BOOK REVIEW: Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin @UzmaWrites @BerkleyPub #ayeshaatlast #bookreview #berkleypub

Through a myriad of Pride and Prejudice adaptations, it would be easy to think you’ve seen it all. I am a total sucker for the story, because it is so timeless and I’ve always found the way two independent characters come together to make my heart swell. Uzma Jalaluddin’s novel Ayesha at Last features two Muslim leads living in Toronto and feeling the pull between culture, family, religion, love, and passion. I found Ayesha at Last to be an entirely fresh take on the story, and one that completely delighted me from page one until the very last!

Ayesha and Khalid have different ideas of what it means to interpret their faith and duty to their families, and they are constantly battling over those differences. And yet, they are each what the other needs to balance their fierce approach to love, family, and religion.

Ayesha is teaching high school and writing poetry when she can. She’s never appreciated the tradition of rishtas, where the families negotiate a union while she awkwardly avoids making too much eye contact with a man whom she could end up engaged to without even a solo conversation.

Khalid and his mother recently moved to Ayesha’s neighborhood. He works in technology but finds himself the target of his new boss, who can’t understand or appreciate his conservative religious views and dress. But when Khalid sees Ayesha one morning in her purple hijab, he can’t help but feel a spark of something. Love? Khalid believes strongly in arranged marriages. His mother wants to choose for him, and he is committed to his faith, family, and traditions.

When Ayesha’s cousin Hafsa asks her to fill in for her at a conference planning team at the mosque, Ayesha and Khalid find themselves forced to work together despite their differences. And then things only get more complicated from there. They clash, they butt heads, but perhaps there is something more between them.. How can it ever work though when Khalid is committed to marrying the woman his mother chooses for him?

The passion in this is built solely upon who these two individuals are as people, and their stubborn beliefs. There is very little in the way of physical romance, and understandably so. But the romantic tension is some of the strongest I’ve felt, founded upon two people who are so committed to their beliefs, that they struggle to acknowledge what they truly desire.

There is a levity to this book, despite what might be perceived as weighty themes. I found myself laughing at witty one-liners, and I adored the banter between Ayesha, Khalid, and the surrounding characters. Khalid’s best friend, for instance, is a riot though troubled. His storyline was surprisingly deep, and a lovely addition to this book.

Ayesha’s family is filled with a variety of character types that made me fall in love with this community. From her cousin Hafsa who is on the precipice of her 100^th marriage proposal and is a bit spoiled, to her grandparents who understand the generational differences and encourage them, I found her family to be wonderful to read about.

This book was much more than a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It has many other storylines that are fresh and inviting. I was talking to a friend about the book, and while describing it I found myself very interested in the evolution of a community steeped in tradition but also stocked with multiple generations whose interpretation and practice of those traditions is in a state of evolution. Even within a single generation we see everyone from modern Ayesha to traditional Khalid to friends of theirs who showcase all different ways of balancing their faith and their lives.

There is also a really great moment of cultural learning between Ayesha and her best friend (non-Muslim) around rishtas. I won’t spoil it, but it is such a fun scene and a beautiful way to think about how much we all still have to learn from each other’s cultures and traditions. That there is still room for the beauty of rituals in the modern world, just in a new way.

I can’t recommend this book enough—I loved it!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.