In a tight-knit Pakistani community in an unnamed British town, two lovers disappear, believed murdered; the brothers of the dead woman are arrested and as the year progresses through winter to the following autumn, the lives of both families unravel. The over-flowery language of the first chapters soon gives way to a moving and absorbing portrayal of this immigrant community which is governed by an unbending interpretation of Islamic doctrine.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 30 June 2005 ) |