by Uzma Jalaluddin
A modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of love.
Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job so she can pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle. She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being reminded that her flighty younger cousin, Hafsa, is close to rejecting her one hundredth marriage proposal. Though Ayesha is lonely, she doesn't want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid who is just as smart and handsome as he is conservative and judgmental. She is irritatingly attracted to someone who looks down on her choices and dresses like he belongs in the seventh century.
Ayesha is torn between how she feels about the straightforward Khalid and the unsettling new gossip she hears about his family. Looking into the rumors, she finds she has to deal with not only what she discovers about Khalid, but also the truth she realizes about herself.
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication date: June 4, 2019
Source/Format: eARC/Netgalley
Purchase links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Trigger warning/s:
My Rating: ★★★★☆
My Thoughts:
This book is what you get when you put a contemporary South Asian-Canadian Muslim romcom in a “Pride and Prejudice” frame. Our dear Mr. Darcy is Khalid Mirza, who is a very proud Muslim, working as a project manager in a tech company. Khalid is obviously smitten by his neighbor Ayesha but his stiff beliefs prevent him from doing anything with his feelings. He believes that “love blossoms after marriage” and trusts that at the right time, his mother will find him a suitable wife. Of course like Lizzy Bennet, Ayesha Shamsi is an independent thinker who finds Khalid a snooty “fundy”. Although she does not totally oppose arranged marriages, she does not rigidly think that it’s the only way for her to find her future husband. And although receiving rishtas or marriage proposals is a big deal for her fussy Muslim family, it’s not the only thing that’s occupying her life: there’s her day job as a student teacher to pay her tuition debts to a rich uncle and her dreams of becoming a spoken word artist.
The book’s main appeal to me is its positive representation of religious characters. Both Khalid and Ayesha wear traditional clothes and participate in the activities of the community mosque. It’s refreshing to see characters who actively practice religion, painted as good people and not as unreasonable fanatics, struggle with something as ordinary as falling in love. Although I am from another faith, I felt seen through them as I am also very active in attending my church. The youth convention that Khalid and Ayesha helped organize in the book is something that we also do in my religion.
Though the plot may be familiar to most readers, there is still bits of unpredictability here in the form of mysteries in the family histories. Like what happened to Khalid’s older sister? Or why does Ayesha’s mom refuse to talk about her long-dead dad? Even though incidental to the extended family of the main characters is a huge cast of peripheral characters, I didn’t feel that these characters are just standing there with nothing to do. I know while reading that they are busy doing their own things off the pages like Ayesha’s grandfather doing his gardening or the aunty brigade keeping the rumor mill running.
I like how Ayesha insists that she chooses “to live in a comedy instead of a tragedy” but the rest of the Shakespearian references in the book are a tad too many and heavy-handed for me. Of course, this could be blamed to me just finding it hard and frustrating to appreciate old English. Considering all the good stuff I mentioned about the book, “Ayesha at Last” is not to be dismissed as just another “Pride and Prejudice” pastiche. It has its distinct charms even without relying too much on the fame of its inspiration.
Diversity Watch:
Khalid Mirza - a Muslim born and raised in Canada. Physically described with dark brown curly hair, long and thick beard, and pale olive complexion. His usual work attire is a full sleeved white robe, black dress pants, and a white skullcap.
Ayesha Shamsi - a Muslim born in India, raised in Canada. Physically described as a hijab-wearing petite woman with a round face and a golden burnished copper skin.
#ownvoices on South Asian-Canadian Muslims
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I'd love to hear from you!
Are you a Jane Austen fan? Do you read retellings of her work? Which retellings of "Pride and Prejudice" would you recommend me?
