Humberto Xan Xan itibaren Pacayita Número 1, Nikaragua
When Anil, a Kenian of Indian descent, meets Lina, who is English from Indian descent, he pursues her until she gives in and becomes his girlfriend. But there is a problem, Lina is of Muslim faith and her parents expect her to marry a man that they will introduce to her. Anil, on the other hand, has no faith but his parents are Sikhs. Lina is prepared to go far to keep her parents ignorant of the illicit relationship with Anil, forcing other people to do the same, even when they feel very uncomfortable about it. But eventually, she will need to make a choice. The further I got with this book, the more I wanted to keep reading. It was a story that elicited emotions. Not tears or happiness, but a kind of irritation with Lina: I thought it wasn’t right how she kept making promises to Anil and at the same time not want to confront her family with her relationship, keeping all her options open. It also made me think whether Lina should risk her parents’ ostracising her for ever. The book was very good at making me look at the issue from Lina’s (Muslim) viewpoint. The book wasn’t overly full of religion. And in the end, you could argue it wasn’t so much religion, but instead, Lina’s parents’ strict adherence to their religion that caused Anil and Lina’s relationship to be under so much strain. This makes a good book club read as there are several topics to discuss.