A Place for Us (Mirza) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Ambitious.… [A] family epic that is textured and keenly felt… Mirza draws Amar’s lifelong struggle with the concept of unconditional devotion so poignantly that readers will find it exceedingly relatable. But so too is the mysterious whisper in his ear urging him always to return, no matter how far he strays, back home.
Lauren Christenson - New York Times Book Review


Absolutely gorgeous.… Mirza writes about family life with the wisdom, insight and patience you would expect from a mature novelist.… In prose of quiet beauty and measured restraint, Mirza traces those twined strands of yearning and sorrow that faith involves. She writes with a mercy that encompasses all things.… Each time I stole away into this novel, it felt like a privilege to dwell among these people, to fall back under the gentle light of Mirza’s words.
Ron Charles - Washington Post


An affecting, authentic and artful debut by Fatima Farheen Mirza.… Mirza's writing is poignantly beautiful.…By the end of the novel, readers may wish that some characters had spoken up at critical junctures and that other characters had swallowed the words that irreparably altered the course of events. That we become so invested is a testament to Mirza's talent.
Associated Press


A Place for Us is a stunning novel about love, compassion, cruelty and forgiveness—the very things that make families what they are…[Mirza’s] writing is gorgeous, unadorned but beautiful.… [A] miracle of a book. A Place for Us is a major accomplishment, a work of real beauty and fierce originality.
Michael Schaub - NPR.org


In polished prose that zeroes in on domestic detail and, at its loveliest, recalls Jhumpa Lahiri, Mirza delivers a portrait of a family straining to hold its center amid rebellions both quiet and explosive.
Time


The book dives into the lives of a Muslim-American family, opening on the eve of the eldest daughter's marriage, and examines the intricacies of a family straddling two very different cultures.
Vanity Fair


A rich portrait of a fractured Muslim family…With unwavering compassion, this beautiful heartbreaker unravels the mystery of who may be to blame for Amar’s estrangement.
People


This is a richly detailed, immersive saga that hooks you from the jump and keeps you absorbed even as you spend decades with its characters. A Place for Us is a tender examination of identity and familial roles, of faith, and of what it means to be home.
Marie Claire


Bonds of faith and family strengthen and strangle in this promising but flawed debut, set in a close-knit Indian Muslim community in California.… Mirza displays a particular talent for rendering her characters' innermost emotional lives, signaling a writer to watch.
Publishers Weekly


[A]n American Muslim family in California…. Because of the structure, the time line of events is at times confusing. What Mirza does best is show how family dynamics can shape one's life and how seemingly inconsequential events can have a large impact over time. —Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis
Library Journal


[T]he warring forces are not two families but one, split by the tension between reverence and rebellion. The author's passion for her subject shines like the moon in the night sky, a recurrent image in this ardent and powerful novel.
Kirkus Reviews