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The World Unseen
Miriam is the traditional young Indian mother, hardworking and self-effacing. When she meets the rebellious Amina who confounds the Indian community by driving a taxi and setting up a cafe with a black man, her world is turned upside down.
344 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2001
72 people are currently reading
6706 people want to read
About the author
Shamim Sarif
11 books437 followersBorn in the UK, Shamim is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and director.
Her next book, The Athena Protocol, is an all-female YA contemporary action thriller that is published by Harper Teen in September 2019.
Her debut novel, The World Unseen, won a Betty Trask award and the Pendleton May First Novel award.
Shamim has adapted and directed the films of three of her novels including, most recently, Despite the Falling Snow. The book was published by Headline in the UK and St Martin’s Press in the US. The movie stars Rebecca Ferguson and Charles Dance in a story of love and betrayal in cold war Russia. Her films have won 47 awards internationally.
Shamim’s third novel, I Can’t Think Straight, formed the basis of her cult hit film of the same name.
Shamim’s book festival appearances include Hay-on-Wye, Cheltenham and Edinburgh.
An accomplished speaker, Shamim has spoken at TED events worldwide, at the INK Conference in India and DLD in Munich. Corporate speaking events have included Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Disney.
Shamim lives in London with her wife, Hanan, and their two sons
Her next book, The Athena Protocol, is an all-female YA contemporary action thriller that is published by Harper Teen in September 2019.
Her debut novel, The World Unseen, won a Betty Trask award and the Pendleton May First Novel award.
Shamim has adapted and directed the films of three of her novels including, most recently, Despite the Falling Snow. The book was published by Headline in the UK and St Martin’s Press in the US. The movie stars Rebecca Ferguson and Charles Dance in a story of love and betrayal in cold war Russia. Her films have won 47 awards internationally.
Shamim’s third novel, I Can’t Think Straight, formed the basis of her cult hit film of the same name.
Shamim’s book festival appearances include Hay-on-Wye, Cheltenham and Edinburgh.
An accomplished speaker, Shamim has spoken at TED events worldwide, at the INK Conference in India and DLD in Munich. Corporate speaking events have included Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Disney.
Shamim lives in London with her wife, Hanan, and their two sons
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
September 13, 2012
The World Unseen is a story of forbidden love in 1950s South Africa. Apartheid has just become the law of the land. Segregation is not only limited to blacks and whites, but also extends to coloreds and Indians. The ultimate goal for women is to be provided a good match for a husband, have children, keep house, and cook well. A successful wife is a subservient one.
The protagonist, Amina, wants a different life. She wants to dress in clothes in which she feels the most comfortable. She wants to own a business with a colored man. She wants to love whom she wants. And she does not care what anyone thinks of her.
Shamim Sarif has an engaging writing style and her depiction of setting and characterizations are exceptional.
The World Unseen is the kind of book for which you sit in your favorite chair, with your favorite beverage, and cozy up with it for a long afternoon.
This is one of the few books that I have read recently that I did not want to end.
I wish it had a sequel.
The protagonist, Amina, wants a different life. She wants to dress in clothes in which she feels the most comfortable. She wants to own a business with a colored man. She wants to love whom she wants. And she does not care what anyone thinks of her.
Shamim Sarif has an engaging writing style and her depiction of setting and characterizations are exceptional.
The World Unseen is the kind of book for which you sit in your favorite chair, with your favorite beverage, and cozy up with it for a long afternoon.
This is one of the few books that I have read recently that I did not want to end.
I wish it had a sequel.
Read
January 6, 2020I loved this. Set in 1950s South Africa, mostly in the Indian community, where there's a lot of toxic patriarchy and misery, while the apartheid laws are becoming harder. It's a tough setting and the book presents a lot of pain and fear, told with restrained fury. We also see the human connections, the mutual protections, the characters fighting to change and striving to love against cruelty, selfishness and petty hatred.
It's a terrific human story with an f/f romance running through it, and I glommed it in a single compulsive sitting. Hugely readable in the best way.
Slightly shonky formatting on Kobo and a bit of head hopping, but nothing that got in my way.
It's a terrific human story with an f/f romance running through it, and I glommed it in a single compulsive sitting. Hugely readable in the best way.
Slightly shonky formatting on Kobo and a bit of head hopping, but nothing that got in my way.
August 14, 2009
I highly recommend this book!
I love Shamim Sarif's writing style. The story is set in South Africa during the Apartheid (segragation) 1952. Marim is a housewife who has recently left a "city" area and moved to a lonely farm area. Her husband has opened a shop there, which Marim helps. She is the mother of 3 children and looking for something to full-fill her days, but she doesn't realize what she is missing until she meets Amina. Amina is a fiercly independent woman who is running a restaurant with a "colored" man, Jacob. This story is well told, developing the characters and making the reader fully understand where they are in the 1950s. It is heartbreaking to read about people had to endure not too long ago.
In addition, the movie is fabulous.
I love Shamim Sarif's writing style. The story is set in South Africa during the Apartheid (segragation) 1952. Marim is a housewife who has recently left a "city" area and moved to a lonely farm area. Her husband has opened a shop there, which Marim helps. She is the mother of 3 children and looking for something to full-fill her days, but she doesn't realize what she is missing until she meets Amina. Amina is a fiercly independent woman who is running a restaurant with a "colored" man, Jacob. This story is well told, developing the characters and making the reader fully understand where they are in the 1950s. It is heartbreaking to read about people had to endure not too long ago.
In addition, the movie is fabulous.
July 20, 2015
Although I was really interested in the setting of this book and enjoyed the writing style and characters, there were a couple of factors that held me back from rating this higher. One was that this is set in apartheid South Africa, but apartheid itself is just a subplot. Although the Indian main characters do experience racism, they don't face the full brunt of apartheid, and the minor characters who do seem very minor and underdeveloped. Add to that I felt uncomfortable with the decision to set the story there. On a similar note, I wasn't sure I liked the portrayal of mental illness in the character of Miriam's sister-in-law. She seems to exist just to make Miriam seem more put upon for having to take care of her.
Those elements really pulled me out of the story, and the romance wasn't developed enough to draw me back in. I also felt the resolution was unsatisfying.
Those elements really pulled me out of the story, and the romance wasn't developed enough to draw me back in. I also felt the resolution was unsatisfying.
July 18, 2017
I wanted so badly to give this book 5* but the ending was just a little too unsatisfying and sudden for my own liking that I was stingy.
Nonetheless, there is so much to love about this book! The protagonists are well-rounded characters with a lot of depth and I genuinely liked and rooted for them both. I loved the juxtaposition between Amina and Miriam's lives (how they approached tradition) and how they came together nonetheless.
I really enjoyed the style of writing too, it felt detailed and descriptive without being dense or difficult to read, and I enjoyed the brief snippets of insights into other characters. The other characters too were all fleshed out pretty well, and didn't feel like caricatures simply placed their to be, for example, antagonists.
My own personal taste means that I wanted more on Amina and Miriam's relationship as that is primarily what made me want to read the book and I would also have liked to hear a little more of the effects of Apartheid as I felt, like some other readers, that its impact was only shown at certain points in the book (although those particular points were then handled really well).
In general though, I loved this book a lot and would definitely recommend it to anyone!
Nonetheless, there is so much to love about this book! The protagonists are well-rounded characters with a lot of depth and I genuinely liked and rooted for them both. I loved the juxtaposition between Amina and Miriam's lives (how they approached tradition) and how they came together nonetheless.
I really enjoyed the style of writing too, it felt detailed and descriptive without being dense or difficult to read, and I enjoyed the brief snippets of insights into other characters. The other characters too were all fleshed out pretty well, and didn't feel like caricatures simply placed their to be, for example, antagonists.
My own personal taste means that I wanted more on Amina and Miriam's relationship as that is primarily what made me want to read the book and I would also have liked to hear a little more of the effects of Apartheid as I felt, like some other readers, that its impact was only shown at certain points in the book (although those particular points were then handled really well).
In general though, I loved this book a lot and would definitely recommend it to anyone!
May 22, 2017
The World Unseen is a poignant tale set in 1950s South Africa.
Apartheid is wide and prevalent throughout the story, and the author (Shamim Sarif) mentions how the apartheid not only affected the African natives but also the colored community that descended from India and settled down in some regions of South Africa.
Indeed, the story revolves around a close-knit Indian community residing in the districts of Pretoria and Delhof. The characters are colorful and have significant traits and mannerisms that make each of them unique and albeit annoying sometimes, still fun to read about.
Introducing the protagonists!
Amina Harjan is a woman with a fiery personality and looks to match! She is described as a woman who has no boundaries and is the source of all the gossip in the local Indian Community.
One of the main reasons being, she works with an African named Jacob, with whom she opens a restaurant in Pretoria.
Her father, a rather introverted man, is respectful of his daughter's lifestyle and is supportive throughout the novel.
Mrs. Harjan on the other hand, has come to her wits end as to what she must do about her daughter. All she wants is Amina to dress up in Indian feminine clothes (Shalwar Kameez) and to marry a nice Indian boy.
Amina Harjan gets her passionate personality due to her grandmother who has an interesting tale herself! :)
Enter Miriam!
Miriam is married to a strict and rather grumpy man, Omar. Omar's family is complex with a bunch of characters that each have their own misgivings. Miriam shifted from Bombay to South Africa to stay with Omar. She is the perfect example of a submissive, docile, Indian bahu - Or, is she? ;)
Omar and Miriam have two children, Sam and Alisha.
Miriam's life is an endless routine of looking after her household in Delhof, that is, until she meets Amina.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Enter the world of 1950s South Africa, and witness through the eyes of Amina and Miriam, the atrocities of the Apartheid, the beautiful country of South Africa; South African delicacies such as bobotie and mealies.
Shamim Sarif is a talented author who can bring into life even the most ordinary of characters under extraordinary circumstances.
Apartheid is wide and prevalent throughout the story, and the author (Shamim Sarif) mentions how the apartheid not only affected the African natives but also the colored community that descended from India and settled down in some regions of South Africa.
Indeed, the story revolves around a close-knit Indian community residing in the districts of Pretoria and Delhof. The characters are colorful and have significant traits and mannerisms that make each of them unique and albeit annoying sometimes, still fun to read about.
Introducing the protagonists!
Amina Harjan is a woman with a fiery personality and looks to match! She is described as a woman who has no boundaries and is the source of all the gossip in the local Indian Community.
One of the main reasons being, she works with an African named Jacob, with whom she opens a restaurant in Pretoria.
Her father, a rather introverted man, is respectful of his daughter's lifestyle and is supportive throughout the novel.
Mrs. Harjan on the other hand, has come to her wits end as to what she must do about her daughter. All she wants is Amina to dress up in Indian feminine clothes (Shalwar Kameez) and to marry a nice Indian boy.
Amina Harjan gets her passionate personality due to her grandmother who has an interesting tale herself! :)
Enter Miriam!
Miriam is married to a strict and rather grumpy man, Omar. Omar's family is complex with a bunch of characters that each have their own misgivings. Miriam shifted from Bombay to South Africa to stay with Omar. She is the perfect example of a submissive, docile, Indian bahu - Or, is she? ;)
Omar and Miriam have two children, Sam and Alisha.
Miriam's life is an endless routine of looking after her household in Delhof, that is, until she meets Amina.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Enter the world of 1950s South Africa, and witness through the eyes of Amina and Miriam, the atrocities of the Apartheid, the beautiful country of South Africa; South African delicacies such as bobotie and mealies.
Shamim Sarif is a talented author who can bring into life even the most ordinary of characters under extraordinary circumstances.
October 9, 2022
4 stars. What the hell was that ending? I want more. I need answers dammit! This was a really good read though I will admit that the first 20% or so was really dry. It took a bit for the story to find its footing but once it did it was great. I loved the writing and I found the characters of Miriam and Amina to be endearing and likable. I liked the way they fell for each other even though the ending left me wanting so much more. There was some race things that were uncomfortable and got the side eye from me but other than that this was a great read and I’m looking forward to watching the film adaptation.
April 15, 2009
A Vision of Indian Life and Taboo in South Africa
This is a finely woven tale with a magical sense of place, atmosphere and character, set in 1950s South Africa during the time of apartheid’s most stringent race laws. Arriving in South Africa from India, shy Miriam and her unapproachable husband seek a better life in Delhof for their children. They set up a general store in a remote area, and soon Miriam is wrapped up in a mundane existence without a smile, without much pleasure and love, except for that of her children.
Meanwhile, fiercely independent Amina is determined to break with tradition and not marry for the sake of her family’s name. She runs her own businesses with a gentle and wise Coloured man, Jacob, and often clashes with the local police. When Miriam and Amina’s paths cross in the gossip-ridden and scandal prone Indian community of Pretoria, events are set in motion that will put Miriam on a path of personal awakening that leads to an eventual confrontation with her dogmatic husband.
Shamim Sarif, born in the UK, and of South African decent, won the Betty Trask Award and Pendleton May First Novel Award with this glowing debut. Although the book begins slowly, Sarif has proven herself adept at patiently layering a complex narrative with vivid characters and subtle plot twists. She has a rare gift of bringing alive sensuous undertones and the intricacies of body language in her narration. I was a bit puzzled by her Afrikaans characters’ strange use of Ja all the time, but let’s not fuss about peculiarities. Definitely a book I would recommend and an author who has convinced me to pick up an even better second book, Despite the Falling Snow
This is a finely woven tale with a magical sense of place, atmosphere and character, set in 1950s South Africa during the time of apartheid’s most stringent race laws. Arriving in South Africa from India, shy Miriam and her unapproachable husband seek a better life in Delhof for their children. They set up a general store in a remote area, and soon Miriam is wrapped up in a mundane existence without a smile, without much pleasure and love, except for that of her children.
Meanwhile, fiercely independent Amina is determined to break with tradition and not marry for the sake of her family’s name. She runs her own businesses with a gentle and wise Coloured man, Jacob, and often clashes with the local police. When Miriam and Amina’s paths cross in the gossip-ridden and scandal prone Indian community of Pretoria, events are set in motion that will put Miriam on a path of personal awakening that leads to an eventual confrontation with her dogmatic husband.
Shamim Sarif, born in the UK, and of South African decent, won the Betty Trask Award and Pendleton May First Novel Award with this glowing debut. Although the book begins slowly, Sarif has proven herself adept at patiently layering a complex narrative with vivid characters and subtle plot twists. She has a rare gift of bringing alive sensuous undertones and the intricacies of body language in her narration. I was a bit puzzled by her Afrikaans characters’ strange use of Ja all the time, but let’s not fuss about peculiarities. Definitely a book I would recommend and an author who has convinced me to pick up an even better second book, Despite the Falling Snow
February 29, 2020
Rep: Indian wlw mcs, Black South African characters and setting
CWs: anti-blackness, ableism, police brutality, rape and domestic abuse in flashback, physical abuse, homophobia
CWs: anti-blackness, ableism, police brutality, rape and domestic abuse in flashback, physical abuse, homophobia
March 1, 2015
This is a disappointing little melodrama that fails to live up to its premise, as a story about two Indian women falling in love in apartheid South Africa. Instead it suffers from black-and-white characterization, over-the-top scenarios and a failure to address the most interesting questions raised by the plot.
Miriam is a traditional young wife and mother who immigrated to South Africa to join her husband, and now has two small children. Then she meets Amina, a fiery young woman who runs her own café and taxi business and is the book’s most interesting character; sadly, while the two appear to get equal billing initially, Miriam turns out to be the protagonist and Amina the love interest.
This book’s strength is that it does have an engaging plot; the story is entertaining enough, and it’s easy to get pulled in and quick to read. The characters, however, are flat. Our heroines have virtually no character flaws, while the antagonists are villainy incarnate. For instance, Miriam’s sister-in-law is vicious, lazy, oh, and a cheater and homewrecker just to make sure we get the picture, and also reports relatives she barely knows to the police out of “pure spite,” because apparently giving her an actual motivation would be too much. (Miriam, in contrast, is of course saintly and put-upon, doing all the housework herself without complaint, and she and Amina both risk themselves for people they barely know.) Then there’s the villainous police officer who never appears in a scene without assaulting someone, destroying property, or randomly shooting off guns, always unprovoked. Everyone in this book is all one thing, shorn of any interesting complexity.
Such characters are bound to generate ridiculous melodrama, and so they do. Most egregious is the sequence in which two police officers abandon their beat to go tearing about the country terrorizing people as if they were investigating a capital crime, all because of a tip from the evil sister-in-law that their other sister-in-law is (gasp!) married to a white man. Many readers will let this slide because, hey, apartheid, but even according to the law actually cited in the book, interracial marriage was not a crime. The government wouldn’t recognize such marriages, and anybody performing one could be fined £50, but arrest? Especially of people who married in another country long before that law went into effect, and were just passing through and not even staying together while in the country? Nope. Hint to authors: when even apartheid provides insufficient opportunity to make your characters as unjustly and tragically victimized as you envision, and so you feel the need to add to it, that’s a strong indication you should tone down the melodrama.
WARNING: SPOILERS
Through all this, I kept reading mostly because the central questions raised by the plot are interesting: will Miriam, a traditional Indian wife, choose to leave her husband for a chance at love with a woman? Can such a relationship ever succeed in 1950’s South Africa? But the book never goes there. So little is done with the budding relationship that the story would change little if it were a platonic friendship. In the end, Miriam decides she wants to continue seeing Amina, and that’s it. To make matters worse, Miriam’s husband has gone from simply cold to physically abusive, and the end of the book just leaves her there, as if her starting to stand up to him is sufficient resolution. The husband is a controlling man who turns violent when Miriam shows initiative or independence, so her standing up for herself only puts her in more danger as long as she remains with him. I’m not a reader who wants every thread tied off in a neat bow, but this book simply ends on a crisis point, with the primary plotline still in flux. It’s as if the author decided she couldn’t provide a realistic happy ending in this setting and just ended the book before she had to admit it.
/SPOILERS
Reviewers often attribute problems in debut novels to inexperience, and I do think Sarif shows the potential to do better. There are awkward and ungrammatical sentences here, but also plenty of passages that are fine. There’s goofy melodrama, but also some more effective, understated scenes. With a great editor and more work put into character development, I suspect she could write a good book; the storytelling foundation is there. But I won’t be the one rushing off to read her other works and find out.
Miriam is a traditional young wife and mother who immigrated to South Africa to join her husband, and now has two small children. Then she meets Amina, a fiery young woman who runs her own café and taxi business and is the book’s most interesting character; sadly, while the two appear to get equal billing initially, Miriam turns out to be the protagonist and Amina the love interest.
This book’s strength is that it does have an engaging plot; the story is entertaining enough, and it’s easy to get pulled in and quick to read. The characters, however, are flat. Our heroines have virtually no character flaws, while the antagonists are villainy incarnate. For instance, Miriam’s sister-in-law is vicious, lazy, oh, and a cheater and homewrecker just to make sure we get the picture, and also reports relatives she barely knows to the police out of “pure spite,” because apparently giving her an actual motivation would be too much. (Miriam, in contrast, is of course saintly and put-upon, doing all the housework herself without complaint, and she and Amina both risk themselves for people they barely know.) Then there’s the villainous police officer who never appears in a scene without assaulting someone, destroying property, or randomly shooting off guns, always unprovoked. Everyone in this book is all one thing, shorn of any interesting complexity.
Such characters are bound to generate ridiculous melodrama, and so they do. Most egregious is the sequence in which two police officers abandon their beat to go tearing about the country terrorizing people as if they were investigating a capital crime, all because of a tip from the evil sister-in-law that their other sister-in-law is (gasp!) married to a white man. Many readers will let this slide because, hey, apartheid, but even according to the law actually cited in the book, interracial marriage was not a crime. The government wouldn’t recognize such marriages, and anybody performing one could be fined £50, but arrest? Especially of people who married in another country long before that law went into effect, and were just passing through and not even staying together while in the country? Nope. Hint to authors: when even apartheid provides insufficient opportunity to make your characters as unjustly and tragically victimized as you envision, and so you feel the need to add to it, that’s a strong indication you should tone down the melodrama.
WARNING: SPOILERS
Through all this, I kept reading mostly because the central questions raised by the plot are interesting: will Miriam, a traditional Indian wife, choose to leave her husband for a chance at love with a woman? Can such a relationship ever succeed in 1950’s South Africa? But the book never goes there. So little is done with the budding relationship that the story would change little if it were a platonic friendship. In the end, Miriam decides she wants to continue seeing Amina, and that’s it. To make matters worse, Miriam’s husband has gone from simply cold to physically abusive, and the end of the book just leaves her there, as if her starting to stand up to him is sufficient resolution. The husband is a controlling man who turns violent when Miriam shows initiative or independence, so her standing up for herself only puts her in more danger as long as she remains with him. I’m not a reader who wants every thread tied off in a neat bow, but this book simply ends on a crisis point, with the primary plotline still in flux. It’s as if the author decided she couldn’t provide a realistic happy ending in this setting and just ended the book before she had to admit it.
/SPOILERS
Reviewers often attribute problems in debut novels to inexperience, and I do think Sarif shows the potential to do better. There are awkward and ungrammatical sentences here, but also plenty of passages that are fine. There’s goofy melodrama, but also some more effective, understated scenes. With a great editor and more work put into character development, I suspect she could write a good book; the storytelling foundation is there. But I won’t be the one rushing off to read her other works and find out.
January 2, 2011
The World Unseen was a quick read that made me think, consider, and cry. The story takes place in South Africa during Apartheid. In this era and place, tragedy is unavoidable. There are two main characters: Mirim and Amina. The two women seem to be inexorably drawn to one another, though their lives are very different. Their love story is innocent and painful. The author has created interesting secondary characters who have fascinating stories of their own. Though the ending hardly leaves the reader satisfied, it also left me thinking about the book. A great read.
June 17, 2011
I absolutely loved this book. I feel like the ending was rather abrupt, however,and I finished it wanting to know more. But a great book nonetheless.
September 28, 2021
2.5 stars. This was fine? Though underwhelming? Though I can truthfully say it's 75% just a me thing, and my feelings are heavily based on the fact that this book employs a type of storytelling that I hate? So I'd probably still recommend this, for some good queer historical fiction that also tackles racism and classism during apartheid in South Africa.
The story follows two Indian women in South Africa in the 1950s: Miriam, a young house-wife and mother, and Amina, a headstrong, rebellious business owner. Their romance/connection is part of the story, but we also follow along with their family life and family members, their community, the racial tensions and injustices. I haven't read a lot of books about apartheid, and those that I have read were from a black or white perspective, so it was interesting to see this time period and these issues from an Indian point of view. I do find that the book didn't dig deep enough for me, but it was still okay. There wasn't much emphasis on the fact of Amina not being straight, and Miriam questioning herself, but I can understand why that took a backseat.
Where I really struggled was with the POV. This is a really subjective thing, so I won't dunk on the book too much, but like I've said in other reviews, if you're going to have multiple POVs, they should either all be equal, or if you really need to introduce a POV of a random person, it should be for a really pivotal or important scene. I hate this kind of omniscient POV where we're constantly jumping from one person to another (sometimes within paragraphs!!), giving us the perspective of different characters that we don't need. The book was constantly giving the reader information we could have easily gotten from a different source, or didn't need at all. It felt lazy somehow. For example: Robert, Miriam's houseboy. It would have been so much more effective to give him a more established, frequently recurring POV, rather than to slip into his head a few times when he suffered some injustice or other. The plotlines with Rehmat and James, Jacob and Ms. Smith, those would have been so much more striking and effective had we actually spent more time with those characters. Or the book should have just committed to being Miriam and Amina's story, and touching on their family and friends from their perspective. Again, I have to stress: this is a me thing. Omniscient POV is my enemy, and it's ruined books for me before. This probably won't bother other people who (rightfully) don't care.
Buuuuuut this also didn't wow me in any other way. The writing was fine, nothing that ever gripped me. I liked the characters, but didn't fall in love, and some of the side characters definitely dipped into caricature territory. The romance, such that it was, was just okay. I just feel resoundingly 'meh' about this book; I wish it dug deeper and did more.
Content warnings: .
The story follows two Indian women in South Africa in the 1950s: Miriam, a young house-wife and mother, and Amina, a headstrong, rebellious business owner. Their romance/connection is part of the story, but we also follow along with their family life and family members, their community, the racial tensions and injustices. I haven't read a lot of books about apartheid, and those that I have read were from a black or white perspective, so it was interesting to see this time period and these issues from an Indian point of view. I do find that the book didn't dig deep enough for me, but it was still okay. There wasn't much emphasis on the fact of Amina not being straight, and Miriam questioning herself, but I can understand why that took a backseat.
Where I really struggled was with the POV. This is a really subjective thing, so I won't dunk on the book too much, but like I've said in other reviews, if you're going to have multiple POVs, they should either all be equal, or if you really need to introduce a POV of a random person, it should be for a really pivotal or important scene. I hate this kind of omniscient POV where we're constantly jumping from one person to another (sometimes within paragraphs!!), giving us the perspective of different characters that we don't need. The book was constantly giving the reader information we could have easily gotten from a different source, or didn't need at all. It felt lazy somehow. For example: Robert, Miriam's houseboy. It would have been so much more effective to give him a more established, frequently recurring POV, rather than to slip into his head a few times when he suffered some injustice or other. The plotlines with Rehmat and James, Jacob and Ms. Smith, those would have been so much more striking and effective had we actually spent more time with those characters. Or the book should have just committed to being Miriam and Amina's story, and touching on their family and friends from their perspective. Again, I have to stress: this is a me thing. Omniscient POV is my enemy, and it's ruined books for me before. This probably won't bother other people who (rightfully) don't care.
Buuuuuut this also didn't wow me in any other way. The writing was fine, nothing that ever gripped me. I liked the characters, but didn't fall in love, and some of the side characters definitely dipped into caricature territory. The romance, such that it was, was just okay. I just feel resoundingly 'meh' about this book; I wish it dug deeper and did more.
Content warnings: .
July 14, 2016
I don’t what I was expecting of this story, but maybe it was a little bit more. More of the relationship between Amina and Miriam? The blurb basically implies that this is mostly about their journey and love, but really they only actually connect at the end of the book and then it’s rather wrapped up neatly. Most of it is about them separately and other family drama. I’m always up for stories set in different times, cultures and countries, and I felt on this level this book was a very good read. But I was a bit disappointed in the rather muted and understated story of Miriam and Amina.
I found the setting very interesting. I mean it’s not that common to read a story set in 1950’s South Africa. This story though, is more about Indian culture set within the Indian Immigrant community living in South Africa and with apartheid recently put into place. Although mostly about the Indian community, it does touch on many issues of race and culture as the main characters, not all Indian, try to deal with keeping their humanity within inhumane legal system.
Amina is a very strong woman who bucks the traditional Indian cultural norms for women. She does her own thing. She is rather lucky because neither her father or mother really bother about it too much and her father is very supportive. She doesn’t really care what the rest of the Indian community thinks of her. I liked her guts to be who she is and protect those who would be hurt by apartheid laws.
Miriam is the complete opposite… on the surface. She has just followed what has been expected of her. She married a man who asked for her and went with him to South Africa. They don’t have a close relationship; it seems just a formality to be proper and have kids. She follows her role dutifully, sacrificing any of her own wants. And to be honest, she’s so used to just doing what’s expected that it’s almost as if she doesn’t know what she would want if she were able to have some freedom. She expresses at one point to Amina that she hasn’t thought about living any other way. So her growth arc is the most drastic in meeting Amina.
Most of the drama in this story though is about familial relationships and how both Amina and Miriam try to work out familial expectations.
Many lives were disrupted and made worse due to apartheid, although the Indian community didn’t seem to have it as bad as non- whites. Amina as a somewhat out lesbian has to hide it due to laws against it. I got the impression that Amina as well as most of the Indian community were able to walk a fine line keeping a somewhat good relationship with the white police so she and they could do what they wanted. And it seemed that she was tolerated and accepted by those close to her. But the author did show how intensely the police watched people for any racial/ interracial infraction and that they acted on it.
While I liked this book overall just for the story in itself as representative of a particular community in a particular time period, as I said above, Amina and Miriam’s story was not well developed. As left off, it felt like Miriam was still inclined to follow tradition, even with a family and husband who treat her badly. I felt that her attraction to Amina is more about wanting to know what it might be to be herself and be treated with respect and love vs having any lesbian tendencies or sexual attraction to Amina. This is where the author failed for me. Still though, it’s a good book to read and I would recommend it.
I also want to give a shout out to the narrator, Lisa Ray, who was also an actress in the movie. She read this book so well and I felt she really brought this time and place to life.
I found the setting very interesting. I mean it’s not that common to read a story set in 1950’s South Africa. This story though, is more about Indian culture set within the Indian Immigrant community living in South Africa and with apartheid recently put into place. Although mostly about the Indian community, it does touch on many issues of race and culture as the main characters, not all Indian, try to deal with keeping their humanity within inhumane legal system.
Amina is a very strong woman who bucks the traditional Indian cultural norms for women. She does her own thing. She is rather lucky because neither her father or mother really bother about it too much and her father is very supportive. She doesn’t really care what the rest of the Indian community thinks of her. I liked her guts to be who she is and protect those who would be hurt by apartheid laws.
Miriam is the complete opposite… on the surface. She has just followed what has been expected of her. She married a man who asked for her and went with him to South Africa. They don’t have a close relationship; it seems just a formality to be proper and have kids. She follows her role dutifully, sacrificing any of her own wants. And to be honest, she’s so used to just doing what’s expected that it’s almost as if she doesn’t know what she would want if she were able to have some freedom. She expresses at one point to Amina that she hasn’t thought about living any other way. So her growth arc is the most drastic in meeting Amina.
Most of the drama in this story though is about familial relationships and how both Amina and Miriam try to work out familial expectations.
Many lives were disrupted and made worse due to apartheid, although the Indian community didn’t seem to have it as bad as non- whites. Amina as a somewhat out lesbian has to hide it due to laws against it. I got the impression that Amina as well as most of the Indian community were able to walk a fine line keeping a somewhat good relationship with the white police so she and they could do what they wanted. And it seemed that she was tolerated and accepted by those close to her. But the author did show how intensely the police watched people for any racial/ interracial infraction and that they acted on it.
While I liked this book overall just for the story in itself as representative of a particular community in a particular time period, as I said above, Amina and Miriam’s story was not well developed. As left off, it felt like Miriam was still inclined to follow tradition, even with a family and husband who treat her badly. I felt that her attraction to Amina is more about wanting to know what it might be to be herself and be treated with respect and love vs having any lesbian tendencies or sexual attraction to Amina. This is where the author failed for me. Still though, it’s a good book to read and I would recommend it.
I also want to give a shout out to the narrator, Lisa Ray, who was also an actress in the movie. She read this book so well and I felt she really brought this time and place to life.
July 30, 2014
The World Unseen is a wonderful book. The historical and cultural context is strong and dynamic and the characters are equally so. Shamim Sarif is particularly skilled at bringing her readers into the internal worlds of families and in this novel she captures a subtle but amazing shift of power.
My first thought upon reaching the end was one of surprise. 'No - it doesn't really end here, does it?' I saw the words "The End" printed and turned the page just in case there was some mistake. Yet upon reflection, you'll find that although the story doesn't tie off neatly like a fairytale, by the end of the novel a major shift has occurred. The increasing violence of Miriam's husband, Omar, counterpoints his decreasing power in the household. His control is no longer all-encompassing but restricted to the physical, and even this is not enough.
***
"I don't like it," he said quietly, almost to himself. "If I don't like it, that should be enough."
She summoned the courage to talk back to him yet one more time.
"It's not enough," she told him. "It has never been enough, but I never told you before." Her face was flushed, not with fear or tension, but with embarrassment, as though this moment of speaking her thoughts to her husband was a revelation of herself akin to being caught dancing naked in the street. He was staring at her and she held his look. Please don't be afraid of me, she thought to herself.
***
If you are waiting for a happy ending - perhaps two women riding off into the sunset in a rattling car with three children bundled in the backseat and a husband throwing chairs and cursing the heavens in the background - choose another book. If you are ready to build your own happy ending and you're seeking the tools to do it, read The World Unseen. The world of the novel is South Africa during Apartheid and the romance, while lovely, is secondary to having the freedom to pursue it. Being able to take the bus into the city simply to cook at the cafe of the woman you love may not seem like a grand romantic victory now. Yet by the time you finish this book, it will be.
My first thought upon reaching the end was one of surprise. 'No - it doesn't really end here, does it?' I saw the words "The End" printed and turned the page just in case there was some mistake. Yet upon reflection, you'll find that although the story doesn't tie off neatly like a fairytale, by the end of the novel a major shift has occurred. The increasing violence of Miriam's husband, Omar, counterpoints his decreasing power in the household. His control is no longer all-encompassing but restricted to the physical, and even this is not enough.
***
"I don't like it," he said quietly, almost to himself. "If I don't like it, that should be enough."
She summoned the courage to talk back to him yet one more time.
"It's not enough," she told him. "It has never been enough, but I never told you before." Her face was flushed, not with fear or tension, but with embarrassment, as though this moment of speaking her thoughts to her husband was a revelation of herself akin to being caught dancing naked in the street. He was staring at her and she held his look. Please don't be afraid of me, she thought to herself.
***
If you are waiting for a happy ending - perhaps two women riding off into the sunset in a rattling car with three children bundled in the backseat and a husband throwing chairs and cursing the heavens in the background - choose another book. If you are ready to build your own happy ending and you're seeking the tools to do it, read The World Unseen. The world of the novel is South Africa during Apartheid and the romance, while lovely, is secondary to having the freedom to pursue it. Being able to take the bus into the city simply to cook at the cafe of the woman you love may not seem like a grand romantic victory now. Yet by the time you finish this book, it will be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2021
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The World Unseen was not the love story I hoped it to be.
While there were sections of this novel that well written, for the most part I found Shamim Sarif's writing style rather monotonous.
The story takes place in apartheid South Africa in the 1950s. This historical setting was portrayed in vivid detail so much so that I often felt horrified by what apartheid entailed. The novel focuses on two Indian women who, although very different (one is married and has children, the other one runs a café). The story also follows the characters around their lives, in particular their family members. At times I was frustrated by the fact that these characters had so much page-time given that seeing from their perspectives didn't really flesh them out.
A lot of these characters act in a rather clichéd fashion (the 'bad people' are incredibly cartoonish) and the two female leads were surprisingly boring. I was hoping that the romance that develops between the two would bring out more of their characters but it just made Amina seem very pushy.
All in all, I'm not sure if I liked this or not.
The World Unseen was not the love story I hoped it to be.
While there were sections of this novel that well written, for the most part I found Shamim Sarif's writing style rather monotonous.
The story takes place in apartheid South Africa in the 1950s. This historical setting was portrayed in vivid detail so much so that I often felt horrified by what apartheid entailed. The novel focuses on two Indian women who, although very different (one is married and has children, the other one runs a café). The story also follows the characters around their lives, in particular their family members. At times I was frustrated by the fact that these characters had so much page-time given that seeing from their perspectives didn't really flesh them out.
A lot of these characters act in a rather clichéd fashion (the 'bad people' are incredibly cartoonish) and the two female leads were surprisingly boring. I was hoping that the romance that develops between the two would bring out more of their characters but it just made Amina seem very pushy.
All in all, I'm not sure if I liked this or not.
February 17, 2023
I was excited for this book because I have seen the movie! I can safely say this book gave so much more detail! We really got to know the characters well and get to see what they are thinking. Even the small expansions of plot were very great to read!! Overall I loved all the differences!! Such a great read!
April 19, 2017
‘You’ve already done more than enough. I don’t want to put you at risk any longer’
British author Shamim Sarif is also a film director and screenwriter and speaker – she has spoken at TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) events worldwide, at the INK (platform for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas and inspiring stories) Conference in India and DLD (Digital Life Design) in Munich. Her corporate speaking events have included Deloitte, Goldman Sachs and Citibank in London and Viacom in New York. Now Shamin is re-issuing her novels to a new appreciative audience.
Shamin’s writing style reflects her cinematic experiences – the characters are sharply painted and fully fleshed out and their interrelationships are instantly credible.
THE WORLD UNSEEN takes place in South Africa in the 1950s where free-spirited Amina has broken all the rules of her own conventional Indian community, and the new apartheid-led government, by running a café with Jacob, her black business partner. When she meets Miriam, a young wife and mother, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that bind her – rules that divide white form black and women form men - and sets in motion a chain of events that changes both women forever.
Eloquent prose, tension filled pages, and a special love that is expressed so well that it becomes the beam of light that shines through the pages of this fine book. Reading her books it is no wonder that Shamin is a successful film writer and director also.
British author Shamim Sarif is also a film director and screenwriter and speaker – she has spoken at TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) events worldwide, at the INK (platform for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas and inspiring stories) Conference in India and DLD (Digital Life Design) in Munich. Her corporate speaking events have included Deloitte, Goldman Sachs and Citibank in London and Viacom in New York. Now Shamin is re-issuing her novels to a new appreciative audience.
Shamin’s writing style reflects her cinematic experiences – the characters are sharply painted and fully fleshed out and their interrelationships are instantly credible.
THE WORLD UNSEEN takes place in South Africa in the 1950s where free-spirited Amina has broken all the rules of her own conventional Indian community, and the new apartheid-led government, by running a café with Jacob, her black business partner. When she meets Miriam, a young wife and mother, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that bind her – rules that divide white form black and women form men - and sets in motion a chain of events that changes both women forever.
Eloquent prose, tension filled pages, and a special love that is expressed so well that it becomes the beam of light that shines through the pages of this fine book. Reading her books it is no wonder that Shamin is a successful film writer and director also.
March 8, 2019
I really liked the writing style of this book but literally so much build up that just didn't really turn into much, i'm so disappointed at the ending. I needed more.
January 6, 2023
Enjoyed this one! Super interesting setting, vivid characters
dnf
August 10, 2020I don't know if it was my mood, my expectations, or what, but this story failed to hold my attention. Perhaps I'll revisit it one day, perhaps I won't.
DNF = no rating.
DNF = no rating.
June 12, 2015
"I never imagined I'd be so domesticated," she said, and laughed. Miriam hesitated and then spoke. "I never imagined anything else."
The World Unseen and I Can't Think Straight are a neat combo pack that I've been a fan since I saw them both years ago. I always thought it was impressive and unique that Shamin Sarif not only wrote the books, but then went on to adapt the screenplays, direct both movies, and cast the same two actresses to play the leads. When there are so few female directors out there, it's exciting to see and I hope she eventually is able to do it again. And if she wants to bring back Lisa and Sheetal to complete the trilogy, then that would be awesome too ;).
I definitely feel that ICTS is the weaker of the two stories, but the chemistry of the actresses made up for it in the movie version. So when I finally sat down to read the book, I wasn't very impressed, which made me nervous about reading The World Unseen. Thankfully I didn't need to worry because I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the movie adaption. The plot has some similar elements to Fried Green Tomatoes (early-mid 1900s timeframe in a racially oppressive setting, with a non-traditional & traditional women falling in love in the midst of an abusive marriage situation, there's a restaurant, etc.), but instead it takes place in South Africa and follows people in the Indian community there.
While the heart of the book is the love story between Miriam and Amina, it deals with a lot of other subjects as well. Race, marriage, gender roles, and the expectations that society has on women.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Amina is a strong-willed pariah who doesn't follow traditional Indian values, and is the subject of constant town gossip because of her independence and rumored mixed race heritage. Miriam is a quiet, loving mother of three in an unhealthy arranged marriage who privately wishes her life wasn't so suppressed and lonely. Their chemistry translates through the book just as it does the movie and their relationship's slow build over a good period of time is what I think ICTS was lacking.
Miriam's husband Omar has a strong temper and takes out his self-loathing on those around him, the main person being his wife. He's unlikable, but because the characters are written with a genuine realness, you can't help but wonder what made him the way he is. The fact that he constantly feels guilt over his abusive treatment of Miriam (verbal, non-verbal, and finally physical) gives him a human quality instead of just a cookie-cutter antagonist. He's not so much the bad guy as he is just a shitty person who makes poor decisions. The main antagonists are the cops enforcing racist law.
"We are all of us losing our dignity as human beings in this place, aren't we?" she said. "Some of us more quickly than others," Jacob replied, looking down.
The story takes place during the Apartheid (had to google it), which was a racial segregation law that was passed in South Africa from 1948-1994. Amina's business partner Jacob is the character mainly affected by it, because he's a black man courting a white woman. Their little side plot was sweet, but sad. You want them together, but you can't blame them for not wanting to risk their lives.
Similar to the movie ending, the book is left somewhat open-ended, but in both cases I liked it. It's not the Hollywood happy ending where Miriam leaves her awful husband and they live happily ever after, but it still leaves you feeling optimistic that even if they don't end up together, Miriam is taking steps to assert her independence and grow. Will they continue to see each other in some way? Will Jacob and the postwoman try again? Will Omar change his ways after he ended the affair? I'm not sure, but I like to imagine! Despite my 5 star rating, I know it's not a masterpiece by any means. But the story is sweet and the movie is one of my favorite LGBT movies that I think does a decent job at being more than just that.
The World Unseen and I Can't Think Straight are a neat combo pack that I've been a fan since I saw them both years ago. I always thought it was impressive and unique that Shamin Sarif not only wrote the books, but then went on to adapt the screenplays, direct both movies, and cast the same two actresses to play the leads. When there are so few female directors out there, it's exciting to see and I hope she eventually is able to do it again. And if she wants to bring back Lisa and Sheetal to complete the trilogy, then that would be awesome too ;).
I definitely feel that ICTS is the weaker of the two stories, but the chemistry of the actresses made up for it in the movie version. So when I finally sat down to read the book, I wasn't very impressed, which made me nervous about reading The World Unseen. Thankfully I didn't need to worry because I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the movie adaption. The plot has some similar elements to Fried Green Tomatoes (early-mid 1900s timeframe in a racially oppressive setting, with a non-traditional & traditional women falling in love in the midst of an abusive marriage situation, there's a restaurant, etc.), but instead it takes place in South Africa and follows people in the Indian community there.
While the heart of the book is the love story between Miriam and Amina, it deals with a lot of other subjects as well. Race, marriage, gender roles, and the expectations that society has on women.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Amina is a strong-willed pariah who doesn't follow traditional Indian values, and is the subject of constant town gossip because of her independence and rumored mixed race heritage. Miriam is a quiet, loving mother of three in an unhealthy arranged marriage who privately wishes her life wasn't so suppressed and lonely. Their chemistry translates through the book just as it does the movie and their relationship's slow build over a good period of time is what I think ICTS was lacking.
Miriam's husband Omar has a strong temper and takes out his self-loathing on those around him, the main person being his wife. He's unlikable, but because the characters are written with a genuine realness, you can't help but wonder what made him the way he is. The fact that he constantly feels guilt over his abusive treatment of Miriam (verbal, non-verbal, and finally physical) gives him a human quality instead of just a cookie-cutter antagonist. He's not so much the bad guy as he is just a shitty person who makes poor decisions. The main antagonists are the cops enforcing racist law.
"We are all of us losing our dignity as human beings in this place, aren't we?" she said. "Some of us more quickly than others," Jacob replied, looking down.
The story takes place during the Apartheid (had to google it), which was a racial segregation law that was passed in South Africa from 1948-1994. Amina's business partner Jacob is the character mainly affected by it, because he's a black man courting a white woman. Their little side plot was sweet, but sad. You want them together, but you can't blame them for not wanting to risk their lives.
Similar to the movie ending, the book is left somewhat open-ended, but in both cases I liked it. It's not the Hollywood happy ending where Miriam leaves her awful husband and they live happily ever after, but it still leaves you feeling optimistic that even if they don't end up together, Miriam is taking steps to assert her independence and grow. Will they continue to see each other in some way? Will Jacob and the postwoman try again? Will Omar change his ways after he ended the affair? I'm not sure, but I like to imagine! Despite my 5 star rating, I know it's not a masterpiece by any means. But the story is sweet and the movie is one of my favorite LGBT movies that I think does a decent job at being more than just that.
June 11, 2024
What a wonderful suprise - 3,5 stars (not rounding up because the end was disappointing).
August 8, 2016
I find myself disappointed with a book that I wanted so, so hard to love. It's annoying me because I was loving the book and then it ended. Just like that it was over and done and I have absolutely no clue why that was done. I guess we as the reader can assume what happens with the amount of information presented to us, but I wanted more than that - I wanted to see it happen. I will say I was very surprised to see the back cover when I did. There wasn't enough there to make me think ahhh, and so must come a sequel.... but also too much to be a make-up-your-own-ending. I do think I'll be much happier with the book when I've had some time to get over the abruptness of the ending. (That's going to be a common theme in this review, I'll try not to repeat myself too much, but just a heads up, I'll probably fail because I'm like 99% asleep right now.)
It's funny, as I was nearing the end of the book I was sitting here going: "I genuinely have no idea how this is going to work out." I was so intrigued to find out how the strings were all going to come together, and then they just didn't. I feel a little it cheated (which is something I never in my life thought I'd say towards a Shamim Sarif anything)! This being said, I feel the need to point out that Shamim, I still love you dearly and you have an incredible ability to create wonderful characters I just wish I could be friends with in real life... Also just your writing in general is exceptional. I can't give this anything lower than a 4 because of the awesomeness of the rest of the book, but I just an't bring myself to give it a 5 star because there are too many little things niggling around in my head. For some reason I'm finding it much easier to come up with things I didn't like (probably because I am after all writing a review).
The side plot with Jacob also ended very quickly and without much of a moral. I can come to appreciate abrupt endings, if there's a point to them. But here...I don't know what happened. I feel like there's another few chapters hiding somewhere that have just been torn out of the library book.
It's weird in the way that I loved everything I read, but I'm still unsatisfied because there just wasn' enough. At some point I shall have to add to this review and add some of those elements of the story that I did like.
February 14 2014 -
I didn't finish not because I didn't like it, didn't finish it because I got wrapped up in comics and had to return it to the library... SO, when I am on a non-comic streak (aka NOT. NOW.) I will DEFINITELY finish the second half.
It's funny, as I was nearing the end of the book I was sitting here going: "I genuinely have no idea how this is going to work out." I was so intrigued to find out how the strings were all going to come together, and then they just didn't. I feel a little it cheated (which is something I never in my life thought I'd say towards a Shamim Sarif anything)! This being said, I feel the need to point out that Shamim, I still love you dearly and you have an incredible ability to create wonderful characters I just wish I could be friends with in real life... Also just your writing in general is exceptional. I can't give this anything lower than a 4 because of the awesomeness of the rest of the book, but I just an't bring myself to give it a 5 star because there are too many little things niggling around in my head. For some reason I'm finding it much easier to come up with things I didn't like (probably because I am after all writing a review).
The side plot with Jacob also ended very quickly and without much of a moral. I can come to appreciate abrupt endings, if there's a point to them. But here...I don't know what happened. I feel like there's another few chapters hiding somewhere that have just been torn out of the library book.
It's weird in the way that I loved everything I read, but I'm still unsatisfied because there just wasn' enough. At some point I shall have to add to this review and add some of those elements of the story that I did like.
February 14 2014 -
I didn't finish not because I didn't like it, didn't finish it because I got wrapped up in comics and had to return it to the library... SO, when I am on a non-comic streak (aka NOT. NOW.) I will DEFINITELY finish the second half.
October 25, 2011
Sure, the prose was very nice in many places and it flowed well, but that's not enough to make a book well-written and GOOD. There are so many narrative flaws as well as holes in the character development in "The World Unseen" that I don't know where to begin.
Firstly, this is barely a love story, although that is how it looks to be billed. If the characters had been more three dimensional, I wouldn't have minded as much that the relationship between Amina and Miriam (as forced and barely believable as it was) kind of came to a head within the last 10 pages. But those characters were thin, and the heading somewhere emotionally powerful, but no such luck; I waited for over 300 pages for the story between them to finally begin. But instead, the narrative plodded along, with random details and back stories thrown in that didn't support the plot or strengthen the characters; it all felt tacked-on, just for the sake of it, and it was not terribly compelling.
One of my biggest pet peeves in writing is being told rather than being shown. In this book, I was told that Amina and Miriam were into each other. Okay, so, why? I just didn't buy it, because it wasn't shown to me -- other than with a few simple lines about racing heartbeats and furtive glances. Their attraction seemed based on a vague, mutual fascination with each other's lives and very "other"ness. But there was nothing about who they each were as women beyond the superficial. If the impetus for them coming together had been circumstance, racial tensions, pressure to conform despite attraction, time period (1950s apartheid South Africa), then that would have been an interesting angle. But those establishing details were weak.
The trajectory of a narrative should be determined by the psyches of the characters and thus their actions. But here, things just happened; I didn't witness them as they unfolded. As a result, the characters felt one-dimensional and flat. They were reduced to being racially-defined, cardboard cutouts: The uptight, married woman with the handful of children and abusive, controlling husband. The free-spirited brown-skinned girl who wears men's shirts, has unruly curly hair (gee, what an innovative metaphor), bucks all social conventions and turns the other woman's orderly, staid life upside down. Come on, man. Give me a break.
The lesbian/female-centric queer world has pretty lousy fiction and even lousier cinema. I wonder, in this case, if the movie adaptation will be better? I certainly hope so.
Firstly, this is barely a love story, although that is how it looks to be billed. If the characters had been more three dimensional, I wouldn't have minded as much that the relationship between Amina and Miriam (as forced and barely believable as it was) kind of came to a head within the last 10 pages. But those characters were thin, and the heading somewhere emotionally powerful, but no such luck; I waited for over 300 pages for the story between them to finally begin. But instead, the narrative plodded along, with random details and back stories thrown in that didn't support the plot or strengthen the characters; it all felt tacked-on, just for the sake of it, and it was not terribly compelling.
One of my biggest pet peeves in writing is being told rather than being shown. In this book, I was told that Amina and Miriam were into each other. Okay, so, why? I just didn't buy it, because it wasn't shown to me -- other than with a few simple lines about racing heartbeats and furtive glances. Their attraction seemed based on a vague, mutual fascination with each other's lives and very "other"ness. But there was nothing about who they each were as women beyond the superficial. If the impetus for them coming together had been circumstance, racial tensions, pressure to conform despite attraction, time period (1950s apartheid South Africa), then that would have been an interesting angle. But those establishing details were weak.
The trajectory of a narrative should be determined by the psyches of the characters and thus their actions. But here, things just happened; I didn't witness them as they unfolded. As a result, the characters felt one-dimensional and flat. They were reduced to being racially-defined, cardboard cutouts: The uptight, married woman with the handful of children and abusive, controlling husband. The free-spirited brown-skinned girl who wears men's shirts, has unruly curly hair (gee, what an innovative metaphor), bucks all social conventions and turns the other woman's orderly, staid life upside down. Come on, man. Give me a break.
The lesbian/female-centric queer world has pretty lousy fiction and even lousier cinema. I wonder, in this case, if the movie adaptation will be better? I certainly hope so.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2014
The World Unseen deals primarily with two Indian families in South Africa which have non-conformist members that refuse to co-operate with apartheid. Amina has an African business partner with whom she runs a café. Amina is also a lesbian. This is never stated explicitly. There is a reference to a past relationship with a woman, but there is no explicit lesbian sexuality in this book. So the cover might be considered misleading in the view of readers who are looking for an explicit lesbian romance. Amina becomes attracted to Miriam. Miriam’s husband had a sister who married an English descended South African. They left South Africa in order to get married and reside in Paris. The trouble starts when this rebellious couple decide to come home for a visit. The actions that characters in this novel take in response to this visit reveals them for who they really are, and changes relationships.
I liked the Indian perspective and the characters who wanted to be unconventional in such a repressive environment. I only wished that the book could have been a bit longer. There are possibilities for the future, but no indication of whether they will really develop. There is a movie based on this novel. Since I haven't seen the movie, I don't know which version I would prefer. Although this is still one of the best books that I’ve read in 2014, I would have liked it even better if there were more of a resolution.
For my complete review see http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2014/...
I liked the Indian perspective and the characters who wanted to be unconventional in such a repressive environment. I only wished that the book could have been a bit longer. There are possibilities for the future, but no indication of whether they will really develop. There is a movie based on this novel. Since I haven't seen the movie, I don't know which version I would prefer. Although this is still one of the best books that I’ve read in 2014, I would have liked it even better if there were more of a resolution.
For my complete review see http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2014/...
April 14, 2010
Amina é o protótipo de rapariga do século XXI: livre, independente, trabalhadora e dona do seu próprio nariz. Miriam é uma esposa de época, como mandam os bons costumes. Tem 3 filhos e, para além de cuidar da casa, ajuda na loja que mantém com o marido.
Um sorriso depois de 10 dias. Uma amizade. Uma necessidade de estarem juntas. Um amor possível?
É uma África do Sul racista e a viver os primeiros anos do Apartheid, que Sarif escolhe como cenário para um romance controverso e fora dos ditos padrões normais. Através do par Amina e Miriam e um conjunto de personagens que gravitam à volta das primeiras, a autora conta uma estória sobre amor, racismo, homossexualidade, costumes e tradições, preconceitos, amizade, traição, diferenças culturais, etc.
Adorei esta leitura, não tanto pelo enredo (que é muito bom), mas mais pela componente informativa do livro, de que são exemplos, o Apartheid e algumas leis da altura. Outro ponto positivo do livro foi o desfecho, onde a autora deixa tudo em aberto (mal comparado, se fosse um filme, uma sequela era quase certa).
Acabada que está a leitura, já posso ver a adaptação para cinema, com Shamim Sarif no papel de escritora e realizadora.
Fiquei com bastante curiosidade de ler outro livro da autora e aconselho o livro a todos!
Um sorriso depois de 10 dias. Uma amizade. Uma necessidade de estarem juntas. Um amor possível?
É uma África do Sul racista e a viver os primeiros anos do Apartheid, que Sarif escolhe como cenário para um romance controverso e fora dos ditos padrões normais. Através do par Amina e Miriam e um conjunto de personagens que gravitam à volta das primeiras, a autora conta uma estória sobre amor, racismo, homossexualidade, costumes e tradições, preconceitos, amizade, traição, diferenças culturais, etc.
Adorei esta leitura, não tanto pelo enredo (que é muito bom), mas mais pela componente informativa do livro, de que são exemplos, o Apartheid e algumas leis da altura. Outro ponto positivo do livro foi o desfecho, onde a autora deixa tudo em aberto (mal comparado, se fosse um filme, uma sequela era quase certa).
Acabada que está a leitura, já posso ver a adaptação para cinema, com Shamim Sarif no papel de escritora e realizadora.
Fiquei com bastante curiosidade de ler outro livro da autora e aconselho o livro a todos!
March 19, 2015
fried green tomatoes (that's an inescapable reference, so let's get it out of the way at once) set during the beginning of apartheid in south africa. amina is an unconventional, rebellious young lesbian indian woman who set herself apart from the indian community in pretoria, who lives her life the way she wants to; miriam is a quiet, demure woman trapped in a loveless arranged marriage with a cold, abusive man. when they meet, their life is going to change.
the book is, in fact, less about their relationship - the book ends suddenly and doesn't really resolve the questions it sets - and more about place and time they inhabit; the changing social mores, the indian community within south africa, pervasive social issues, misogyny and racism and complexities of people trying to survive either. i loved the quiet, evocative, matter-of-fact language, and i liked the characters, and it resonated weirdly for me with праздничная гора, but i would've loved for it to have more answers for amina and miriam, maybe.
(there's also, apparently, a movie directed by the author herself).
the book is, in fact, less about their relationship - the book ends suddenly and doesn't really resolve the questions it sets - and more about place and time they inhabit; the changing social mores, the indian community within south africa, pervasive social issues, misogyny and racism and complexities of people trying to survive either. i loved the quiet, evocative, matter-of-fact language, and i liked the characters, and it resonated weirdly for me with праздничная гора, but i would've loved for it to have more answers for amina and miriam, maybe.
(there's also, apparently, a movie directed by the author herself).
July 15, 2015
Truthfully I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into before I read this book. I had read Shamim Sarif's book 'Despite the Falling Snow' first, and I found the writing in that one very good, so I wasn't too worried about being able to read it from that angle. And, I had seen the Teaser for the movie based on this book.
All that aside, reading this book was like when I saw the movie Fried Green Tomatoes and then read the book. I have no doubt that 'The World Unseen' movie will be great. The teaser looks very good, but the book was just amazing.
It was an awesome book, that everyone should read. Apartheid has never come anywhere near me, but after reading this book, it's still come no where near me, but the book has given me an angle of it that I've never had before.
All that aside, reading this book was like when I saw the movie Fried Green Tomatoes and then read the book. I have no doubt that 'The World Unseen' movie will be great. The teaser looks very good, but the book was just amazing.
It was an awesome book, that everyone should read. Apartheid has never come anywhere near me, but after reading this book, it's still come no where near me, but the book has given me an angle of it that I've never had before.
May 8, 2014
A quick and easy read that takes a look at Indian culture in 1950s South Africa. There are some good, well thought out secondary characters. But if you're looking for an epic forbidden love story (or indeed, any sort of pronounced love story) this is not it. Most of the book is taken up by explaining the separate lives of Amina and Miriam with almost no contact between the two characters up until the very end. The attraction appears to pop up out of nowhere with almost no explanation and is simple used as a prop to emphasise Miriam's unhappy marriage. It's not a bad book, the writing is okay and the story is okay but saying it's a story about 'forbidden love' and 'instant attraction' is misleading.
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