The unspeakable trauma endured by forced immigrants is hard for those of us deeply rooted in our comfortable communities to understand. Partition was an event that resonated down the generations, with secrets and lies distorting the lives of the survivors.

Nigar Alam's thoroughly researched novel "Under the Tamarind Tree" explores this generational trauma in a deeply loving and heartfelt way. The dual timeline story explores the lives of a group of young Pakastani neighbors in 1965, and then the lives of the survivors in 2019. Most have immigrated or died. Some have stayed and made successful lives.

This is a lovely story, and deserves a wide audience among those struggling to deal with modern day immigration and its impacts.

Source: DRC via NetGalley (PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G. P. Putnam’s Sons) in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date: August 15, 2023
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

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Why did I choose to read this book?

I was browsing the Most Requested Books list on NetGalley when I came across this book. When I read the description, it read like a thriller/mystery, kind of an “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibe. A mistake in Rozeena’s youth comes back to haunt her in her final years – what will happen??

I also enjoy learning about places around the world through fiction, and this book happens during the Partition of India and Pakistan after British occupation and the characters are affected by the aftermath of the event. The description of the book also mentions the exploration of social castes, which is something I always have an interest in learning about.

What is this book about?

This book is not about what I thought it would be about. As mentioned above, I thought it would be a sort of murder mystery, and while there was a significant death that changes everything, what happens is super obvious to the reader. The stress comes from holding your breath waiting to make sure that the group of friends handles the aftermath in a way that prevents them all from getting burned. Luckily one of the friends is in a higher social circle and is able to help them keep everything under wraps.

What is notable about this story?

Nigar Alam does an excellent job with tension in this story. Everything always seems to be on the brink of collapse: the lower social class friends’ hidden identities, Rozeena’s young medical aspirations, all the families’ status and living situations, the love connections – all of it is threatened at all times and is reflective of the turbulent political climate that exists at the time.

I love it when an author tricks me and it is always notable when they pull it off. The accidental death of someone in the story is a distraction from the true mystery, and Alam makes you wait until the very very VERY end before it is revealed. Much respect to weave a tale that was able to keep me interested for that distance and then also surprise me with something that wasn’t even on my radar. Bravo and cheers to you, good author.

Was anything not so great?

I always consider a story’s purpose when I write these reviews. Which was more important, the story moving along quickly or our relationships with/depth of understanding of the characters? In Under the Tamarind Tree, the speed of the story was crucial to keeping you looking every which way except where the secret was, and so the investment in the characters and their relationships suffered a bit. But story vs. characters is always a balancing act, and some stories are best told as a series of events with the characters being pushed along by the current. I just tend to enjoy a character-driven story better, because if I don’t care about the characters, I tend to care less about what is happening to them along the way.

Alam did a great job of investing me in the story despite my lack of investment in the characters, and so while this is something that isn’t usually very great to me (and wasn’t here), the strength of Alam’s writing got me through to the end anyway, and that’s awesome!

What’s the verdict?

4 stars on Goodreads and a hearty recommendation from me. If your local library carries this one, definitely put it on your holds list to read at some point. Let me know if you are as surprised as I was by the twist!

Well written, although I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first. Rozeena’s story was quite intriguing as was Mansur’s beginnings. The author did a brilliant job of bringing the story together.

I loved how the story educates is on Pakistan’s history and the partition.

Excellent read. A real page turner. Combined historical fiction of the times when Pakistan was formed. Out of drama, lawlessness and family saga. Adult subject material and hidden secrets. It was initially a little slow to start but then I couldn't put it down. Excellent use of description and cultural references, but accessible to those who aren't familiar with the culture as well.

Thoughts

When I saw this I knew I really wanted to read it. I really want to learn more about the Partition.

This book had some really strong parts. I do feel like it was slow in parts but it was still a good story.

I think if this is on your radar it is worth checking it out.

Partition Literature is an ever-growing sub-genre across South Asia. And this debut novel earns its place well alongside the other well-known, much-awarded works here. Alam's dual-time narratives are woven skillfully, although we can see some of the plot points coming. Still, we root for these characters as they try their hardest to deal with the cards they've been handed.

This story is told in 2 timelines, both set in Karachi, Pakistan following the Partition. The first is set in 1964 when we are introduced to 4 childhood friends. The second timeline is set in 2019, and is mostly about Rozeena, a retired doctor, and her friendship with the American granddaughter of one of her old friends.

I am not a huge fan of dual timeline books, however in this case both timelines were interesting. Unfortunately, the constant jumping back and forth made for a disjointed and confusing reading experience. The author had a tendency to end chapters just as they got interesting, and then go to the other time period. I found that annoying. The 2019 timeline constantly hinted at big secrets from the earlier period, but the big reveals came too late in the book. I expected that the 1964 timeline would be more about the Partition, but it turned out to be more of a soap opera. I was hoping for more history, but that is my problem - I should have read a nonfiction book. This book was well written, and I would read more by this author, even though this book was not exactly what I was looking for. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Under the Tamarind Tree is a historical novel telling the story of Partition through the lives of the characters. It's not a period of time where most Americans know much and this novel while being an enjoyable read, also made me want to know more about what actually happened.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Under the Tamarind Tree in exchange for an honest opinion. It is available now.

The novel revolves around an Indo-Pakistani family in the 1960s, a decade or so after the Partition from India. They have settled in Karachi and its members are navigating through the 60s in various ways, some questioning their belonging in Pakistan and others questioning the future they've been told they should have.

As the next generation, the younger generation Rozeena and her friends seek to break the norms of tradition, but their parents and society also hold them to the past, one in which young women get married, have children, remain in the domestic inner world. There is an allusion to a traumatic event in 1964, but it is shrouded in some mystery for most of the novel; it is the catalyst which changes the course of Rozeena and her friend's lives.

The novel toggles forward to 2019 and back to the 1960s, unraveling the story of Rozeena and her friends. as it does. In 2019, the same resistance to social conformity duplicates itself in Zara, a young woman under Rozeena's care.

About 3.5 stars for me. The impact of Partition on the families in the story was very interesting and something I haven’t read about before. I liked the dual timelines and seeing Rozeena in her younger years and in the current timeline where she is elderly. I also liked how Zara’s family and Rozeena’s entwined. The reason I didn’t give this a higher star rating is I felt removed from the characters and the story - there was a distance or lack of engagement I noticed. Could be just wrong time wrong book for me or the writing style- I can’t pinpoint it. That said I liked the book.

Thank you for the ARC! Beautifully and tenderly written, I want to revisit this book. Can't wait to re-read the paper release and gift it to my friends.

There are a lot of emotions going on in Under the Tamarind Tree, mostly sad and devastating. I knew very little about Partition in 1947 that split India and Pakistan along a made up border. There were 20 million people displaced and millions killed when Muslins were forced to flee to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh fled for India.

In that mix were Rozeena and her parents who left much of their property behind in India and settled in Karachi where they were lucky enough to obtain a house. Rozeena grows up with neighborhood friends, a foursome who stick together until shortly after one fateful night when tragedy occurs.

The story is told mostly in 1964 when the four are young adults and also in 2019 when Rozeena is retired from her life as a doctor and not feeling very needed anymore by family. There are lots of secrets by everyone, somewhat a sign of the times and also by class. Only Haaris, one of the four, has money and standing in the community and we see not only the positive results of that but also how it eats him up and ultimately controls his life.

It is sad but so well told and I so appreciate learning about times and places that I was rather ignorant about.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

More like 3.5. I found this book hard to get into and a little confusing at first. Once I got 1/3 of the way in it started coming together and was an interesting read. It was an interesting look into the Partition that took place between Hindus and Muslims, India and Pakistan, which altered the lives of so many families forever. In many ways it's a forgotten time in our modern history, but lives on with those most effected and shapes their society today. Unavoidably, there is generational trauma that follows the future generation whether or not they are aware of all that happened. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't had to work so hard to get through the beginning. Thanks Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!

This lyrically written and heartbreakingly beautiful book depicts the horrors of the Partition (when India and Pakistan were divided following independence from the British, forcing thousands to flee for their lives) and the long-lasting trauma of colonization, even several generations removed.

Devastating and hopeful in equal measure as a woman, now in her eighties, must confront her past with the help of the teenage granddaughter of a friend she thought she would never hear from again.

I knew as soon as I started this book it was going to make me cry. I made sure not to read it at night before bed because I didn’t want to go to bed with a heavy heart. This story is told in present and past recollections by Rozeena from her younger twenties to her present eighties self. It’s the story of how once incident changed the course of lives for four friends. Sisterhood is questioned, friendships become estranged, and a love story unfulfilled as result of one tragic event. The repercussions of that and of the ever present question to “what will people say,” alters the lives of these four people. The story is tragic and beautiful. As I thought when I started it, I knew this book was going to make me cry and it did but it was worth the time spent reading about Pakistan after the partition and the aftermath.

I love books with alternating POV’s and that cover a piece of history I don’t know too much about. So I was really excited to start this one.

The writing was done exceptionally well and there was so much potential. However, something about it was hard to follow and it moved rather slow at first.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and would be interested to read more from this author. Ultimately, I think I just may not have been in the right head space at the time I read this. I think it was worth coming back to eventually and reading again to see if my feelings shift.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book, but I ended up enjoying it. There's so much room for much deeper analysis of this novel and the implications of class status and the effects of Partition on many families and future generations. The twist at the end of the novel did take me by surprise, but in a way that didn't distract from the story. Overall a great read, highly recommend for fans of historical fiction or slice of life novels.

Rozeena receives a call from her old friend Haaris who asks her to look after his granddaughter Zara while she's visiting Karachi and dealing with the recent death of her brother. Rozeena hadn't heard from Haaris in over fifty years and his call brings back past memories of a tragic event that happened to her childhood friends. Rozeena was forced to leave her home when she was nine due to Partition and as her family escaped into Pakistan, her brother died. Her family tried to rebuild their lives and Rozeena went on to study medicine and became a pediatrician. Rozeena grappled with her career, whether to serve the wealthy or continue her clinic services for the people who needed care at an affordable price. As she mingles with the wealthier crowd, she ends up at Haaris' party with her friend Aalya and the events of that night force all of them to either tell the truth or cover it up for good. Then fifty years later while working with Zara, all of those memories are back and Rozeena tries to deal with the consequences. Overall, a story about friends and family and the terrible situations people find themselves in and the perseverance to get through them. This book also touched on the trauma caused by Partition, as well as how narrow the roles were for women at that time.

A very interesting book How at the author went back in time? And then to the future, and she tied it all together very well.. It was an interesting story because it was talking about India and Pakistan when they became separated in 1947 when England left.. It had a lot of twist and turns, and you find out how everything was related to in this book. Roxy was the doctor and her mother and her father. Courage started to be very independent, not have an arranged marriage.. Her mother struggled after her father died. But she kept it going, and you'll find out who helped her in this book. . A friend Call Harrison Once her best friend, he was very interesting because he came back from liverpool and his family was very wealthy. . She really liked him but she knew she could never compete with him. Talk about her family, who had to leave India and flee to Pakistan. She lost her brother during this time.. They have family connections there, so they had a house waiting for them. We talked about domestic violence in this book and how women were. Treated very differently in this book. Or two. They have this ball or harrison and a lot of tragic it came out of this, and it was really hard to figure why this was going on. In the future, she had a very successful practice, and she had a child she raised. Because it was directly relate it to domestic violence. ZOHEIR came to visit Roslyn Rosalind. But she had a lot of problems, too, because she lost her brother in the United States.. She was just trying to figure out ways to be in the present. You'll find out all this twisting turns at the end of the book

Under the Tamarind Tree is a portrait of life in Southern Asia after the partition of India in 1947, a scrambled affair that the British mangled as they exited and left meaningless “instructions” on how the partition was to go into effect. I knew some of the details of this event but not the extent of the rioting, killing, deaths, and destruction as the Muslim population of all areas fled to the new Pakistan while Hindu and Sikh populations all fled to India at the same time.

In this work of historical fiction, Rozeena, her parents, and her older brother, Faysal, are among those fleeing from India to Pakistan. Her brother is lost in the rioting; he is killed. In their stunned grief, the family arrives in Karachi. They are able to obtain a house rather than go to a settlement camp because they have relatives already living in the city. Now they begin their new lives. We see this novel through two timeframes, one set in 1964 a time of momentous events in the lives of Rozeena and her close friends , and the second set in 2019, again seen through Rozee’s eyes but bringing some closure as life comes full circle for some characters.

The events of 1947 hang over the lives of many of the characters in this story, no matter how many years have passed. There are also many instances of things left unspoken, secrets kept too long, issues of class, poverty vs. money/wealth, and their negative impacts on many people’s lives.

Recommended. For a view of an historical event and aftermath, possibly a view of a new culture.


Thank you to Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book. The review is my own.