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A Place for Us: A Novel

A Place for Us: A Novel

by Fatima Farheen Mirza (Author)

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD “5 UNDER 35” NOMINEE • NEW YORK’S “ONE BOOK, ONE NEW YORK” PICK
 
Named One of the Best Books of the Year: Washington Post • NPR • People • Refinery29 • Parade • BuzzFeed
 
“Mirza writes with a mercy that encompasses all things.”Ron Charles, Washington Post
 
Hailed as “a book for our times” (Christiane Amanpour), A Place for Us is a deeply moving and resonant story of love, identity, and belonging.

As an Indian wedding gathers a family back together, parents Rafiq and Layla must reckon with the choices their children have made. There is Hadia: their headstrong, eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Huda, the middle child, determined to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And lastly, their estranged son, Amar, who returns to the family fold for the first time in three years to take his place as brother of the bride. What secrets and betrayals have caused this close-knit family to fracture? Can Amar find his way back to the people who know and love him best?

A Place for Us takes us back to the beginning of this family’s life: from the bonds that bring them together, to the differences that pull them apart. All the joy and struggle of family life is here, from Rafiq and Layla’s own arrival in America from India, to the years in which their children—each in their own way—tread between two cultures, seeking to find their place in the world, as well as a path home.

A Place for Us is a book for our times: an astonishingly tender-hearted novel of identity and belonging, and a resonant portrait of what it means to be an American family today. It announces Fatima Farheen Mirza as a major new literary talent.

In the captivating novel "A Place for Us" by Fatima Farheen Mirza, we are introduced to the Khan family, a Muslim American family living in California. The story centers around the lives of three siblings: Hadia, Huda, and Amar, as they navigate their individual journeys of love, identity, and belonging.

Hadia, the eldest, is a brilliant and ambitious young woman who finds herself torn between her family's expectations and her own personal aspirations. As she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, she must confront the complexities of her faith, her culture, and the choices she makes.

Huda, the middle child, is a free-spirited artist grappling with her own struggles with mental health and her search for a place where she truly belongs. As she navigates the challenges of her condition, she finds solace in her art and the unexpected connections she forms along the way.

Amar, the youngest, is a sensitive and thoughtful young man who finds himself grappling with his sexuality and the expectations placed upon him as a Muslim American man. As he navigates the complexities of his identity, he must find a way to reconcile his personal truths with the traditions of his family.

"A Place for Us" is a poignant and insightful exploration of the complexities of family, faith, and the search for belonging in a world that is often divided. Through the eyes of the Khan siblings, Fatima Farheen Mirza weaves a story that is both deeply personal and universally relatable, reminding us of the power of love, resilience, and the enduring bonds that unite us all.

Rating:

Pages:
377 pages
Language:
English