"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.
"Absorbing, compelling, and beautifully written. Its ending brought me close to tears." --Beth O'Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare The Big Sick meets Nick Hornby in Kasim Ali's debut novel about a young man who has hidden a romance from his parents, unable to choose between familial obligation and the future he truly wants. If love really is a choice, how do you decide where your loyalties lie? It's the countdown to the New Year, and Nur is steeling himself to tell his parents that he's seeing someone. A young British Pakistani man, Nur has spent years omitting details about his personal life to maintain his image as the golden child. And it's come at a cost. Once, Nur was a restless college student, struggling to fit in. At a party, he meets Yasmina, a beautiful and self-possessed aspiring journalist. They start a conversation--first awkward, then absorbing. And as their relationship develops, so too does Nur's self-destruction. He falls deeper into traps of his own making, attempting to please both Yasmina and his family until he must finally reveal the truth: Yasmina is Black, and he loves her. Deftly transporting readers between that first night and the years beyond, Kasim Ali's Good Intentions exposes with unblinking authenticity the complexities of immigrant families and racial prejudice. It is a crackling, wryly clever depiction of standing on the precipice of adulthood, piecing together who it is you're meant to be.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
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"Absorbing, compelling, and beautifully written. Its ending brought me close to tears." --Beth O'Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare The Big Sick meets Nick Hornby in Kasim Ali's debut novel about a young man who has hidden a romance from his parents, unable to choose between familial obligation and the future he truly wants.
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
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
Good Intentions was written by Kasim Ali and published by Holt Paperbacks an imprint of Henry Holt & Company
Good Intentions has 288 pages
