by Tariq Rana ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2012
Subverts expectations with a twisting plot crossing cultural and religious boundaries.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
In Rana’s debut novel, a reclusive, conservative Islamic leader and family man falls for a vivacious fashion model half his age.
The worship leader of a Muslim community in Canada, Ali Mansoor Khan is a middle-aged imam with two children whose wife, Shazia, is pregnant with a third. He is also a veteran; the horrors he experienced and injuries he sustained while serving his country in Afghanistan have left him with horrific nightmares. His reprieve from this terror comes in his dreams, in the form of the beautiful Stacy Kimball, a model Ali saw in one of his daughter’s clothing magazines. Ali becomes obsessed with Stacy and the haunting similarities the blond 20-something shares with Shazia. Upon meeting her, his attraction only grows. But even if his religion allows it, how can he take a second wife? Especially with the protestations of his family and the public scrutiny that results when a man of his age and appearance is seen with a famous young model. Rana’s debut showcases a refreshing sense of humor; forgoing subtlety more often than not, Rana presents the characters as animated, exaggerated figures. While this does little to establish a sense of realism, each character in the novel is clearly defined and instantly memorable—from Ali as the tortured, self-chastising holy man to the seductive coquette, Stacy, to Shazia, Ali’s mercurial, rampaging wife. Yet these larger-than-life personalities never undercut the darker aspects of the story. Chapters move quickly in a nonlinear fashion, a device which, while initially disorienting, creates intrigue even during more banal scenes. Rana utilizes repetition in his narrative, but it never feels tedious. Instead, the novel presents the recurring hopes, fears and sentiments of its characters in a way that resembles Ali’s prayers. The means through which Ali meets his new love are flimsy—a picture, a dream, a private investigator—but as the novel advances, it forms an eloquent commentary on image, especially as it concerns religion and race in Western society.
Subverts expectations with a twisting plot crossing cultural and religious boundaries.Pub Date: March 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468162721
Page Count: 402
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
Share your opinion of this book
More by J.D. Salinger
BOOK REVIEW
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Share your opinion of this book
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.