The title Theft says a lot, and Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah delivers a story that lives up to its name in more ways than one. This coming-of-age novel is told in a straightforward, linear narrative, yet it beautifully captures the complexities of growing up, identity, and fate.

 

At the heart of the novel are three main characters—Badar, Karim, and Fauzia. Like three distinct streams that eventually merge, their lives intertwine as the story unfolds. Each character brings a unique perspective and set of struggles, and the emotional depth of their journeys becomes more apparent as the novel progresses.

 

Initially, I was drawn to Karim for his positive and free-spirited nature, but as the story evolved, my feelings toward him changed. Badar, on the other hand, stood out as a gentle, introspective young man, far more mature than those around him. Fauzia, bright and kind-hearted, left a strong impression, and I felt genuinely saddened by the direction her story took.

 

The novel traces the three characters from childhood into adulthood, capturing pivotal moments as they start careers and navigate life's challenges. There is also an element of mystery that begins to unravel in the latter half of the book, adding a subtle but intriguing layer to the plot.

 

Gurnah’s writing is simple yet brilliant. The lack of unnecessary complexity in the language makes the narrative flow smoothly, making the novel not just engaging but also hard to put down.

 

In summary, Theft is a quietly powerful novel—rich in character, graceful in style, and emotionally resonant.

BOOK REVIEW: DREAM COUNT BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025

Four women.
Four lives.
Four stories.

All bound by their encounters with heartless, arrogant, and misogynistic men.

The novel introduces us to four central characters:

Chiamaka, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, is a successful travel writer. Despite her accomplishments, she struggles with loneliness and has never experienced a truly fulfilling relationship.
Zikora, her best friend, is a driven lawyer grappling with profound personal turmoil.
Omelogor, Chiamaka’s outspoken cousin, has a sharp mind for finance and a voice that challenges convention.
Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, faces hardship and injustice with quiet strength and resilience.
Set in the United States, Dream Count explores the emotional terrain these women navigate—particularly in their relationships with men who view them as disposable, treating them like furniture in their own lives. Through their intersecting stories, Adichie sheds light on the societal pressures and gendered expectations that continue to silence and diminish women.

A real-life incident from 2011 serves as a pivotal turning point in the narrative. While the themes are undeniably timely and the character portraits thoughtfully drawn, the novel didn’t fully come together for me. There were moments when I struggled to stay engaged, perhaps due to a pacing that felt uneven at times. Some sections lingered longer than necessary, which slightly diminished the overall impact.

That said, Dream Count remains a bold and thought-provoking novel—an unflinching portrayal of the complexity, pain, and quiet strength of modern womanhood in a patriarchal world. Even if it didn’t fully resonate with me, it’s a book that is sure to spark reflection and conversation.

THE MYSTERIOUS BAKERY ON RUE DE PARIS, EVIE WOODS

This book is like a delicious croissant—crisp on the outside, delicate on the inside, with a buttery aroma that’s rich but not overwhelming, and a light, airy texture that never feels dry. It has just the right flavour.

Edie Lane moves from Dublin to Paris in search of a fresh start, only to discover she’s actually headed to a quaint town called Compiègne, two hours away by train. She takes up a job as the assistant manager at the charming bakery on Rue de Paris.

Every mention of the baked goods—or the indulgent hot chocolate recipe—made me long for a taste of their decadence. There’s a gentle touch of magical realism woven throughout the narrative, adding a sprinkle of wonder to the cozy story. Edie, who becomes known for her love of jazz, is often found listening to Smile by Nat King Cole or Django Reinhardt, which adds warmth and character to her journey.

Like the rare vanilla beans that elevate the hot chocolate, a dash of pixie dust and a layer of history give this novel a delightful flavour. It’s a sweet, comforting read with no dull moments.

A light and charming story many readers have enjoyed—and those who haven’t yet picked it up are in for a treat.

BOOK REVIEW: THE PERSIANS BY SANAM MAHLOUDJI
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION

It’s hard to believe that The Persians is a debut novel. Spanning over 80 years, this compelling, multi-generational family saga tells the story of the Valiat women across continents and decades. Narrated through five distinct female voices, the novel uses a multi-perspective format to delve into themes of identity, culture, displacement, and belonging.

The story centres on the Valiat family, whose members are scattered following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. All but two—Niaz (Seema’s daughter) and the matriarch Elizabeth—relocate to the United States. Though they hail from a prominent family in Iran, their esteemed name holds little weight in their new homeland.

Each of the five women’s lives is richly drawn:

Elizabeth, the grandmother, is regal and resilient, a woman with a commanding presence and a sharp wit. She makes mistakes but shoulders the burdens of history with grace and adaptability. Her story was, by far, my favourite.
Shirin, her witty and unapologetic daughter, is an event planner navigating life on her own terms.
Seema, the more traditional sister, struggles as a frustrated housewife, caught between old values and new expectations.
Bita, Shirin’s thoughtful and introspective daughter, is a law student trying to find her place in the world.
Niaz, raised in Iran, is free-spirited and unconventional, offering a unique lens as one of the few who never emigrated.
A family vacation serves as a narrative pivot, unravelling long-held secrets and adding further intrigue to the story. Through this layered structure, Mahloudji masterfully questions the relevance of fame, family legacy, and reputation.

What makes this novel truly memorable is its emotional depth. The author captures the internal conflicts of women torn between a painful past and an uncertain future, each striving to carve out an identity in a world that often marginalizes them. The voices are distinct yet harmoniously woven, creating a rich tapestry of experience and emotion.

The Persians is not only an exploration of cultural displacement and generational transformation, but also a powerful portrait of womanhood, resilience, and reinvention. An exceptional debut—elegant, poignant, and profoundly human.

BOOK REVIEW: GOOD GIRL BY ARIA ABER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025

Aria Aber’s Good Girl draws a poignant contrast to Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Bad Girl. While Llosa’s titular character is manipulative and emotionally distant, Aber’s protagonist, Nila, is vulnerable and deeply impressionable, a "good girl" in the most heartbreaking sense of the word.

Nila, a 19-year-old of Afghan origin born in Germany, falls for Marlowe, a much older, washed-up writer. He’s emotionally unavailable, lost in his own addictions, and yet, Nila becomes enamoured with him. As a reader, I found myself inwardly pleading with her: Don’t do this. There’s a sense of helpless foreboding that builds as she chooses his company over her own well-being.

Part of what makes her story so affecting is its emotional complexity. Nila’s home life is far from stable. Her parents, Afghan refugees in Germany, carry unspoken traumas and cultural displacement that weigh heavily on their relationship with her. I felt strongly that Nila’s parents could have communicated more openly with her. Immigrant families often struggle to balance the culture of their homeland with that of their adopted country, but silence is rarely the answer. Children need context, dialogue, and a sense of identity that spans both worlds. Expecting them to wholly conform to the values of “home” without adaptation or explanation is a recipe for emotional struggle.

Despite her circumstances, Nila is an avid reader and a budding photographer, trying to find her place in the world. Her journey is one of navigating cultural tension, parental dysfunction, racial microaggressions, and the dangerous allure of an older man who symbolizes both escape and destruction.

Aber’s prose is unflinching and lyrical, capturing the rawness of adolescence and displacement. The novel raises a compelling question: Will Nila survive the emotional whirlpool Marlowe pulls her into, or will she be consumed by it?

Good Girl is not just a coming-of-age story—it’s a meditation on identity, trauma, and the quiet rebellion of young women trying to chart their own paths in a world that often misunderstands them.

FUNDAMENTALLY, NUSAIBAH YUNIS, SHORTLISTED FOR WOMEN'S PRIZE 2025

Nusaibah Yunis’s Fundamentally is a bold, deeply intelligent debut that navigates the fault lines between faith, family, and feminism in a global context.

At the centre of the story is Dr. Nadia Amin, a British lecturer in criminology, who is recovering from a painful breakup. When her article on deradicalization gains international attention, she’s offered a position by the United Nations to lead a rehabilitation program in Iraq for former ISIS brides—an initiative called UNDO. Although she accepts the role as a challenge, Nadia remains unsure of her own suitability for the task. What follows is an intricate journey through the layers of international bureaucracy, tribal politics, and moral complexity.

Nadia is a fascinatingly human protagonist—at times deeply self-assured, at other times plagued by self-doubt. Yunis captures this vacillation with subtlety, allowing readers to witness Nadia’s internal struggle as she tries to reconcile her professional responsibilities with her personal insecurities. This tension gives her character depth and emotional resonance.

Yunis also skilfully portrays Nadia as a secular woman who struggles with the expectations imposed by her religious mother. Their relationship, strained by years of difference and judgment, fractures when Nadia defies cultural norms—and is eventually disowned. When her mother reappears later in the novel, a quiet, unspoken understanding begins to take shape.

Equally compelling is Sara, one of the women in the deradicalization camp. Her storyline serves as a mirror to Nadia’s, particularly in the way both characters grapple with familial estrangement and differing views on religion. Their interactions offer some of the novel’s most poignant reflections on agency, belief, and the many forms that resistance can take.

What makes Fundamentally particularly striking is Yunis’s ability to explore weighty themes—faith, friendship, feminism, and radicalism—with an element of jest.

Fundamentally is a sharp, nuanced examination of what it means to build bridges—in diplomacy, in communities, and within us. Yunis doesn’t offer easy answers but instead allows her characters to wrestle with their own contradictions. This is a timely, courageous novel that confronts the personal within the political and leaves readers with much to ponder.

TELL ME EVERYTHING, AMGASH #5, ELIZABETH STROUT, SHORTLISTED FOR WOMEN'S PRIZE

Tell Me Everything is the fifth novel in Elizabeth Strout’s Amgash series, and once again, she delivers a quietly profound exploration of human connections, memory, and ageing. This time, the story centres primarily on Bob Burgess, a lawyer with an innate sense of kindness, and Lucy Barton, a writer whose life and reflections we have come to know intimately through Strout’s earlier works.

The novel unfolds through the long walks and deep conversations between Bob and Lucy. Their discussions weave through themes of friendship, love, human frailty, and the elusive search for meaning. Bob’s wife, Margaret, and Lucy’s ex-husband, William (with whom Lucy now lives), trust the sincerity of their friendship and do not doubt them. Yet, for the attentive reader, there are fleeting moments charged with tenderness that suggest Bob and Lucy’s bond is that of love that neither openly acknowledges.

As readers saw in Lucy by the Sea, Lucy has settled in Maine with William after many upheavals. In Tell Me Everything, we once again encounter familiar faces—Olive Kitteridge and Bob Burgess—characters from Strout’s earlier novels, now at a more mature stage of life. Lucy and Olive exchange untold stories about unrecorded lives, stories that range from sad to happy, and some that are deeply heart-rending.

Lucy calls  Bob a "sin-eater"—a person who absorbs the sorrows and confessions of others. Bob's instinctive kindness and willingness to help those facing crises define his character throughout the story. In a particularly unexpected turn, the novel also incorporates a murder mystery, unravelling into a heartbreaking revelation that adds another layer of emotional depth.

Elizabeth Strout’s brilliance lies in her keen insight into human emotions. Her prose is deceptively simple yet deeply reflective, capturing the small, often overlooked moments that shape lives. Tell Me Everything is no exception—it offers readers a moving, contemplative journey into the emotional landscapes of her characters.

While this novel focuses more on Bob Burgess, readers will inevitably wonder: what becomes of Lucy Barton in this chapter of her life? To find out, you must read the book.

If I were to compare, Lucy by the Sea remains my favourite instalment in the Amgash series, but Tell Me Everything is a touching and worthy continuation, beautifully reflecting on the quiet endurance of the human spirit.

LUCY BY THE SEA, AMGASH #4, ELIZABETH STROUT

Having followed Lucy Barton through the previous books in the Amgash series—MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, a poignant exploration of Lucy’s relationship with her mother; ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, a collection of stories about her friends and relatives; and OH WILLIAM!, which examines her complex connection with her first husband—it felt natural to continue with LUCY BY THE SEA.

Set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this novel follows Lucy as she leaves behind the chaos of Manhattan and relocates to a quiet town in Maine with William, her ex-husband. Strout masterfully captures the uncertainty, fear, and isolation of that time—Lucy’s yearning to hug her daughters but being unable to is especially resonant, a familiar ache for many readers.

As Lucy processes the world around her, she also reflects on her past, her relationship with William, and the struggles her daughters face. The novel gently reveals how the pandemic’s emotional and economic toll affects individuals and relationships alike.

A pleasant surprise is the brief appearance of Olive Kitteridge—the protagonist of Strout’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel OLIVE KITTERIDGE. Though she appears in only a scene or two, her presence adds a subtle thread of continuity to Strout’s literary universe.

What makes this novel truly memorable is its quiet strength—Strout’s prose is fluid and effortless, the storyline tender and thoughtful, and despite the grim setting, there is an undercurrent of hope that shines through, making Lucy by the Sea a beautifully contemplative read.

ALL FOURS, MIRANDA JULY, SHORTLISTED FOR WOMEN'S PRIZE AND CAROL SHIELD’S PRIZE

The unnamed protagonist of All Fours is a fairly well-known artist, 45 years old, living with her husband and child. Feeling increasingly detached from life; she sets off on a cross-country road trip from Los Angeles to New York—but doesn’t get very far. Instead, she abandons her original plan and checks into a motel nearby.

There, she meets Davey and his wife, and the motel becomes a kind of pause in her life—a space where she begins to reflect on aging, motherhood, intimacy, self-discovery, and the direction her life has taken. The protagonist, who is perimenopausal and in the midst of a midlife crisis, wrestles with creative stagnation and inner conflict. The road trip becomes a symbolic escape, a search for answers, and perhaps a challenge to the routines and expectations of daily life. Was she attempting to highlight the absurdities of modern existence?

She is far from a conventional woman. Her actions often veer into the bizarre—bordering on absurdity—and some moments even made me squirm while reading.

The novel boldly questions traditional roles and redefines the boundaries of intimacy and commitment.

This was a tough book to review—strange, disorienting, and unlike anything I’ve read before!

BOOK #13 “HEART LAMP” BY BANU MUSHTAQ, TRANSLATED FROM KANNADA BY DEEPA BHASTHI, SHORTLISTED FOR #INTERNATIONALBOOKERPRIZE2025

Heart Lamp is a powerful and poignant collection of twelve short stories originally written in Kannada by Banu Mushtaq—a writer, lawyer, and activist who is part of the Bandaya Movement, a progressive literary movement in Kannada literature. Deepa Bhasthi’s sensitive translation brings these deeply rooted, emotionally resonant stories to a wider audience without losing their cultural essence.

At the heart of the collection are the lives of women and girls in a Muslim community—obedient, unquestioning, and burdened by societal expectations. These women toil endlessly within the confines of their homes, often accepting their fate without protest, while the men remain largely unaffected by the pressures that weigh so heavily on them.

Mushtaq masterfully brings out the quiet resilience of these women through stories that are both tender and thought-provoking. Each tale is deeply human, capturing the injustices, sacrifices, and small hopes that define their everyday lives. From a woman yearning for a kafan sprinkled with zam-zam water, to a man fixated on seeing his wife in stilettos, to a father getting a second marriage while his child lies dying in the arms of his first wife—these vignettes reflect not only personal longing but also the harsh social realities that shape them.

One standout story for me was Gobhi (Cauliflower) Manchurian, a seemingly simple tale about a man’s craving for a specific dish. What made it special was how it connected with my own memories—my grandfather used to tell me a different version of this story. As Mushtaq herself notes, oral storytelling in India is a rich tradition, with tales passed down through generations—stories that live on even when they are never written down.
The book is sprinkled with Kannada words like doddamma, ajji, ajja, and chikkappa, adding authenticity and warmth. As someone who speaks six Indian languages, including Kannada, I found these touches, especially delightful—they brought the stories closer to home.
While many of the stories are marked by pain—abusive husbands, distant fathers, and uncaring brothers—each carries a deeper message. They don’t just portray suffering; they spotlight resilience, voice the unspoken, and ask us to reflect on our own roles within the social fabric.

Thank you, "And Other Stories Publishing," for sending the ebook the moment I purchased it the day before it was published.

Heart Lamp is a heartfelt tribute to unheard women’s voices, told with sincerity and strength. It’s a quiet but shining light in contemporary Indian literature and a worthy contender on the International Booker Prize shortlist.