Of Desis and the Diaspora: Farah Naz Rishi's 'It All Comes Back to You' is the best kind of South Asian YA
Written from the point of view of two teenagers caught up in the impending wedding of their siblings, Rishi’s work subscribes to all the prerequisites of a YA novel. While it is generally agreed that the themes available in the young adult universe are expansive and can include those found in adult fiction, there is a commonly accepted focus on subject matters which relate to friendship, first loves, relationships and, most importantly, the concept of one’s own identity.
Rishi’s work has the added benefit of not only tackling all of these basics in a deft manner, but her protagonists also happen to be Muslim, which means that the complications of being a young person from a religious minority growing up in an American society are also questions that the author tackles.
To this aspect of the story, Rishi clearly brings her own lived experience, which lends the novel an air of authenticity. Kiran and Deen, the protagonists of the tale, are both teenagers living in New Jersey with their families, and it is a New Jersey drawn really well, with regular mentions not only of streets and shops, but also that nostalgic smell of the inside of a mosque, or the local shopping centre where desis go to buy things they can only find in the Subcontinent.
Because the story revolves around the wedding of Kiran’s sister with Deen’s brother, the author also has a lot of fun mentioning all the various traditions that are part of a typical South Asian wedding, such as the groom’s shoe being held hostage in exchange for money. These things make it obvious that the author has deep familiarity with the culture, which makes the reading experience much more enjoyable.
Unlike the author’s first novel, I Hope You Get this Message, which featured Muslim characters in name only, It All Comes Back to You focuses at a much greater level on religion also, and on what it means to belong to a Muslim family. Characters routinely quote Quranic ayats in normal conversations, the masjid is a place of importance, and Faisal, Deen’s elder brother who is clearly cast as a character worth admiring, is regular in his prayers and avoids alcohol.
This is a strange, albeit wonderful, change from tales where anyone religious is shown as uptight and in need of an intervention in order to break them away from the supposed shackles unfairly imposed on them by their faith.
However, this doesn’t mean that the author doesn’t show her characters engaging in behaviour that most would deem un-Islamic. Kiran’s mother, no longer alive, plays a significant part in the narrative because of her love for dance, which is represented in Kiran’s own desire to be a dancer. Deen regularly parties and drinks with his friends, and both teenagers swear sometimes.
Instead of showing a make-believe world where teenagers strictly adhere to prescribed teachings, Rishi’s characters tend to be more flawed and thus feel more believable. By creating sympathetic, flawed characters who sometimes act in selfish, horrifying ways, Rishi manages to show how being a teenager is a tumultuous period in one’s life, full of revelations about ourselves and those we love.
A main aspect of this turbulence is, of course, the romance, which is a major part of the narrative. Kiran and Deen’s relationship, full of chemistry and snark, already has a built-in reason for sparks catching, given that the two are shown as having been in a sweet relationship three years before our story starts — right before Deen ghosts Kiran without giving her a reason for why he vanishes.
This, coupled with Kiran’s immediate distrust of Deen’s elder brother Faisal, leads her to question her sister’s decision to marry Faisal without knowing him in detail. The plot keeps thickening from here onwards, with secrets and betrayals coming to the surface as the story progresses. Rishi keeps the romance at the forefront, bringing it back into the narrative as Kiran and Deen slowly rediscover buried feelings as they prepare for their siblings’ weddings.
The book, in a true nod to the world of young adult literature, also focuses on the relationships that teenagers have in a more platonic sense, such as the love between siblings, or the camaraderie between friends.
Kiran’s obvious affection for her sister, or Deen’s side-plot regarding his roommate at college, all serve to show how multifaceted a person’s interiority can be, with moments of selfishness, frustration, or guilt balanced out with grace, humour and an ability to ask for forgiveness. Both Kiran and Deen are ultimately protagonists that one can root for, even as they take decisions that seem obviously primed to lead to disaster.
Like a majority of YA novels that feature immigrants in the plot, this book also looks at a number of heavy topics, such as addiction, bullying and the death of a parent and how they relate to the immigrant experience. The trauma caused by all of these problems plays a significant part in making the characters who they are, affecting not just their present but their future plans as well, with Kiran planning to become a doctor in memory of her mother.
The tale also doesn’t shy away from shining a light on the unrealistic expectations immigrants can have from their children, or the way creating an idealised image of a good life can affect a child, as shown through Deen’s parents and their inability to understand why their children are suffering.
All in all, it feels like, out of the multiple books coming out these days which tackle the desi experience abroad, this one comes the closest to treating its subject matter with the respect and excitement it deserves. All the details mentioned even casually in the story serve only to highlight how well the author understands the culture she is talking about, which increases the enjoyment involved in reading this book tenfold.
This is also visible in the cover of the book, where the attention to detail shows that it was clearly illustrated by someone who was given a pretty thorough art brief. Even the beauty spot on Deen’s face is visible in the picture; it is a stroke of subtle genius and shows how meticulously the book was treated from an editorial perspective.
A truly enjoyable read, and one can only look forward to what the author will produce next.
***
This review was originally published in Books and Authors on 21 October, 2021.
Disclaimer: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.