This novel beautifully and brutally tells the story of a woman and her family in what is almost surely Kashmir (although the country has a different name) from 1960 through current times. As the novel begins, Aisha is a child and the daughter of Noorjahan, a healer and midwife, who is an outcast because her husband left her. It is clear to Aisha that her mother harbors many gifts as well as many secrets. They live on the side of a mountain outside a small village, and life is quite difficult. Aisha is a good student, but when she is promised in marriage, she understands that a university education is no longer available to her. She marries and raises her children, one of whom becomes a guerrilla fighter, while the other pursues a foreign education. So, in many ways this is a novel of family: parent-child relationships; difficult mothers-in-law; navigating marriage; loss of parents; and distant daughters. But this novel is more, because the entire domestic structure of the characters must reflect the fact that the country is not only occupied by a brutal foreign power (India), but a foreign power whose religion is different (Hindu) (the characters are all Muslim). Woven deeply into the storyline are the horrendous brutality and arrogance of the occupying soldiers, as well as the multiple ways in which living under occupying forces affects everyday life and decisions.
Aisha is a very strong and well developed character, who sacrifices on many levels for her family. The author’s portrayal of village life in the Himalayas (including harvesting poppies) is quite tangible. The brutality disrespect for human life of the occupying forces is extremely clear. The writing is good – particularly for a debut novel. I look forward to Tara Dorabji’s next work.

This book is a family saga. It is set in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains. It spans from 1969 through 2022.
Noorjahan has taught her daughter Aisha all about healing. Aisha has an arranged marriage and is forced to abandon her hopes and dreams for a better life by going to college. Life is difficult in Poshkarbal. There is a strong military presence.
This is a sad story. It was hard for me to read it times because of the violence.
Aisha was a very strong woman and endured much. She did it for the love of her family. My heart broke for her.
It is a beautiful written story. In her acknowledgments she states “Thank you to the people of Kashmir who shared their stories with me those in exile, in prison and creating home under occupation “.
A story that needed to be told.

Thank you Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy.

From the book jacket; "Call Her Freedom is a lyrical, beautifully written novel about one woman’s love for her family. It is a sprawling investigation into colonialism’s relationship with loss and innocence spanning from 1969 to 2022. It is brimming with the violence of militarism, family secrets, and generational trauma announcing Tara Dorabji as a thrilling new voice in fiction."

Call me biased but I 100% agree. The book is very hard to put down, partly because of the topic and partly because it is a region so close to my heart. Kudos to Tara for lifting up all the struggles the region has faced. The book follows Aisha across her lifespan as she continues to move forward from the horrors she’s endured. This is a story about transgenerational trauma and healing. Trigger warning; rape used as a tool of war, torture and death by suicide.

Thank you #netgalley and #SimonAndSchuster for my ARC Copy. The views are my own.

I don’t even know where to begin… I feel like I have mixed feelings after reading this but at the same time all those feelings are somewhat sad. Sad for the characters and sad for the story, but that means that it was written in a way to pull those emotions which is phenomenal. The story feels tragic all around but the main character proved to be strong and resilient throughout the whole story.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was mostly tragic with a few good experiences mixed in. I liked that Aisha remained strong despite all of the horrible things that happened to her. My heart ached for the people living in the village of Poshkarbal.

Trigger warnings: murder, suicide, rape and torture.

The epilogue was my favorite part. It provided a hopeful future for Nalja and her family.

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from Simon and Schuster via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.