LoveReading Says
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.
Liz Robinson
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Good Intentions Synopsis
"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.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781250871121 |
| Publication date: |
14th March 2023 |
| Author: |
Kasim Ali |
| Publisher: |
Holt Paperbacks an imprint of Henry Holt & Company |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
288 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Kasim Ali Press Reviews
'Good Intentions is a magnificent and messy love story that broke my heart. Bittersweet and tender, Ali writes about modern day relationships with such compassion. This is a novel for anyone who has ever known what it is to be conflicted in falling in love, feeling the expectations of our families but also ourselves; it is for anyone who has ever felt their heart breaking under the weight of it all' Huma Qureshi, author of How We Met
'A frank, moving and truly compelling tale of the complexities of modern romance, and how family, friendships, society, and our own internalised prejudices can impact upon it. Good Intentions is a beautiful and honest story that I'd defy anyone not to be pulled in by, from a fantastic new talent in contemporary fiction' Sareeta Domingo, author of If I Don't Have You
'Good Intentions is a heart-breaking story of a young man caught between worlds-between youth and adulthood, between family and passion, between ambition and survival. Kasim Ali manages to build a quiet yet unbearable tension while taking us through a nuanced examination of the complexities of racial prejudice, especially within and across minority groups. A gorgeous, unbelievable debut' Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek
'I found Good Intentions moving, modern and utterly engaging. What a talent' Rhik Samadder, author of I Never Said I Love You
'A sensitive, smooth-toned and absorbingly honest novel that makes us question our inner worlds, at a time when this kind of self-examination might be the thing that saves us' Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People
'Compelling, emotionally honest, and unafraid of the grey areas of race, faith, sexuality and love, Good Intentions shows how complicated relationships can be, even with the best of intentions' Lillian Li, author of Number One Chinese Restaurant
