Straightening Ali

by Amjeed Kabil

STARbooks Press explores homosexuality in a Pakistani/British Islamic community with STRAIGHTENING ALI by AMJEED KABIL For Ali Mirza, a young British born Pakistani man, life takes a sudden dramatic turn when his family arranges for him to get married even though he has told them he is gay. How will he survive his wedding night when he's not even turned on by his new bride, whom he has only met once and for five minutes? Sajda, his wife, claims she is in love with him, but she does not even know him. For Ali, this is the tip of the iceberg as his boyfriend has moved to France and is hesitant to support Ali. What is Ali to do? Should he run away to join the love of his life, or should he stay and live the life that has been arranged for him by his family? If he does run, will they find him and force him to be straight? Will he ever reunite with his lover? Ali must decide what is best for him and does in a matter of days in STRAIGHTENING ALI. STRAIGHTENING ALI is a must read for anyone who has lived in or is curious about a society where arranged marriages are the norm and gays are brutalized for who they are. A riveting story about family ties, conflicting cultures and the basic dynamics of human relationships, STRAIGHTENING ALI opens one s eyes to a world we know little about.

Genres: Fiction

215 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a readable book as most of it is dialogue which moves at a fairly brisk pace. It `s not a book that could be written by anyone either as it is firmly rooted in a particular community - Pakistani Muslim community in the north of England, first generation. It's not a particular segment of society with which I have any knowledge or interaction so it was quite interesting to read about the values which drive so many members of that community. It would be assumed that with the generation born in the UK things would be so different but the cultural values from Pakistan are just too heavy for some families to break from and they transpose the village values of another culture into suburban England.
Your heart really does go out for poor Ali, the protagonist, as he is hastily railroaded into an arranged marriage to satisfy the cultural expectations of his mother, brothers and sisters - not to mention his extended family. What was interesting was the internal dynamics of both families as the marriage takes on a momentum of its own. We get everyone's expectations of the marriage except Ali's. Although his brain works -he has a degree in microbiology - he is emotionally still quite immature and can't see himself as a person independent of his family. He pays a heavy price for going along with trying to please everyone.
Well worth reading if you want some insight into the trials and tribulations of a gay man in a conservative religious culture - a pawn in others designs. Highly recommended. You'll be a lot wiser after reading anyway.

[Vika Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel about a second-generation Pakistani gay man in England might be interesting for the rarity of its content, but the writing does not make it worth taking the time.

The story has our "hero" just finishing college and living with his family. He's somewhere on the line between being in the closet and being out. And then his family arranges a marriage to "fix" his sexuality. His boyfriend, who in the meaning has moved to another city in Europe, says he'll wait a year for him, but does he?

For all the forced drama, Ali is a whiny character, given to crying over everything. The dialogue in the novel is often wooden. He has the stupidest set of friends ever, yet who manage to buy him plane tickets and such.

So, nice try, but not quite there yet.

[Deni Aria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has shown me how being sexually different is still the worst life ones have to live in, Ali with British upbringings still got himself difficult to cope with the tradition and the religious belief over his sexuality issues, however it is his only stand-up position would bring him to his rescue and proved to everyone that being God's bestowed life of living queer as we judges will help the surrounding more peace, free from hurting one another!

[Johanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmmm its probably a story that needs to be told but the dialogue mostly doesn't ring true and the main character is wingey, irriating and seemingly incapable of thinking for himself