Book Review: An Unlasting Home By Mai Al-Nakib

My Rating: 

4.5⭐

“Once upon a time, I dreamed of being unbound. I wanted to be free but couldn’t manage it. My brother could. My mother could not. My father could. My grandmothers could not.”

In 2013 forty-one-year-old Sara Tarek Al-Ameed, a professor of Philosophy at Kuwait University is accused of blasphemy and arrested. A female student had recorded one of her lectures on Nietzsche and reported her - a part of said lecture perceived as offensive and blasphemous. A recent amendment to existing law has branded blasphemy a capital crime that is punishable by execution.

Eleven years ago, following her mother's death in Kuwait , Sara had returned from Berkeley after resigning from a tenure-track position. She lives with Lola her cat, her grandmother's pet parrot Bebe Mitu, her childhood ayah Maria who she considers her second mother and has been with the family since before she was born, and Aasif her Indian cook. Her brother Karim lives and works in the United States. After Sara is released from prison pending trial her lawyer informs her that formally retracting her statement could lead to an exoneration but as her petitions for relaxing imposed travel restrictions and dismissal of her case are rejected and the date of trial is delayed, her concerns over her fate are compounded.

“To proceed forward requires periodic turns back, even if those turns are denied, even if they hurt like hell.”

An Unlasting Home By Mai Al-Nakib is a powerful, moving and insightful novel that revolves around a cast of strong and resilient women and their acts of kindness, sacrifice, compromise and survival in a society that has not been partial to their will or choices. The narrative switches between the current timeline of Sara’s arrest and preparation for defense as she awaits trial and the past that covers the history of her family through chapters devoted to the lives of the women of Sara’s family who preceded her – her grandmothers- Mama Yasmine and Mama Lulwa, her mother Noura and her ayah, Maria. There are a lot of characters to keep track of but the family trees provided at the beginning of this novel are a great help. Their stories, ranging from the 1920s to the current track traverses countries and continents - from Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, India, and the U.S. and not only give us an in-depth look into Sara's family history but also paint a picture of the changing political and societal landscape of Kuwait and the surrounding region through the years. The author’s characterizations of the women in this novel are superb. The prose is elegant and though the pace does waver in places, the narrative hooked me in from the very first page. A running theme in this novel is how the definition of home changes over time. Our characters move across countries and continents for reasons varying from political unrest to personal reasons such as marriage, academic and professional pursuits and/or familial obligations. These migrations often result in a feeling of detachment and we see our characters questioning themselves, their life choices, their triumphs and failures and struggles with reconciling with their feelings of regret, guilt or discontent that often rise to the surface in the face of adverse situations. As Sarah contemplates her life and how her education and experiences in the West and Kuwait have shaped her, she feels “bifurcated” – having to balance the values, beliefs and behaviors that are often conflicting in nature, motivation and intent. I am aware that the detailed descriptive writing might not appeal to everyone but the author does a wonderful job of depicting the historical, political and societal factors that shaped the generations of women in Sarah’s periphery and how these influences leave their mark over time - the similarities and dissimilarities among these women and the legacy that Sara carries with her irrespective of where she may be – a fact that Sara realizes and acknowledges. Overall this novel is an absorbing read and a brilliant debut. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

“If they knew my story, the women who made me, they wouldn’t be disappointed. They would gather me into their generous arms, and then they would release me.”

I won an ARC of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and would like to thank the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review the same. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.