Asghar and Zahra

by Sameer Rahim

Childhood friends Asghar and Zahra were born into the same British Muslim community in west London. But they grow up into very different people. Asghar is a shy boy nervous of stepping outside his family's comfort zone, while Zahra is an ambitious woman who has just finished her degree at Cambridge.

The novel opens on their wedding day as friends and family wonder what could possibly have brought this odd couple together. After a comically disastrous honeymoon, painful secrets from the past throw the relationship further off-balance. And then there's the sinister preacher taking a keen interest in them . . .

A funny, sympathetic and very human novel about the first year of a marriage, and the difficulties of reconciling the sometimes conflicting demands of family, religion and society, Asghar and Zahra is the debut of a striking new talent.

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 13, 2019

Reviews

[Katia N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sameer Rahim is a journalist. And this book reads more like a narrative non-fiction rather than a novel. I've read it to get an insight into the lives of Muslim communities in the UK. And it worked for this purpose. It is well written, but it did not strike me as something with big literary value. However, the characters are believable. And the conflict in the centre of the novel was interesting and relevant. It is a misunderstanding between a newlywed couple - she is a Cambridge graduate with a job in a bank, he is much less to mainstream society, more devoted and less liberal. They've married after two coffee dates. The novel explores the muslim's community, its values and their lives in London suburbs. The influence of the community in the young people comes across as pretty powerful, sometimes borderline suffocating. Overall, it is a useful read if you are interested to get some understanding of the young muslim lives in modern Britain.

[Anni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much a culture clash, but a clash of personalities lies behind this bittersweet (and surprisingly risqué) comedy of manners, as newlyweds from the same Muslim community struggle to adjust to married life. Their story, added to the background social commentary, provides a more entertaining glimpse than usual into the conflict between traditional Muslim community values and those of modern British society.

Reviewed for Whichbook.net

[Dibz · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘I’ve noticed that about Muslims. You guys never leave your religion behind. Once you’ve been taught your Quran and your Prophet, you never stop being Muslim. Even those guys who drink and do drugs and sleep around, they’ll always be fasting in Ramzan – I guarantee it. And even those “ex-Muslims” can’t stop banging on about hating Islam. It’s like a childhood romance they can’t get over…’

Asghar and Zahra grew up together in the same British Muslim community in West London and reconnect once Zahra graduates from Cambridge and moves back to her family home. We follow the young couple on their wedding day, their honeymoon and the first year of their underwhelming marriage.

The relationship and domestic troubles between Asghar and Zahra merely act as a backdrop to the more important themes that are explored in this novel - that of the many contradictions, confusion and heartache that many British Muslims face today.

Both Asghar and Zahra grapple with the problems caused by being torn between two, often contradictory cultures that are at times hostile to each other and the isolation and loneliness one feels when they choose one culture over the other.

On their honeymoon in Spain Asghar struggles to be neutral about the fall of the ‘Golden Age of Islam’ and the oppression of Muslims around the world by the tradionally Christian, Western governments. Zahra is stricken by a statue of the Jew Maimonides who may have performed a balancing act which feels similar to her own.

As their marriage goes on Asghar finds comfort with a group of men who are enraged by western hypocrisies and violence towards Muslims, while Zahra increasingly thinks about her previous relationship.

Reading this book elicited so many different emotions. At times the thoughts and words of the characters brought me great comfort, and at other times it struck a nerve. Rahim doesn’t pull any punches - he holds a mirror up to young British Muslims and forces us to really examine our ideas and actions.

[Swati · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Asghar and Zahra’ by Sameer Rahim was a chance find at the library and I grabbed due to its interesting premise.

Asghar and Zahra grew up in the same British Muslim community in London and are childhood acquaintances. They have different personalities - Asghar is shy and religious but Zahra is independent and practical-minded. The novel opens on their wedding day and we follow them through their honeymoon and the days that follow. There’s much turmoil as they discover how different they are from each other and they begin to drift apart, trying to seek answers elsewhere.

I liked how Rahim explores the dynamics of a newly married couple. Zahra marries Asghar for his reserved, quiet personality while Asghar is strongly attracted to Zahra’s bold, outgoing nature. But it’s only after their wedding that they begin to see how, instead of complementing each other, they increasingly disagree with each other’s opinions and values. I loved how spot on Rahim is in many places in simply portraying mundane conflicts as well as the bigger ones that slowly drive a wedge between them.

Then there’s the community angle. Asghar leans towards being conservative and Zahra thinks he is “a bit fundo.” Things get worse when he falls in with a religious group of Muslims and spends more time away from her. It’s not that he doesn’t love her or she him. They just can’t seem to point out what exactly they love about each other after a point.

In the background, there’s a lot of perspective and context about British Muslim and Muslim culture in general, which sometimes overpowers the story at the centre. This is where I felt Rahim is first a journalist and then a novelist. As a result, there are many pages that read like an acutely observed op-ed before it shifts back into Asghar and Zahra’s softer, emotional world.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it overall and would recommend giving it a go if you find it.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy to read story about a British Muslim couple living in the early stages of their hasty marriage and the input of their local Muslim family and community.
Well written, but nothing earth shattering. Pleasant bedtime reading.
It caught my eye at the library, thinking it had been mentioned in a goodreads lists as eligible for The Booker, however, it doesn't have that experimental quality that The Booker judges often look for.

[Izza khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would and I’m glad I enjoyed it. It’s very relatable especially as a British Pakistani Muslim being born and raised in the UK.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this an interesting novel. The main characters are well written and the story very believable. I have volunteered for over ten years to work with many Muslim families in my city and so have a good idea of their culture. None of my families have had women with Cambridge degrees though and the fact that this girl is so bright and able must have made the difference between the two main characters even more difficult. Any marriage with the woman far brighter and capable than her husband would cause some friction I imagine even these days.

I found it interesting how Ashgar was so much more fundamental in his Islamic beliefs and how quickly he was pulled into Tariqs net while Zahra was much more discerning and able to see where the indoctrination was creeping into any conversation.

It was at times mildly amusing and at other times quite poignant. The end was a bit of a shock and I am not sure it added much to the story apart from apeak at funeral practices of a Muslim community in Britain.

It was well enough written but didn't grip me as a story.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book I was given for the Dylan Thomas Literary Prize 2020.

This book follows the arranged marriage of Zahra and Ashgar, two Muslims from the UK. Zahra has more western sensibilities whereas Ashgar is much more devout.

The good elements of this book are that it gave me some interesting insights in to the intricacies of Islam and how problamatic it can be in regards to marriage.

That's where the positives end though. Just shy of 300 pages all you get is the initial marriage and divorce of a couple. At times the book felt preachy, like I was being lectured on the misconceptions of Islam.

Haven't seen that the author is a journalist I can understand why this book is quite matter of fact and not very enticing. It just suffers from being derivative and feels like a non-fiction essay stretched too far to make a novel.

I won't be putting this forward to be shortlisted for the prize.

[Sanika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Mr Rahim's first novel and for the first novel, this story is very well written. It offers us a glimpse in the lives of young couple, who - at a times want to follow their religion and at a times want to rebel it.
Asghar and Zahra is a poignant story and the writing is very fresh. Each and every character of this book is realistic - one we can relate to.
It made a wonderful read and I would like to read more of Mr Rahim's writings in future.

[Nimra Shahzad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sameer Raheem was successfully able to highlight and explain some of the social and moral dilemmas faced by individuals in the Muslim community. How each individual grapples with various contradictions between cultures and religions, the past and present. I often found some of my own thoughts reflected back at me from the book!
I also enjoyed the use of Asghar's and Zahra's relationships to address these issues!

[Anne Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asghar and Zahra’s marriage is neither a love match nor arranged by their parents, but something in between. That might account for why it falters so soon after the wedding in a London mosque: they don’t know each other well enough to slip into cosy cohabitation, but their families, divided by opposing loyalties to old and new mosques, don’t appreciate how much support the young people need to make it work.
Full review
Young marriages under strain: Asghar and Zahra & Snegurochka https://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post...

[A J HOOPER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little story of a very young and fragile married couple, both children of immigrants. Delicately teases out the intense insecurities of youth, and the subtleties of fitting in to English culture. I loved Asghar and Zahra the people and was rooting for their marriage. Will it last? You have to make up your own mind.

[peg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was longlisted for the 2020 Desmond Elliott prize for innovative debut novels. A charming tale of a young Muslim married couple living in London and torn between two cultures, see my video review of this and other books on the prize lists at https://youtu.be/CcwYhXj7MQE

[Tim Chesterton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and enjoyable novel about the difficult first year of a marriage. The characters are true to life and very believable. The book has some surprises in it and the ending is somewhat inconclusive.

[Joseph Allchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, humane novel that is both serious and funny, by a clearly very gifted and intelligent British-Muslim writer.

[Teagan Meadows · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

[Aisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a solid pleasant read, got a bit emotional at times. Don’t think you’ll feel the book the way it’s meant to be felt if you’re not Muslim, but maybe that’s just me.

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love a story about a young Muslim couple trying to navigate their way through life. The author keeps you interested by encouraging the reader to better understand a couple as individuals trying to build a new life. I had difficulty rooting for the couple because it’s seemed from the get go that the two rushed things without much thought. Which was clear in how their relationship panned out. The almost irreconcilable differences the two held in how they viewed and practiced Islam made it hard to
be too invested in the relationship or think they’d find middle ground. At times it felt like the author was trying a bit too hard to show that Ashgar and Zara were opposites, really manifesting in two extremes of Islamic practice through community, temptation, and fundamentalism. The author does leave the reader guessing and wanted to know by the end of the book. Would’ve loved a epilogue to wrap things up, but does force one to reflect on what they would’ve done in the same situation.

[Addeen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was nice to read a novel about the British Muslim community, a breath of fresh air from the other books I've been reading this past month. It's endearing and sad. Butttt unfortunately nothing that really gripped me which is sad because I am easily enamoured and I had sweet hopes for this book.