Book Chat: SJP for Hogarth debuts with A Place for Us

As many who follow actress and producer Sarah Jessica Parker may know, she is a bookworm and lover of reading. In the past, she has selected books for Book Club Central through Penguin Random House. Now she is actually launching her own imprint SJP for Hogarth in which she acquires and curates books through her publishing imprint that reflect her personal tastes as a reader.

“I have always loved to read for the same reason I love to act, which is that other people’s stories are more interesting to me than my own.” –Sarah Jessica Parker

I am beyond moved to be asked to be a part of the book reviewers who are supporting the launch of her first book, A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. As part of the amazing community built by Brenda and Norma, I will be reading this book along with many of my Traveling Sisters, and we will all be publishing our own reviews with our own thoughts. Please check out their post, as they’ve shared some gorgeous pictures of this book taken by the Traveling Sisters group!

About the Book

This book is not just the first for Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint at Hogarth, it is the first publication for writer Fatima Farheen Mirza. So far I am absolutely blown away by Mirza. Her words and descriptions are so carefully chosen and beautiful. I feel like I’m in a different life when I’m reading this book. Since I am still reading this one, I’d like to use the wonderful description from the publisher:

“A Place for Us unfolds the lives of an Indian-American Muslim family, gathered together in their Californian hometown to celebrate the eldest daughter, Hadia’s, wedding–a match of love rather than tradition. It is here, on this momentous day, that Amar, the youngest of the siblings, reunites with his family for the first time in three years. Rafiq and Layla must now contend with the choices and betrayals that lead to their son’s estrangement–the reckoning of parents who strove to pass on their cultures and traditions to their children, and of children who in turn struggle to balance authenticity in themselves with loyalty to the home they came from.

“In a narrative that spans decades and sees family life through the eyes of each member, A Place For Us charts the crucial moments in the family’s past, from the bonds that bring them together to the differences that pull them apart. And as siblings Hadia, Huda, and Amar attempt to carve out a life for themselves, they must reconcile their present culture with their parent’s faith, to tread a path between the old world and the new, and learn how the smallest decisions can lead to the deepest of betrayals.

“A deeply affecting and resonant story, A Place for Us is truly a book for our times: a moving portrait of what it means to be an American family today, a novel of love, identity and belonging that eloquently examines what it means to be both American and Muslim-and announces Fatima Farheen Mirza as a major new literary talent.”

Publication Date: 6/12/2018

Stay tuned for more as I work through this amazing book with my fellow Traveling Sisters!!