"A gorgeously modern and relevant relationship story examining prejudice, family and societal expectations while being as beautifully intimate and engaging as can be."
Hugest of huge recommendations from me for this bold, provocative, compassionate and thoughtful, yet real as heck debut novel. I adored the characters, plot, and writing, Kasim Ali is an author to watch. After falling in love Nur is welcomed into Yasmina's family, but after four years he can’t bring himself to tell his own that he’s even got a girlfriend let alone living with Yasmina. Love, it should be simple, but with outside influences so often isn’t. Kasim Ali zigzags through the years of the relationship, allowing you to see ahead of time, to feel the weight of the decisions taken. As the little pops of understanding were released Nur, Yasmina, and their friends and family slipped into my heart. The characters are finely drawn, the flaws, the imperfections all add credibility. This is just so easy to read, yet the bittersweet plot ensures a level of tension remains throughout. I cared so much for these characters I was genuinely fearful of what was to come. I thought the ending was perfect in every way, standing ovation time for Kasim Ali. Wonderfully stimulating yet subtly thought-provoking Good Intentions emotionally connects with heart and mind. I’ve chosen this absorbing and rewarding read as a LoveReading Star Book, and Liz Pick of the Month.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
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A heart-wrenching and beautifully told debut novel about love, family obligation and finding your way.
Nur and Yasmina are in love
They've been together for four happy years
But Nur's parents don't know that Yasmina exists
As Nur's family counts down to midnight on New Year's Eve, Nur is watching the clock more closely than most: he has made a pact with himself, and with his girlfriend, Yasmina, that at midnight he will finally tell his Pakistani parents the truth. That he has spent years hiding his personal life from them to preserve his image as the golden child. That he has built a life with a woman he loves and she is Black.
Nur wants to be the good son his parents ask him to be, and the good boyfriend Yasmina needs him to be. But as everything he holds dear is challenged, he is forced to ask, is love really a choice for a second-generation immigrant son like him?
Deftly exploring family obligation and racial prejudice alongside the flush of first love, Good Intentions is a captivating and powerful modern love story that announces a thrilling new voice in British fiction.
Good Intentions features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Debuts, Family Drama, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Psychology: emotions, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations, Romance / Relationship Stories, Fiction: narrative themes, Psychology, Society and Social Sciences, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Star Books, Narrative theme: Social issues, Racism and racial discrimination / Anti-racism, Social discrimination and social justice, Social and ethical issues, Society and culture: general
Good Intentions is available in Paperback, Hardback
Good Intentions was written by Kasim Ali and published by Fourth Estate Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Good Intentions has 346 pages
£13.49
