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An unforgettable debut novel about two young people searching for better lives in England, and the blossoming forbidden love between them that threatens their futures, families, and everything they''ve built--a breathtaking story perfect for fans of Colm Toibín, Patricia Engel, and Monica Ali Mira arrives in England from India, following an arranged marriage to Rajiv, a man she hardly knows and who has little interest in knowing her. As she adjusts to the customs of her new home, she begins to discover painful secrets lurking in her new family, and a strange distance in Rajiv. When the family''s business struggles, she finds a job at a local sweet mart where, one day, she meets Tahliil. A Somali refugee, Tahliil is determined to make a better life for his mother and sister. His chance encounters with Mira spark a friendship built on stolen moments. As their connection grows stronger, and the differences in their worlds become more pronounced, the strain to sustain the lives they chose to live, and the ones they want to, becomes ever more constricting. Told in chapters that deftly alternate Mira and Tahliil''s points of view, Belgrave Road is an exquisite debut novel and contemporary reboot of the classic Romeo & Juliet love story. It brings fresh perspective to timeless questions about the perseverance of love, and serves as a memorable testament to the capaciousness of the human spirit.
Commentaire
"Belgrave Road is a stunning portrait of two characters fighting for love in the most unexpected of circumstances. Through characters Mira and Tahliil, readers are immersed in the lives of an Indian immigrant and Somali undocumented refugee struggling to navigate a new world. In deft, lucid prose, Manish Chauhan asks us to consider the meaning of home, the might of love, and the injustices created by the borders of our contemporary world. Powerful and meditative, this is a debut novel that will stay with me for years to come." - Crystal Hana Kim, author of The Stone Home and If You Leave Me
"Tenacious and tender, Manish Chauhan's delicate prose folds us into Mira and Tahliil's moving love story, and turns a powerful lens on the realities of the lives of new immigrants in Britain-whether they cross borders for marriage or refuge, for broken promises or sheer survival. Visa status, wages, asylum, religions, and languages weave into this modern tale of love blossoming in unlikely circumstances, and I dreamed along with these characters who dared believe in their power to hold on to each other against the currents of society." - Aube Rey Lescure, author of River East, River West
"Belgrave Road shimmers with quiet beauty. A love story in more ways than one, this novel, with its encompassing prose, takes us through the joy and heartbreak of finding home amidst displacement and finding companionship in the loneliest places. I could not help but root for Mira and Tahliil." - Vanessa Chan, bestselling author of The Storm We Made
"At the intersection of luminous hopes and confining structures sits Belgrave Road. Simultaneously timeless and modern in its consideration of loneliness amidst the yearning to be understood, Manish Chauhan spins a tale of star-crossed lovers finding their way towards each other across and despite cultures, injustices, and conventions. I sank right into the novel, inhabiting the rhythms, dreams, fears, and delights of the lives within. This is a beautiful, defiant debut existing between the flashing poles of the lives we have and the ones we deserve." - Jemimah James Wei, author of The Original Daughter
