Under The Tamarind Tree is a story that bounces back and forth between dual timelines, about life changing events for a set of friends in Karachi, Pakistan. The story is captivating and heartbreaking, there’s just so much going on. There are SO many secrets, twists/turns and jaw dropping moments.

I knew nothing of the Partition in India in the 40’s until I read this book, so I was grateful to learn that history. I found the main character Rozeena to be a very likeable character and adored her relationship with her longtime friend Haaris’s granddaughter.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read a copy of this book.

I did not know much about the PARTITION - in 1947 when Pakistan and India were separated post disolution of Britain rule. And like any time we have heard of a division - sloppily done, impacting villages, communities and families.

Rozeena's family had to flee to Karachi, Pakistan following the partition and her brother lost his life trying to save her. She has worked hard to become a doctor. She struggles to create a practice as she and her friends (Haaris, Aalya and Zohair) try to find their way in their mid 20's. Class issues, family beliefs and superstitions create obstacles for all of the friends. A death at a party that they all attend changes their lives forever.

I loved this book and you will too! If you love family stories, traveling to other countries and learning about other cultures or just enjoy a book of many secret old connections, Under the Tamarind Tree is for you!
. #PenguinGroup #Putnam #UnderTheTamarindTree #NigarAlam

**Huge thanks to Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review***

The book does start off a bit slow and it was extremely hard for me to stay with the plot. However, once the first secret was revealed, I was hooked to find out the reveal of the other secrets. I was worried that the reveal at the end would be underwhelming, but it did not disappoint. The secrets were big and there many, giving this novel a soap opera vibe. This was a beautiful story of friendship, family, sacrifice, and loss. The characters were well developed, and one could easily connect with them. The story takes place in Pakistan and it goes back in forth between the 1964 and 2019. I appreciated that the author educates the reader of a history event that affected many Muslims fleeing from India to Pakistan and the culture. I would recommend this book for those that want the opportunity to peek at another part of the world and culture and I look forward to reading other works from this author.

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Much thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for the opportunity to read this ARC. The story takes place in 2019 but truly begins with the Partition of India and Pakistan and continues into 1964. The Partition in 1947 changed the life of Rozeena but from it, she met her childhood best friends, Haaris, Zohair, and Aalya. In 1964, a night changes their lives forever with an unexpected death and the secrets and lies they grew up with unravel. In 2019, Rozeena makes contact with her old friend, Haaris, and begins a friendship and internship with his granddaughter. As Rozee helps his granddaughter with her trauma, she works through the memories of the trauma she experienced as a child and then a young adult.

You can tell the author did research for the time and place. I found the characters were well-described and realistic. But there are a lot of characters and following who is related to who is difficult at times. I think some of this may be due to bits of Urdu sprinkled into the text along with titles. If you struggle with names, it might be good to jot them down as you read. But keeping the main 6 or so characters straight wasn't difficult. There are slower parts to the story and parts that don't seem to contribute to the main theme (one character missing temporarily, for example). I love books that circle around at the end to wrap everything up and link all the parts of the past back to the present and thought that was done well.

I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but I found this book fascinating since it was a part of global history that isn't really touched on in American schools. The interweaving of families who helped each other, friends who covered up secrets, and how they altered their lives completely to protect those secrets resonates with anyone who dealt with generational trauma. Overall, I look forward to seeing more from Author Nigar Alam and found this to be a very strong debut novel that will be released in August 2023.

Under the Tamarind Tree jumps between 1964 and 2019 Pakistan, following Rozeena. In 1964, Rozeena is starting her career as a young doctor. In 2019, she's an older woman who loves to garden and agrees to hire an old friend's granddaughter to help out for the summer.

I couldn't get into this book, mainly because the first chunk was so different from the description. The tagline description, "one night, four friends, countless secrets," led me to believe this would be a thrilling, fast-paced book. I didn't reach the end, but the story's beginning certainly wasn't. Suspense was artificially created because I knew there were supposed to be secrets. The 1964 chunks of the book had countdowns (like "5 days before"), so we knew something was coming. But nothing in the story led us to believe something was coming. This manufactured drama annoys me. I wonder if with a different description I would have liked the book more.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars: This is a beautiful tale of friendship, family, secrets, loss, and the rules, binds, and power (or lack thereof) associated with culture and society. The novel is a dual timeline story beginning with Partition and the violence and trauma it brought. The characters were well developed and easily elicited connection. There was a powerful theme of friendship, family and love, and the lengths people will go and the secrets they will keep to protect it. Despite the intention to protect, the secrets become oppressive and serve to continue the trajectory of intergenerational trauma. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves…

I would highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s sons for this arc copy!

In Under the Tamarind Tree, Rozeena Masood's past and present secrets swirl together, threatening to undermine the life she has built for herself and her family. Told from the perspectives of "Then" and "Now", we experience Rozeena's young adulthood and old age in post-partition Pakistan and get to know the people who have come in and out of her life.

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I'd have to rate it as just ok. There are more words used than are necessary to drive the plot, and entire arcs seem inconsequential. I think the summary makes this work seem like more of a thriller than it actually is, which might be the reason it felt underwhelming. The bigger reveals at the end are satisfying, however. I also liked learning more about the culture and history of Pakistan as experienced by Rozeena and her friends.

Note: I received a free ebook copy of Under the Tamarind Tree in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars!

I think the best way to describe this book would be: secrets, secrets, and more secrets.

This book follows the story of Rozeena, alternating between her time as a young girl fleeing India after the Partition, in Karachi, Pakistan in 1964, and in present day 2019.

In present day 2019, an old childhood friend asks her to take in his teenage granddaughter on an “internship” to help her heal from the death of her brother. However, Rozeena is reluctant and full of fear that the secrets of her past, particularly those that may affect her son, will come spilling it out by reconnecting with her friend in anyway.

We start to learn about what happened in 1964 that Rozeena is so desperate to not have resurface in chapters that flashback to the time immediately leading up to and after an event that changed everything Rozeena and her three childhood friends. These chapters also reveal secrets from the horrible events in the Partition, including about her own family and her friends’ families.

This book was pretty slow to start and I had a hard time getting into it. However, once that first domino fell midway through the book, secrets started to be revealed left and right. I couldn’t put the book down because it was so interwoven between characters, and I couldn’t wait to learn the whole story of what happened in 1964.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Under the Tamarind Tree is a beautiful story of love and secrets. Rozeena Masood and her family are forced to flee from Delhi to Karachi because of Partition. In Pakistan, she meets three friends and neighbors whose stories culminate in a deadly secret when she is a young woman in 1964. In 2019, out of the blue, Rozeena receives a phone call from one of her childhood friends asking Rozeena to allow their granddaughter to come "intern" for her after the girl has suffered the loss of her brother. The book bounces back and forth between 1964 and 2019, telling the story of many family losses, secrets and sacrifices.

Rozeena is a strong female lead and I love that her character shows growth even though she's in her 80s in 2019. I felt transported to Karachi reading this book; I loved all of the culture and history woven into this story.

The book does start off a bit slow (just keep going, don't worry) and references secrets from pretty early on. I had the fear that it would be one of those books that makes you read the entire thing just to reveal a very underwhelming secret, but it did not disappoint. The secrets were big and there were many!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

A story of enduring love.
This book follows a family and their neighbors and friends before and after multiple tragic events in their lives.
We are transported back and forth from 1964 to 2019 throughout the novel.
Rozeena is a strong female lead who truly wants the best for those in her life and strives her entire life to make that happen.

For me this book did start somewhat slow, but give it a chance. The story is definitely worth it.
This story takes place in Pakistan and for me it was a refreshing dive into this culture. I loved learning about the clothing, terms of endearment, and Partition while reading this story.

So much changes.
We lose so much in our lives.
But love remains.

I really enjoyed this book- it was smart, well-written, had engaging characters and a mystery too. the 1964 and 2019 timelines blended well

Under the Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam begins in 1964 in Karachi, Pakistan. Rozeena is struggling to build her medical practice and save her family home. Her parents fled India during the Partition of India. Since her father passed away, Rozeena takes on the responsibility of being the head of household.

Haaris, Aalya, and Zohair are all close friends of Rozeena. Aalya and Zohair have been meeting secretly – sometimes under the Tamarind tree. They are working on a way to become engaged. Rozeena and Haaris are also in love and hope to be married eventually. It seems that money and social status affects all of their potential marriages. No one could just marry the one that they loved. It wasn’t easy to love the one they were with either.

Unfortunately, Waleed follows Aalya to the rooftop of her house on the night of Haaris’s party. Zohair is close behind and a fight ensues. Waleed and Zohair fall off of the roof. Rozeena, Aalya and Haaris witness the incident and swear to keep the truth a secret. The only thing that people know is that Waleed did not survive and Zohair is critically injured.

Only one person finds out the truth – Waleed’s estranged widow, Kulsoom. She blackmails Haaris and Rozeena into keeping her secrets. If they keep her secret and do a few major tasks, then she will keep their secret about the party.

None of their lives are the same after that night but Haaris and Rozeena do what they have to do to protect their family and friends.

Years later in 2019, Rozeena is asked to look after Haaris’s granddaughter after a family tragedy. Zara, the granddaughter, and Rozeena strike up a friendship that helps them both with their feelings of loss. Their friendship seems authentic and sweet. It is one of my favorite things about the book.

Under the Tamarind Tree Recommendation
If you enjoy mysteries and secrets, then you will probably enjoy Under the Tamarind Tree. If you are a Petty Spaghetti who can’t sacrifice anything for anybody, then you should read Under the Tamarind Tree so you can learn what love is.

The best part about this book is its power to transport readers of Western civilizations into a world that's primarily depicted as diametrically opposed to Western culture.

When reading Under the Tamarind Tree - I was immediately drawn in by a sense of 'otherness' and a desire to learn and understand the character's motivations. Following the story of Rozeena and her childhood friends through political turbulent times in Pakistan during the 60s - I found myself loving how these women endured despite traumatic circumstances and still valued their friendships many years later.

Tales of women supporting women will ALWAYs be a win in my book!!

Also - Yay for my first Middle Eastern-authored book! Over the years, it's been widely covered in both media and print that Judeo-Christian and Muslim/Islamic societies are essentially oil and water. Reading books about cultures vastly different than my own has been a goal of mine since I started reading more in the last few years as an adult. Specifically, because I believe we should respect each other's differences - but it's INCREDIBLY hard to do that if you know nothing about someone's heritage/culture. Under the Tamarind Tree provides an opportunity to peek into a world unknown to many!

This book broke my heart, but in the best way possible. The writing was so amazingly descriptive and the story was engaging. The writing style is a little disjointed but there are only a few writers I have found that really nail jumps of time in a plot. I was still able to keep up and understand where I was.

Thank you for providing me an ARC!

I enjoy books set in non-US locations. I want to learn about the cultures, the settings and the histories. I was excited to start Under the Tamarind Tree because it took place during the partition of Pakistan and India. Unfortunately,, this book was not compelling for me. I couldn't engage with the characters. I liked the structure, going back and forth between 1964 and current day. The prose was simplistic and the story was too slow. I love to support women authors that find their voice later in life. I wish her success.

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy.

The cover of this book drew me right in, and the title had me intrigued. I enjoyed the second half of the book very much, but I nearly stopped reading at about 40% because it was taking so long to get to the big events of the book. I am glad I stuck with it. Once the big event finally occurs, there are several veins of "How will they get out of this now?" to keep the reader turning the page.

For readers who are looking for face-paced drama, this is not going to be for you. There are many chapters telling you how many days you are away from the life-changing event for the main character, Rozeena. Some build-up to that is necessary, but it was more than I needed. If you approach it as literary fiction that evolves and develops at a different pace, that will serve you better.

The novel begins with the child Rozeena and her family escaping to new Pakistan during the violent first days after Pakistan and India were divided along religious lines by Britain before they left control of the area. Then the story floats back and forth between an old Rozeena trying to avoid the consequences of an event from her young adult days and chapters set back in time with that young adult Rozeena and the events (most she has zero control over) that would shape her future.

If you enjoy glances into another culture and what makes it tick (in this case Pakistani culture), there are gems throughout this novel that involve a world it's hard for Americans (who do pretty much whatever we please and marry whomever we want) to understand.

If you don't know much about the horrific time of Partition that is wrapped around all the main events of this novel, I highly recommend "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani. It is written for younger readers, but that doesn't mean it won't get the message across of what those days were like.

Taking place in 1960s Pakistan at the onset, as the Partition is looming,,Niger Alam has captured the sense of frenzy at a time when people had to relocate and reimagine their. lives. The story opens with the focus on teen aged Rozeena and her three friends, caught up in the disappointment and uncertainty confronting them. Can Rozeena fulfill her dream of becoming a physician? What about the future that seemed so clear to two young romantics before lives changed?
Then, unexpectedly, at a party, an unimaginable tragedy occurred and nothing will ever be the same.
The story is told in two points of time, taking the reader on a ride to the future where the American granddaughter of one friend is sent to Pakistan to spend time with Rozeena. It is then that past secrets are uncovered and with them old hurts.
Written in beautifully descriptive prose, Under the Tamarind Tree is the sad story of unrequited love and a world that keeps moving forward even when circumstances prevent people from moving in the same direction. Knowing very little of the historical significance and impact on the Indian and Pakistani people, I felt transported to a time and place that was new to me. Four well deserved stars for this poignant work of historical fiction. My thanks to NetGalley and Putnam books for proving an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review “Under the Tamarind Tree”. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

Four friends face the challenges of growing older in a culture that's ruled by "what would people say?" Now their time together is not as simple as it had been before, and falls under different scrutiny than it did when they were children. When a terrible tragedy occurs, it causes them to ask the question: what matters more? Reputation, or the truth?

Survivors of Partition, a moment in history I knew nothing about until reading this, their lives are shaped by the events that occurred on their flee from India to Pakistan when the Radcliffe Line was drawn. Family members were lost, and secrets have been kept buried, until now. The loss of her brother Faysal was a big factor in our main character, Rozeena's life. It changed the way she looked at herself, feeling that she now had to live the life her brother had lost.

The loss of a brother is what brings together Rozeena and Zara in current day. Under the guise of a gardening internship, the now old woman and young teen meet, but soon realize gardening isn't the real reason behind their meeting. Instead, they both share the same grief, the same loss of identity that comes with losing a family member. And since their meeting was arranged by her old friend Haaris, it brings up memories of the last time she saw him, and the events that surrounded that time.

This one stayed with me, and kept me up long after the last page was finished. It hurt. The feelings wouldn't just go away, be packaged neatly and put back on the shelf. For me, that's what reading is all about. I highly recommend this book to anyone, not just those who enjoy historical fiction and getting glimpses of history and cultures they've rarely experienced before. To anyone who loves books, and the emotions they call upon.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a copy through NetGalley.

Thanks to Putnam Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an intricately plotted book that depicts the lives of Rozeena (her name means “daily wages”) and three of her friends/neighbors. They have survived Partition, three of them having fled to Pakistan where the story is set.

Two main themes are prevalent. One, a solution or response to a problem can and often leads to a worse problem. Two, no one knows all that is going on in any one situation or occurrence. And thus we act with a limited and skewed idea of what took place and its impact. These two dynamics tumble and bump into one another over and over. Partition is the macro event; and in this title, Rozee and her friends feed into and react on the micro level.

The story has a soap opera feel. The characters are often obligated or oppressed by societal/cultural notions. And they sacrifice to remain within these confines while achieving some personal goal. The sacrifices seem over-the-top and therein lies the soap opera. However, the story here is compelling and certainly held my attention.

The writing is straightforward—plain and not particularly stylized. But this has the effect of making the story and the trajectory of the events bolder. And the emotionality is definitely there and at times striking and wrenching.

I would recommend this title and I would like to see what other works this author crafts.

A quote:

“She wonders if he knows of her life as it is now, of how the days that never used to have enough hours, now have the longest minutes she’s ever lived….”