Book Review : Butterfly Season

Image Courtesy: Indireads

Blurb View:

On her first holiday in six years, Rumi is expecting to relax and unwind. But when she is set up by her long-time friend, she doesn’t shy away from the possibilities. Ahad, a charming, independent, self-made man, captures her imagination, drawing her away from her disapproving sister, Juveria.

Faced with sizzling chemistry and a meeting of the minds, Ahad and Rumi find themselves deep in a relationship that moves forward with growing intensity. But as her desire for the self-assured Ahad grows, Rumi struggles with a decision that will impact the rest of her life.

Confronted by her scandalized sister, a forbidding uncle and a society that frowns on pre-marital intimacy, Rumi has to decide whether to shed her middle-class sensibilities, turning her back on her family, or return to her secluded existence as an unmarried woman in Pakistan.

We follow Rumi from rainy London to a sweltering Karachi, as she tries to take control of her own destiny.

Review:

London. Karachi : Ahad. Rumi. Yes, the locations instilled a primary interest in me to read this novella. I confess not having read a contemporary author from Pakistan yet, but I wanted to. Indireads and Natasha Ahmed created this beautiful opportunity for readers to grab a bit of upper middle class Karachi. It’s a first for me and I’m sure it would be the first for many Indian readers. Reading about desis living in the subcontinent as well as abroad is particularly interesting and not explored much yet in the subcontinent literature. This book seems to have done justice to that parlance.

The story begins in London with Rumi, a middle class thirtyish woman from Karachi visiting her family and friends for a vacation. She meets Ahad, a handsome publisher brought up in London and they hit it off instantly. They embark on a whirlwind romance for a few weeks – breaking a lot of norms and barriers. Rumi explores life like she never had one in Karachi. She does unimaginable things for herself, causing the wrath of her sister and family. The story, as much it is about Rumi’s liberation, it is also about Ahad’s return to his roots. A whiff of summer from Karachi, in the form of Rumi, sweeps him off his feet.