threatens the stability and ease he has finally achieved: His parents are on the verge of losing their home in Karachi, and his presence is required to manage the estate in Abad. Back in Abad, Fahad observes his once-despotic father's descent into dementia as his own mind is deluged with memories of his romance with Ali. In third-person chapters that alternate between Rafik's and Fahad's points of view, the novel deftly captures the way the past--both memories and inheritances--informs the present and the future. Despite its concern for the past though, the narrative never feels stalled, moving forward with urgent and emotionally resonant prose. A deft examination of sexuality, history, and father-son relationships. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
