A Place for Us

As Amar watched the hall fill with guests arriving for his sister's wedding, he promised himself he would stay. It was his duty tonight to greet them. A simple task, one he told himself he could do well, and he took pride in stepping forward to shake the hands of the men or hold his hand over his heart to pay the women respect. He hadn't expected his smile to mirror those who seemed happy to see him. Nor had he anticipated the startling comfort in the familiarity of their faces. It had really been three years. Had it not been for his sister's call, he might have allowed years more to pass before mustering the courage it took to return.

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?

The novel is constructed from vignettes in different family members' points of view, and the writing is such that the reader becomes a fly on the wall to all of the family's milestones. The story itself is deeply affecting. Not only will readers want to absorb the entire story in a day, but they will be moved by the narrative, which is weighted with the sadness, yearning, and regret of wasted possibilities. None of the characters really reached their true potential, and that was okay. This book was a slow burn with a small climax, and critics might find it too slow and meandering for their tastes.

It had been Hadia's decision to invite him. She watched her sister Huda get ready and hoped it had not been a mistake. That morning Hadia had woken with her brother on her mind and all day she willed herself to think as other brides must—that she would be using the word husband when speaking of Tariq now, that after years of wondering if they would make it to this moment, they had arrived. What she had not even dared to believe possible for her was coming true: marrying a man she had chosen for herself.

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.

Sarah Jessica Parker chose this inspiring and moving family saga as the first novel of her new imprint, SJP for Hogarth. Fatima Farheen Mirza tells us the story of an Indian Muslim family trying to navigate through the transition to American culture. We can easily identify with typical family struggles, but also catch a glimpse of the loyalty, tradition and pride that ties their relationships together. -Sandra, Seattle

A Place for Us is a nonlinear account of the happenings within the family and cornerstone events that affect the paths of each family member. The story begins at Hadia's wedding and weaves its way through the better part of a century, revealing messages about familial conflict and faith.

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.