Someone Like Her #AwaisKhan #SomeoneLikeHer

Published by Orenda Books https://orendabooks.co.uk/ @OrendaBooks

326 pages ISBN 9781914585784

Publication date 17 August 2023

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Anne at Random Things Tours @RandomTTours for the invitation to participate and of course the Author and the Publisher.

The Cover

First impression, a stunning cover, then the closer you look the more you pick out until you notice the sinister.

From the blurb

Multan, Pakistan. A conservative city where an unmarried woman over the age of twenty-five is considered a curse by her family.

Ayesha is twenty-seven. Independent and happily single, she has evaded an arranged marriage because of her family’s reduced circumstances. When she catches the eye of powerful, wealthy Raza, it seems like the answer to her parents’ prayers. But Ayesha is in love with someone else, and when she refuses to give up on him, Raza resorts to unthinkable revenge…

Ayesha travels to London to rebuild her life and there she meets Kamil, an emotionally damaged man who has demons of his own. They embark on a friendship that could mean salvation for both of them, but danger stalks Ayesha in London, too. With her life thrown into turmoil, she is forced to make a decision that could change her and everyone she loves forever.

My thoughts

It takes a brave and bold author to write about his nation’s customs and practices in less than glowing terms, especially when doing so from within, rather than looking back at it from another country. In this thoughtful and compassionate novel, the author does just that, airing some of its dirty linen for all to so see in the hope of fomenting change. That alone would be enough to garner praise, but it’s also a beautifully written, evocative novel, set mainly in Pakistan but also including the juxtaposition of life in London. So, another country ticked off on my around the world read.

In London Ayesha would be the epitome of a modern, twenty-first century young woman, career minded, carefree, forthright and in no rush to settle down to marriage and babies. However, Aeysha lives in Pakistan and there are more restrictions placed on her by a society that is conservative and very patriarchal. At twenty-seven she is under pressure from her parents to settle down; to be unmarried at thirty would be considered as old maid territory. Ayesha is in love with Saqib, a young man who is trying to save and provide for their future as he is currently considered as a poor match by Ayesha’s family which was once wealthy and powerful.

Ayesha works as an accountant at a women’s charity and her life changes when she is asked to meet Raza Sahab, a man from a prominent, rich and powerful family, who is promising a major donation cheque. He quickly falls for Ayesha and so now she faces a dilemma, follow her heart and reject him for Saqib or to go along with a loveless marriage, one of luxury which will get her family out of financial problems.

I am giving nothing away when I say that ill treatment of women is the core of the story, a subject that people in the UK can ill afford to ignore considering that women are murdered at a rate of 2-3 a week in this supposedly safe country. Thankfully acid attacks are rare here and hopefully will reduce in Pakistan, but even so the threat can still terrify. If you have read Brighton Rock, you will remember Pinkie and the bottle of vitriol in his coat pocket, used to scare Rose, intended for ‘bad actors’ but ultimately his downfall. In that case it was Greene’ symbolism for Pinkie’s volcanic temper, here it becomes the instrument of punishment and control. Just saying the word acid can induce fear and it’s impossible to imagine the terror a victim faces in the moment of realisation. Acid or a razor can destroy a life in seconds, but some do find the strength to recover, like Ayesha.

There are parts of this novel that are harrowing to read. At times it’s very raw and emotional, both sad and joyous, such that even this old cynic will confess to occasionally having ‘dust in his eye’. Ultimately though, the story is uplifting; as we see Ayesha’s battle against adversity, her accepting that the past has gone, that today is the start of the rest of her life and most of all the courage to live her life, to embrace it, to love it and in doing to love herself.

It asks some tough questions, but it also shows the importance of the family within the Pakistani way of life. One where it seems every woman who knows your mother is an Aunty and where hospitality dictates that a friend of a family will provide accommodation for a sojourn in London. It is in London where we can see the younger generation casting away some of the shackles of the ‘old ways’ to embrace some of those of the west. The task facing the generations born in the UK is how to balance the two demands and make everyone happy.

Ayesha is a wonderful character, and the novel really captures the spirit and determination that she possesses in abundance, such that you feel that she may be based upon a real person. Raza is just how you might imagine him, abusive, vindictive, and heartless, a man the reader wants to get his comeuppance. Kamil is another beautifully judged character, demonstrating that by hiding your suffering you may ultimately be damaging yourself. He bares the scars of a failed marriage, psychological abuse and a whole lot of regret. It is easy to forget that not all scars are visible.

The prose style is succinct and open, so much so that the story almost tells itself, with the narrative flow judged to perfection. There’s some great dialogue, I loved the interactions between Kamil, his sister Shar and their mother. Their bickering was great fun, and their wind ups and joke produced some levity when it is needed. I guess deep down all mothers are the same and want to (over) protect and have grandchildren.

Someone Like Her is an unflinching, heartbreaking story of abuse that becomes an uplifting story of hope for survivors. An incredible novel that needs to be widely read.

Someone Like Her can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Pakistani author Awais Khan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario in Canada and Durham University in the UK, and he is an alumni of the Faber Academy. His debut novel, In the Company of Strangers, was published to great critical acclaim, as was his next novel, No Honour – which convincingly and emotively explored honour killings – was published in 2021. When he’s not writing, Awais teaches a popular online creative writing course to aspiring writers around the world, and regularly appears on TV and Radio in his native Lahore.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on this Blog Tour: