Did you manage to finish, A Place For Us"
The post VA Book Club: “A Place For Us” appeared first on Vicki Archer.

Did you manage to finish, A Place For Us"

It is the story of a Muslim family of five who struggles with their heritage in a new world in their own ways. It is a story of family foremost, religion and nation are powerful themes but for me, they are secondary to the relationships between the five.

I found Fatima Farheen Mirza’s writing to be exquisitely observant and powerful in its simplicity. How one so young could understand with such depth and clarity the connections and disconnections in this world. This is a debut novel and for that, it is even more astounding to read and re-read her perceptions.
I asked Fatima how she managed to be so observant and so engaged with her characters at such a young age. She has such a generous and warm spirit and kindly answered my question. Here is what she said,

“I would say that each time I sat down and tried to imagine the characters, I wanted to also imagine the details of their life.

The little tics or habits, such as Hadia pressing her nails into her arm, and how that might be a habit that lasts her whole life. And how those who know her might be able to witness it as well, and I wondered what do they think of it" Surprisingly or unsurprisingly it is only Amar who picks up on it, and that too from a very young age.

So I just wanted to always note the particulars...