A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

This is one of those books that I’d see everywhere and think, “Man, I need to get this! It looks like it’s gonna be a tear jerking, heart-wrenching, sobfest inducing read!” And yes, I did think all of these things with relish, because I’m a masochist when it comes to sad family sagas. A Place For Us definitely delivered on this point.

This book navigates the past and present of an Indian-American family as they try to find balance in multiple spheres. A balance between their Muslim religion and the Western world they live in, between the unwavering expectations for the three children and the dreams the children have for themselves, and the balancing of affection and love that at times feels unevenly divided, but is always sought.

Rafiq and Layla come together through an arranged marriage, which results in Rafiq bringing Layla back to America to make a life and family in California. They are blessed with three children, Hadia, Huda and Amar.

Hadia is loving, ambitious and always seeking to please her parents in everything she endeavors to try. At times, she feels pushed aside by her mother, who lavishes favor on Amar, though to her he appears to accomplish little to deserve such reverence. Her relationship with her brother is one of undying devotion, but with some resentment and frustration thrown in. Hadia does her best to avoid anything that could lead her to stray from the path her parents want for her; alas, she finds that that’s not always how life plays out.

Huda is the middle child, which is very stereotyped in this book because she does not play a very pivotal role. At times, Huda could almost be entirely forgotten about. Huda doesn’t appear to be favored by either of her parents or siblings and remains fairly neutral in her behavior and actions throughout the book.

Amar is the youngest and only son. He is quickly identified as the black sheep of the family because Amar disregards the staunch Muslim beliefs of his parents and struggles throughout his life to find his worth. The constant pressure of being a disappointment to his father leads Amar on a destructive path that ultimately causes him to become estranged from his family, until the day of Hadia’s wedding.

Ultimately, I loved A Place For Us. It did jump around quite a lot, but the story was a puzzle that came together nicely by the conclusion. My favorite perspective had to be Rafiq’s at the very end. When he’s reflecting on his life and all the regrets he carries, all the questions of what life would have been like for his family if he would have handled one or two situations differently…it’s heartbreaking.

And as I said – only read this book if you enjoy feeling depleted by fatherly grief…

You can find your copy here! Hope you enjoy 🙂

Happy & healthy reading!

Alexis