Read more
Two generations of a Muslim Indian family grapple with what parts of life we control and what we must humbly accept in pursuit of the American dream--for readers of Min Jin Lee,;Mohsin Hamid, and;Ayad Akhtar In suburban Miami, sixty-year-old Sakeena--co-owner of a Dunkin’ franchise along with her husband, Ramzan--has nine months to live unless she consents to an organ transplant. Thirty years ago, at Ramzan’s behest, she left her beloved Rawalpindi, India, for the United States. In the years that followed, she compromised her belief in naseeb, the Muslim notion of destiny, and acquiesced to fertility treatments. This time, she is adamant that she should live as intended--without medical intervention. As her health deteriorates, Ramzan desperately seeks to reunite their grown children with the hope of convincing Sakeena to extend her life. But there are complications. Eldest daughter Fareen is consumed by an important business deal that, if successful, will land her a highly desired (and lucrative) promotion. Meanwhile, youngest son Adnan is living abroad and unable to return to the States due to his own unscrupulous business practices, a pattern stretching back to his adolescence. If they have any hope of saving their mother’s life, the siblings must take extraordinary action to wrestle with their life choices, actions that reveal the always-present tension between ambition and fate.; Brought to life by prose that captures the spirit of contemporary Miami as effortlessly as it conveys the challenges of running a Dunkin’ franchise,
About the author
HAFEEZ LAKHANI was born in Hyderabad, India, and raised in suburban South Florida. His fiction and essays have appeared in Crazyhorse, Exposition Review, Salt Hill Journal, Tikkun, The Cortland Review, and The Southern Review, among other publications. He has received fellowships from PEN America and the Center for Fiction, has been recognized twice with a Notable Essay in Best American Essays, and has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize.
