I’d grown frustrated with the increasingly bad decisions the protagonist of the book I was reading seemed to be making so I closed the book and decided to read something else. Leaving a book unfinished isn’t new to me but then I usually go back. I hope I have the grace to go back to this one.
Since I was indecisive about what book to read, I closed my eyes and decided that whichever book my index finger landed on was the book I was going to read and I’d finish it to the end no matter what. And so when my finger landed on Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love, I clicked on it and hoped it was worth reading.
Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love by Huma Qureshi was originally published in 2021 and is a compilation of short stories. I think that’s what first drew me to the book. That it was ten chapters of different stories and it was short, just about 130 pages and since it had to do with different lives and not just one, I wouldn’t get bored or upset easily. The next thing that drew me in was the fact that it was by a Pakistani author and not an African as I originally thought. Eager to understand Pakistani culture and live vicariously through their stories, I opened the book.
Summary of the Book
The very first chapter of the book was titled Premonition. I delved into it and tried to understand the world of deeply traditional Pakistani families, their norms and of course, their taboos. It showcased the lingering innocence of strictly brought-up teenagers who lived in a world where arranged marriages weren’t unwelcome, where there was class and slightly-veiled aristocracy and how even the slightest careless actions could evolve into haunting scandals.
The second story, Summer was an eye-opener into the lives of daughters who could never live up to the expectations of their mothers. Daughters which every effort made by them to draw their mothers close resulted in a harsh rebuttal. It had a shocking end to it. The story of a frustrated married woman who had finally had enough of the malicious criticisms and comparisons and let her anger push her to unbelievable heights.
The third story, Firecracker talked about formerly forever-looking friendships becoming a stranger’s tale. Through the protagonist, it proves how you can know someone for all of your life but then not really know a person. How, from the beginning to the end of that friendship could be a sea of lies, half-truths, veiled secrets and vagueness. It was a story of acceptance and detachment and how deeply you can love till the end even though you’ve been lied to far too many times.
The rest of the chapters of the story pretty much feature the same themes. Estranged lovers and the dissonance between them, of undying love that stands the test of time, of children unborn or lost, or those that grow apart of their parents and the stories that exist in many families that are never revealed. It brings the hurt, the longing and the loneliness to light in a way that doesn’t sugarcoat or embellish. The themes of love, longing, familial ties, secrets and the underlying yearning for affection. All these and many more are beautifully intertwined in these short stories. Poignant and bitter-sweet.
My Review and Rating
When I saw the title of this book just before I downloaded it, I smiled sadly to myself. Because I did and still do believe that there are some things we do and experience that we may never tell the people we love, no matter how profound that love is. So, before I read it, I prepared myself to be immersed in a world of secrets. There were secrets but it was deeper and at the same time lighter than what I expected, but it was done so expertly, that I had no reason to feel dissatisfied.
The intriguing thing about this book for me was the style of writing. How could a book use the present tense as its form of narration from the beginning to nearly the end, initiating other tenses only when necessary. “I remember what happened to me that day because you would look at me like you would no other in the room...” That kind of thing. It was different and I couldn’t move from where I was seated primarily because of this. And because most of the chapters used in medias res plot, which is the narration of a story starting from the middle, then to the beginning, back to the middle before proceeding to the end. Exquisite.
And then apart from bringing me into the world of Pakistani culture, the indigenes that reside there and the ones that are scattered in other Western countries, it was the fact that it was realistic. Many of the stories ended sadly, some shockingly, others with a resigned kind of contentment. It was bittersweet and didn’t offer happily ever afters. I was endeared to the author for the mere fact that she made it clear that these were people’s lives(albeit fictional). That as far as they were continuing stories, you can’t make it to be a happily ever after kind of story. Just perfect, in my opinion.
Through a world of just how superstitions and culture could affect a life tremendously, I can happily say that I enjoyed every bit of this book, even the alarmingly sad stories. I’m giving it a 4.1/5. I hundred percent recommend it to anyone looking for a short, but reflective read.
Jhymi🖤
Thumbnail designed on Canva.
Other image is from my e-library.
