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ARE YOU ENJOYING? by Mira Sethi

ARE YOU ENJOYING?

by Mira Sethi

Pub Date: April 20th, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5247-3287-5
Publisher: Knopf

Sexuality and class intersect in this collection of short stories set in Pakistan.

The characters in Sethi’s debut struggle with their individuality because of the straightjacket imposed by conventional society. In “Mini Apple,” Javed, a divorced television star, engages in a passionate affair with an American official only to find that he inconveniently develops feelings for her. In “Breezy Blessings,” up-and-coming actress Mehak Ahmed comes to terms with the limits of moving ahead on talent alone. She realizes she needs to wield her sexuality as a commodity if she wants to play more than the role of “lead’s sister” for the rest of her life. The stories are especially striking for their portrayal of hidden homosexuality. While Roshan, Mehak’s on-site assistant, must depend on the whims of his boss for his secret to remain safe, the rich have better means. In "Tomboy," one of the more touching stories, childhood friends Zarrar and Asha, who are both closeted, marry each other to deliver the pretense that they’re straight. Each understands that it’s a marriage of convenience. In “A Life of Its Own,” the young newlyweds Farah and Kashif, who stay in Pakistan to help their aging parents rather than move to the U.S. for their careers, find that the harsh realities of life in small-town Pakistan can be softened with money. Class shows up again in the title story when upper-class Soni indulges in an affair with a boorish, married older man. While Sethi’s descriptions—"the gray in Asher's hair became a mischievous afterthought, like a snaggletooth on a beautiful woman: the succumbing, teasing quirk of a faultless mold"—are punchy and the stories raw, they tread worn ground. There are not many novel insights to be garnered here.

Biting and incisive stories that successfully walk the fine line between boldness and sensationalism.