Book Review: A Place for Us | Fatima Farheen Mirza

I don’t know quite how to put into words how beautiful this book is. A Place for Us worked its way into my heart. This story feels like it has become a part of me, as though it has changed the way I see the world and other people and cultures. The writing is absolutely breathtaking. I heard it described by SJP as delicate, as though each sentence is spun from glass. I couldn’t say it better! Each word and sentence is so perfectly chosen. Each character is someone I love, and want to cry with and laugh with, and someone I want to remind that they are a good person, even when they make mistakes. Because they care. Because they love. Because they hurt. Because they always try to do better.

About the Book

How to describe a book like this? It’s about a family and the complicated experiences that pull family members apart and also draw them back together. Layla and Rafiq had an arranged marriage, and Layla left her family in Hyderabad to move to the United States and start a family with Rafiq. The book begins with their eldest daughter Hadia’s wedding, and their second daughter Huda is helping her get ready. Hadia is marrying for love, a practice which is uncommon in many Muslim communities. On the eve of Hadia’s wedding, her younger brother Amar returns home. Amar has been estranged from his family for many years, but he has always shared a special connection with Hadia. When she reached out to him, he did not know what he would do. But he came for her, and for his family.

Reflection

There is so much to love about these characters. Layla is torn between the strict customs of her faith, and the desire for her children to have happy, comfortable lives. Rafiq is quiet and seems stern, but he loves and cares so deeply, though he struggles with showing it. Hadia is strong and exceptional, but worries that she will never be as good in her parents eyes because she is a daughter, and not a son. Huda is steady and confident in her beliefs and herself, and speaks the truth even when it may be difficult. And Amar is sensitive and stubborn, but kind and good to all people despite his struggles with his faith and his role in the family and community.

The way this book is written is so beautiful, not only in the words chosen, but in how the story is constructed. Mirza weaves through time as she tells the story of this family. She strings together stories like memories, each tied to each other by an emotion rather than time. Memories are not linear. We don’t remember things in the order they occurred. Sometimes the thread between two stories is delicate, but meaningful nonetheless. Other times it is taut and strong, charged with emotion and unresolved feelings.

As each story layers together, the picture of this family is built. They struggle with the balance between their religion, their family, their community, and themselves. They fear losing one another above all else. They each comb through their memories and thoughts, to try to make sense of Amar’s distance from the family. They each wonder if they are to blame, and if so, could they have prevented it? And most importantly, they love one another so purely. Even when they make mistakes. Even when they are angry. Even when they act from a place of fear or hurt. This is a book filled with beautiful, breathtaking, heartbreaking, uplifting love.

I read this book with a group of my Traveling Sisters. I found that the discussions we had were so moving. Each person was on their own journey through the book, and had a unique lens through which they were able to find meaning in each scene. For some, it was about being a parent or a child. For others, it was about the feeling of repression. And for others, it was about love and heartache. I loved reading this book and discussing it with my Sisters so much. Even now, we are reflecting and gaining more from this experience. And what this book has done for each one of us is add more nuance to how we view families, love, religion, culture, and community.

I want to thank Sarah Jessica Parker, Fatima Farheen Mirza, SJP for Hogarth, Penguin Random House, and Goodreads for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication. I also want to thank the Traveling Sisters, and especially Brenda and Norma, for the opportunity to have such a wonderful reading experience and discussion.

Publication Date: 6/12/2018