1964. Karachi, Pakistan. Rozeena is running out of time. She'll lose her home if her medical career doesn't take off soon. But success may come with an unexpected price. Meanwhile the interwoven lives of her childhood best friends seem to be unraveling with each passing day. Then one fateful night someone ends up dead and the life they once took for granted shatters.
2019. Rozeena receives a call from a voice she never thought she'd hear again. What begins as an ask to look after a friend's teenaged granddaughter struggling with her own demons grows into an unconventional friendship.
Absorbing ... The Partition is the historical landscape on which Alam's novel is drawn. It's a backdrop I found fascinating and one I didn't know much about ... Alam's novel explores the responsibilities of friendship, the weight of atonement when forgiveness is fleeting, and a theme that resonated most with me: that no matter the time, the place or the adversity of the circumstances, there are always women who cultivate meaningful lives for themselves and their children.
[A] sensitive tale ... The delicate balance between individual and collective imperatives runs through this plot, as do themes of friendship, ambition, gender norms, class, and familial pressures. Alam’s vivid descriptions of Karachi, nuanced characters, and deft ability to delve into big ideas while keeping the story moving make this an emotionally engaging read.
Serious in tone, slow to start, and increasingly forced in its plotting, the novel works hard to deliver sympathy and suspense. Its warm evocation of place is a strength, but the sense of authorial machinery at work as the characters repeatedly face intractable options handicaps this first work. A vibrant portrait of a place and time lends richness to an overdetermined storyline.
