Monday 9 June 2014

The Good Children by Roopa Farooki


Sulaman, Jakie, Mae and Lana grew up in Pakistan under the shadow of their controlling and somewhat abusive mother.  The two brothers are sent abroad to become doctors, one to England and one to America, but the two sisters are left behind and expected to make good marriages, to bring honour to the family.  But being a 'good child' is harder than it seems and in one way or another, all four children fail to meet their mother's exacting standards.  Sulaman becomes a renounced academic and expert on torture, but marries an unsuitable Hindu girl he meets in America.  Jakie does become a respected doctor, but starts a relationship with a white man in London.   Mae and Lana both marry suitable men, but their marriages suffer as they refuse to compromise their lives for the men they are married to.  When all four grown up children are called back to Lahore for a family emergency, they have to come to terms with their past, and the role their mother has played in their lives.

The Good Children is the first book I've read by Farooki, and I will definitely be reading more as soon as possible.  Prior to starting this, I was in a bit of a reading funk as I just wasn't reading anything amazing, but The Good Children restored my reading mojo almost instantly as it's simply a very good book.  It may be 600+ pages, but I raced through it in under three days.  The stories of all four children were distinct and engaging, and splitting up the narrative with their different points of view maintained the pace of the novel.  Farooki touches on a lot of important themes, such as mixed race relationships, domestic abuse, homosexuality and adoption, but The Good Children never feels like an 'issues' book, it always feels like a good story that happens to involve all of those things.

Although I enjoyed reading about all four children, I was most drawn to the stories of Jakie and Mae.  Jakie starts a relationship with Frank during a time in London when homosexuality was still a crime, and Farooki explores the prejudice he faced, and the reactions of those around him.  Mae was interesting as she was the child most like her mother, and her struggle to succeed for herself without crushing others was well done. Mae also leaves her husband when he takes a mistress, something that is frowned upon at the time, and I liked reading about her determination to ignore what others thought and forge her own path.

I'm really glad I read The Good Children, as it has introduced me to Farooki as an author.  I'm thinking of trying Bitter Sweets next, unless anyone has any other recommendations?

Source: From the publisher, in exchange for an honest review
UK Publication Date: 19th June 2014
Score: 4.5 out of 5

18 comments:

  1. I see you take full advantage of your still free time. It's fun to read all of your reviews. I haven't read anything by Farooki, but I've added The Good Children to my list.

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    1. Haha yes, I would prefer if things would get a move on (today is my due date), but in the meantime books are a great distraction.

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  2. Love the look/sound of this (and I can't resist a good chunkster)! Sadly, it looks like I have to wait for a US date. Thanks for putting it on my radar, though.

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    1. It's such a pain when release dates don't coincide.

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  3. I've read one book by her a long while ago. Will be looking out for this one.

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  4. This sounds really interesting! I'll definitely have to pick this one up, especially since I love Indian novels. Thanks for the review!

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  5. This one sounds really good! I have been trying to figure out which book to read from Pakistan that was cultural enough, and this fits my expectation. I'm going to check it out!

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    1. Hope you enjoy it. I'm excited to check out some of her other books, too.

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  6. Sounds really interesting! I'll have to look this author up.

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    1. I'm looking forward to reading more by her, too.

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  7. I love the cover of this one and I did consider it, but I don't think I'm really in the mood for multiple character threads at the moment. And my poor brain flinches at long books!

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    1. It's a really great cover, isn't it? I love multiple perspective books - it helps to keep my attention and speed things up.

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  8. This sounds really interesting, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I've added this book to my list :)

    Gemma

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  9. I've got Bitter Sweets sitting on my shelf. i've never read anything by Farooki but have always wanted to.

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  10. Ooh, I like how many themes this book picks up on - no wonder it is a chunkster. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I will have to look it up when it comes out here.

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