A Place for Us has been guaranteed a certain amount of prerelease publicity as the first novel under actress, producer and designer Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint, SJP for Hogarth. The author, Fatima Farheen Mirza, is a 26-year-old graduate of the highly respected Iowa Writers' Workshop. The novel concerns itself with the lives of an Indian-American Muslim family living in California. The opening scene is the wedding of eldest daughter Hadia. The bride's prodigal brother, Amar, has returned after an absence of several years, and the reasons for this absence unfold in ensuing chapters.

Hadia and Amar, along with sister Huda, are the children of Layla and Rafiq, and the interior lives of these characters are explored in continually shifting timelines. Early on, these multiple points of view and the seeming lack of plot make the story confusing, but A Place for Us gains traction when Amar is bullied at school around 9/11. He is also involved in a forbidden romance with Amira Ali, the daughter of a well-respected local family whose eldest son died in a car accident.

Overshadowing all these events are the parameters of a deeply traditional Muslim culture—arranged marriages, the differing set of standards and expectations for men and women, the pressure for academic achievement—and the looming sense of being an "other" in American society.

Immigrant novels often center on conflict and the juxtaposition between Old World values and modern Western culture. In seeking a better life for their children, Layla and Rafiq must contend with this and the effect it has on their family. A Place for Us resonates at the crossroads of culture, character, storytelling and poignancy.

 

This article was originally published in the June 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Hadia is marrying for love, not tradition, and the story of her California-based Indian Muslim family unfolds on the eve of her wedding from the varied perspectives of mother, father, and three siblings. From a debuting Iowa Writers' Workshop grad, this is the inaugural acquisition in Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint.

Mirza's first novel, which launches Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint with Hogarth, follows an American Muslim family in California, and in particular the divergent paths of eldest daughter, Hadia, and youngest child, Amar. Hadia excels in academics and is in most ways "the perfect daughter," but as she reaches adulthood, she forges her own path, pursuing a career in medicine rather than accepting marriage proposals. Amar struggles throughout his life, particularly with his faith. His inability to be the son his father expects leads him to alcohol, drugs, and estrangement. The majority of the story is told nonchronologically from the perspectives of Hadia, Amar, and their mother, Layla. The final section, the only part told in first person, is narrated by the father, Rafiq, and is an extremely moving meditation on parental love for a difficult child. Throughout, Mirza subtly poses the question: "What does it mean to be a Muslim in 21st-century America?" VERDICT Because of the structure, the time line of events is at times confusing. What Mirza does best is show how family dynamics can shape one's life and how seemingly inconsequential events can have a large impact over time. [See Prepub Alert, 1/8/18.]—Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis

Bonds of faith and family strengthen and strangle in this promising but flawed debut, set in a close-knit Indian Muslim community in California. The story opens with the wedding of Hadia, golden child of Layla and Rafiq and older sister to Huda and Amar, skillfully setting up the central tension: why has Amar, the troubled youngest, been absent from the family, and can he be drawn back? The plot then shuffles backward and forward, revisiting plot points with few signposts to let the reader know when exactly key events—an untimely death, the snuffing out of a forbidden relationship, a family-rupturing fight—take place. Perspective alights on various characters, revealing more about some than others; middle child Huda remains nearly opaque, and early references to Rafiq's violent temper are all but dropped. For the final 80 pages, Rafiq narrates, and the story at last coheres. He delivers a heartrending reflection on his role in his son's partly self-imposed banishment: "It is in these moments that the fabric of my life reveals itself to be an illusion: thinking that I am fine, we all are, that we could grow around your loss like a tree that bends around a barrier or wound." Mirza displays a particular talent for rendering her characters' innermost emotional lives, signaling a writer to watch. (June)

Layla and Rafiq are traditional Muslim Indians. After their arranged marriage in Hyderabad, young Layla joins Rafiq in northern California, where they immerse themselves in their mosque and its community and start their family. They do their utmost to raise their children in strict adherence to their faith. Mirza writes eloquently about the parents' choices and their children's subsequent struggles to straddle two cultures and assimilate. Daughters Hadia and Huda navigate life with Islamic constrictions much more successfully than their younger brother Amar. For Amar, there are too many contradictions, and from early childhood, he questions and rebels. In turn, his parents ramp up their restrictions and their disapproval, creating a downward spiral for Amar as the family is slowly but surely torn apart by cultural conflicts and misunderstandings. Teen readers will appreciate Hadia and Huda and will empathize, commiserate, and identify with the beleaguered Amar. Written alternately from each character's perspective, the narrative moves back and forth in time (sometimes confusingly), with Hadia's wedding the anchoring event. The writing is delicate, evocative, and intense but accessible. VERDICT Teens who enjoy powerful family dramas such as Mitali Perkins's You Bring the Distant Near and rebellion stories like Erika L. Sanchez's I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter will love this gripping and bittersweet tale.—Gretchen Crowley, formerly at Alexandria City Public Libraries, VA