Beneath the Same Heaven: A Novel

by Anne Marie Ruff

A story of love and terrorism.

Beneath the Same Heaven is a love story of an American woman and a Pakistani-born Muslim man, who seem to have bridged the divide between Western and Islamic world views. But when the husband’s father is killed by a US drone attack near the Afghan border, their cross-cultural family descends into conflicting ideas of loyalty, justice, identity, revenge, and terrorism. With candor, beauty, and unusual insight, their story reveals both how decent people can justify horrific acts, and the emotional power required to heal.

408 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2018

About the author

Anne Marie Ruff has spent her whole life telling stories: as a novelist, journalist, radio broadcaster, editor, teacher, and actor. She has spent much of her adult life traveling the world, living abroad, and asking questions in search of stories worth telling.

Born in Minnesota, she attended Blake Upper School before moving to Los Angeles to study geography and environmental studies at UCLA. She worked as a journalist, based for several years in Bangkok, Thailand, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Her work has been published/broadcast by NPR, BBC, PRI, PBS, Christian Science Monitor, Time Asia, Far Eastern Economic Review, and International Herald Tribune TV.

Anne Marie’s first novel, Through These Veins, about the development of a cure for AIDS, drew on her reporting about the environment, biodiversity, biotech, and AIDS research, in Thailand, Ethiopia, and Turkmenistan. Her second novel, Beneath the Same Heaven, examines the conflict between Islamic and western culture through the microcosm of a marriage torn apart by terrorism. The story reveals insights drawn from her own experiences of cross-cultural marriage and living in cultures with a revenge-based sense of justice.

Anne Marie works as the editor for a global law firm. She has returned to Minnesota where she lives in the big woods with her Indian born-and-raised husband and their two sons.

Reviews

[Jess Combs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beneath the Same Heaven turned out to be so good that it just about broke me emotionally. It reads as a mystery combined with a love story combined with intense family drama.

The main character, Kathryn, is an American woman who marries Rashid, a Pakistani-born Muslim man. Their love story is raw and believable in a way that draws you in without you noticing how attached you’re becoming to the characters.

Beneath the Same Heaven is broken up into Four Parts: The Book of Before, The Book of Kathryn, The Book of Rashid, and The Book of After. When I first began reading it, I didn’t think I was going to like it. BUUUUTTTT…

I now believe Beneath the Same Heaven should be required reading!

By the end of Part Two, I was so deeply committed and emotionally involved in the story of Kathryn and Rashid, that I had to take a break and walk away. This has never happened to me before! But mine and Kathryn’s hearts had been broken… our world was upside down… nothing had turned out the way it was supposed to, even though it seemed that things would be okay in the end… But things weren’t right!

I found myself talking about Kathryn as if she were a real person whose life was intertwined with my own. The problem (other than being that attached to a fictional character) was that there was no way for me to talk to her and give her my advice or comfort her at all! And her situation felt so real that I had broken right along with her…

My poor husband had to suffer the wrath of my intense emotional breakdown over what Rashid had put Kathryn and their children through. It felt as if he had just put me through it as well… I felt bad for abandoning her in her time of need, but my family needed me to take a break and come back to reality before proceeding with the rest of story.

And WHAT a rest of the story it was…

Anne Marie Ruff actually managed to make me root for the terrorist!!!

Still, I wasn’t all that thrilled with the beginning… to the point that I almost DNF’d the book! (Insanely glad I didn’t!!!) The problem was what seemed to me to be near gratuitous sex scenes between Kathryn and Rashid. I understand that the author was trying to show their deep desire & connection to each other, but it came across as forced and overly detailed at times.

I definitely recommend picking up this book and devouring it as soon as possible!

THANK YOU TO OPEN BOOKS FOR PROVIDING ME WITH A FREE DIGITAL COPY OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

Full review is at https://jesscombs.com

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good authors are able to take the important issues of our time and weave them into stories about humans and situations that feel real. They make divisive issues less by black and white by giving us characters we relate to and worry about who force us to consider the other perspectives. That is exactly what has been done in BENEATH THE SAME HEAVEN.

This story will break your heart, urge you sneak a peek ahead because you're so desperate to know what will happen, and make you question everything. It is an emotion packed story about two people from different backgrounds that fall in love and get married and are then thrust into life changing situation. The characters all felt real and human, perhaps even too full of flaws at times but ultimately people you want to find happiness.

It is a love story. It is a story about a mom and her children. It is a story about interracial couples and their children. It is a story about honesty and trust and obligation. It is a story about terrorism, war and religion. I think however ultimately it is a story about family. How our families shape us and ask things of us and impact who we become.

For me, the thing that kept me from completely loving it was that I didn't feel like any good came out of this series of events. Perhaps that is unfair or perhaps that was intentional as it certainly reads as honest, but personally I prefer fiction that makes me ask questions and makes me feel like there is hope. I certainly felt like it made me ask questions and reflect on assumptions, but the characters, although definitely changed from the events of the book, just seemed resigned to fate.

Overall, it was worth reading and well written. I enjoyed how the story was told from different perspectives and phases. I felt the complicated sides to situations were well explored from a variety of different perspectives. It is a well paced book that draws you in and is hard to put down. The kind of book you want to pick up if you have several hours to devote because once you get into it you will not want to put it down. This is a book that stays with you for days afterwards.

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

East meets West Culture clash - set in Dubai, San Diego, Los Angeles, Pakistan



Kathryn Capen is an educated American woman working in Dubai. Rashid Siddique is an educated Pakistani man also working in Dubai. They meet in a nightclub and fall in love. Rashid proposes marriage and takes Kathryn to Lahore to meet his family – they get on famously.

They move to Los Angeles, and have two children – Michael and Andrew. Rashid is, to all intents and purposes, now an American. Then the whole fairy story begins to unravel. Rashid’s father, back in Pakistan, is attending a wedding up in the tribal areas near the Afghan border. He is one of many wiped out by a US drone attack on the wedding – which the US claims was a Taliban gathering. Rashid goes back to Pakistan to visit the grave and to console his mother and brothers. He is bound by honour and tradition to avenge his father’s death.

Back in Los Angeles, he ‘by chance’ meets Ali – allegedly a Palestinian with a similar story of his father being killed – this time by an Israeli attack. He soon discovers that this meeting is no coincidence and that Ali is part of a broader terrorist organisation bent on taking revenge on Americans and all things American. They plot to detonate a suicide car bomb underneath the junction of two Los Angeles freeways. Rashid is torn between his loyalty to his American family and his loyalty to his traditional upbringing and customs. The bombing goes ahead.

Beneath the Same Heaven tells the story in several parts. First the years of Kathryn and Rashid’s happiness in Dubai, Pakistan, and Los Angeles and then – in individual sections for both Kathryn and Rashid – the events and emotions leading up to the bombing. We suffer with Rashid as he determines what his fate will be.

This is a book for our times, describing – in the extreme – some of the factors that can influence inter-cultural relationships. Not, of course, that all such relationships harbour a potential bomber – but all are in danger of bringing inherited ‘baggage’ to bear. Family pressures and split loyalties can be quite overwhelming. The book is very observant, and very sensitively written by Anne Marie.

Anne Marie was born in Minnesota and, after years travelling the world as an author and journalist, she has now returned home. She has a great deal of experience to call on for her writing.

Beneath the Same Heaven is a thought provoking, and yet somehow tender and sensitive, read. It dares to go where many books would not. I recommend it.

[Heidi Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone in the book club really enjoyed reading Beneath the Same Heaven: A Novel by Anne Marie Ruff!
It is not often that everyone responds favorably to our monthly book club selection. Our members are not shy about expressing their feelings about the books we read. Our book club has been meeting for more than 25 years and this was probably our most special book club meeting to date, because of the book and because the author came to speak with us.

The book is so well written from the perspective of the words the author chose and how the book was put together so that both main character views were expressed in their own section of the book. And the subject matter is very timely. The book gives readers a new perspective on how revenge plays out in different cultures. Increasing awareness of cultural differences in our diverse world is so important. Thank you, Anne Marie Ruff, for writing this book.

[ItchyFeetReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book with a fascinating premise that could have been a great book had it not slightly lost its way in the middle and flattened out the 2 main characters.

Which group has passed through history without war and atrocity? Where have people not killed and been killed in retribution.

Plot in a Nutshell
American Kathryn and Pakistani Rashid meet whilst working in Dubai and fall in love ultimately marrying and moving to the US with the blessing of both families. Several years into their marriage Rashid’s father is killed in a US drone strike bringing the cultural differences between the two and their different perspectives on justice and revenge to a horrifying finale.

Thoughts
I found the premise of this novel interesting. Kathryn and Rashid are well developed characters and the insights into their different backgrounds and how they come together to create a cross cultural family felt very authentic. The scenes where Kathryn first visits Rashid’s family in Pakistan were rich in detail and engaging and set up the relationship he has with his family well for the main plot line. I was genuinely moved by Rashid’s struggle to match his more western experiences with his well ingrained childhood lessons about justice, responsibility, and revenge. He is ultimately torn between his love for his wife and their family and his mother and brothers.

This novel talks about important issues including the civilian impact of military action and the limited coverage of these events in the western media to how fundamentally different world views exist across the globe. For this I commend the author as each was addressed fairly and sympathetically.

Where the novel started to fall flat for me is that it then went on to cover a wide period – over 20 years and as such jumped around at a slightly higher level of detail than the earlier sections and in so doing I felt I lost some of the depth and experiences of each; particularly Kathryn. In opening she is a bright intelligent woman well informed about the world and a journalist writing with authority about global issues. By the end she is someone who does not like foreigners (at least according to her younger son). Some of this seemed a natural short term reaction to events but the development was not there in the detail I would have liked to see to make it credible so many years after the fact.

[Elkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: In a Dubai nightclub, a blond American journalist named Kathryn meets Rashid Siddique, a darkly handsome Pakistani man. Each is looking to step out of the proscribed boundaries of their lives. As their lives and passions rapidly interweave, they try on each other’s customs to see how well they fit. Beneath the Same Heaven

After Kathryn experiences fasting during Ramadan and expresses an interest in meeting his family in Pakistan, Rashid proposes to her. Soon she is tossed into a whirlwind of people and wedding customs that are exotically foreign and exciting. Kathryn works hard at feeling what it is like to be Pakistani.

Rashid has ducked his parents’ traditional matchmaking efforts for years. He is fiercely loyal to his Muslim religion, family and clan, but he wants to walk his own path in the world. After a traditional Pakistani wedding, the newlyweds head to America. Rashid gleefully experiences American freedoms, life in California and consumerism.

Rashid’s engineering degree and FBI clearance qualify him for work on an oil rig. Kathryn writes for a local journal. Together they have two sons, Michael and Andrew, five years apart. They are living the American dream until the day that Rashid’s father is killed by an American drone attack while at a wedding on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.

Rashid finds himself caught between his centuries-old religious, cultural, family and clan loyalties and his love for his American family. He is also heavily pressured by outside forces, men who want him to use his skills and connections to get revenge on the Americans for their attack on innocent Pakistani civilians. Rashid’s final, heart-wrenching decision has repercussions that affect both his American and Pakistani families for the rest of their lives.

Comments: Beneath the Same Heaven is deeply compassionate and very plausible contemporary novel. It is a rare book that makes me cry, but I sobbed apologetically at one point in the story. If I could get a magic fairy to give me three wishes right now, one wish would be that this book be required reading for those with closed minds and hardened hearts; that reading this book could be a step toward understanding and peace. But alas, I stopped believing in magic fairies long ago.

[WM Rine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare books that is both a gripping page-turner and at the same time one that follows people through some of the most difficult and terrible circumstances of our time without flinching. The story of Kathryn and Rashid's tentative bridge across two cultures, countries, religious traditions and how it blows up is told unflinchingly, not just keep you turning the page but to portray some very tough dilemmas of our time. One reviewer described the characters falling flat in the middle — Well, yes, to try to deal with the violence that has befallen them and passed through them they numb themselves and just try to survive. It's a very accurate and sometimes difficult depiction of what happens to people who go through serious trauma. To me, the book didn't drag at all — once I started it I literally couldn't put it down. You know it's a great read when you want to yell at the characters, "No! Don't do that!" or "Tell her this!" There's plenty here that kept me thinking long after I finished, but even if you're not in the mood for heavy thinking, it makes a great read for a summer afternoon. Definitely one to pick up this summer.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this ebook through LibraryThing. It is a story of an American and Pakistani marriage, living in America, but how the cultures are so different and Pakistani family cores change things. How a family's life changes in a minute, and how to pick up the pieces and keep going. The story goes through time, with Kathryn's and Rashid's stories. I didn't see the ending coming. The author did a great job.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Powerful story that stretched me to look at different perspectives and understand the why. A great book club book for clubs that want to get into in-depth conversations.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating Read. Well researched and well written. Couldn't put it down. Interesting topic for today given the current climate for Muslims in America.

[Gretchen Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beneath the Same Heaven gripped me from the first page. The timelines and different perspectives pulled me in and helped me better understand revenge as a motivation for unspeakable violence.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rashid and Kathryn meet in a Dubai night club and fall in love - it does not matter to either of them that they are from completely different cultures - Rashid is from Pakistan and Kathryn is American.
Once they are married, they set up home in Los Angeles and settle down as a typical American family.

Their happy family life is turned upside-down when Rashid's father is killed attending a wedding on the Pakistan/Afghan border - by an American drone attack. Rashid finds himself back in Pakistan to console his mother and brothers after the tragedy, and learns that he is expected to carry the burden of avenging the death of his father.

Once back in Los Angeles, Rashid meets Ali - this appears, at first to be a purely accidental meeting - but it soon becomes apparent that Rashid has been drawn into a terrorist organisation intent on undertaking attacks on American soil. Their next planned attack involves planting a bomb on an LA freeway and Rashid is expected to be part of the operation.

Rashid is torn - how can he justify attacking innocent citizens of the country that has become his home, while upholding his family's honour by carrying our revenge on America?

This book asks some interesting questions about intercultural relationships.
How much are we bound by loyalties to long-held family beliefs, especially when these clash with the way we want to live our lives? Can love find a way to successfully bridge the cultural divide? Lots to think about here.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

From Amazon: “Kathryn, an American woman, and Rashid, a Pakistani-born Muslim man, seem to have bridged the divide between Western and Islamic world views with their marriage and two American-born children. But everything changes when Rashid’s father is suddenly killed by a US drone attack near the Afghan border, and their cross-cultural family descends into conflicting ideas of loyalty, justice, identity, revenge, and terrorism.”

My thoughts:
Reviewers call this ‘a thought-provoking love story’, ‘intimate’, ‘complex’, and ‘contemporary’. All speak about the conflict between cultures, and the concept of revenge.

But it really comes down to this: does filial/cultural obligation trump human decency and the obligation to respect human life?

I believe that revenge does correct not anything. And cold-blooded violence is not justified. I think that the author has unintentionally created a manifesto for terrorism, a justification for random acts of murder.

The writing is beautiful but I was left feeling emotionally manipulated and angry.

I received a free e-copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program. This did not affect my review.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My in-laws asked me to read this book to discuss with them later. The story is about a mixed ethnic married couple of an American woman and a Pakistani man. The book is well-written and really brings out the differences in the cultures and it really makes for great discussion.
I get a kick out of imagining my husband acting around his father like the Pakistani father/son in this book, that is, putting his head on his dad's feet when greeting him! Aside from that though it was interesting to read about the dancing, attire, and the food. Mostly the conflict in feelings the Pakistani husband had to deal with in making his decision of where his loyalties lie.
However, the ending of this book left me with questions of what happened in the end. That may have been the author's intention, that is, for the reader to decide the ending for herself. But I don't like books with this type of ending because I leave the novel without closure.

[Linda Israelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beneath the Same Heaven is a thought-provoking examination of the motives and after-effects of violent retribution. Multiple perspectives and time frames provide a glimpse into how a bi-cultural family is torn apart when a U.S. drone attack kills innocent Muslims misidentified as members of the Taliban. The justifications and cultural pressure faced by an Americanized Pakistani man were eye-opening for me. Ruff is at her best when her characters are engaged in dialogue, and the scene between Rashid and his mother after he has successfully activated revenge gets to the heart of the emotional turmoil which led to it. As in Through These Veins, Ruff raises awareness of important, and sometimes hard-to-face issues through the accessible format of fiction. A worthy read!

[Shelby Kuretsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beneath the Same Sun was a powerfully written book that jumps between different time frames, all ultimately surrounding a terrorist bombing. The story revolves around the love and subsequent relationship that develops between a Pakistani man and an American woman. This book asks us to think outside of our own personal experience to see the perspective of others and the cultural differences that exist, but is also asks us to realize that, in reality, we are ultimately the same. We are all seeking love and acceptance. I enjoyed this book!

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing story about an American woman who marries a Pakistani man, and is living in America with two small children, when her husband, unbeknownst to her, commits a terrorist act that his family believes took his life. The first part of the novel, that focuses on the fallout of the husbands decision on his family spoke to me more than the second half, which is the husband's story. However, overall it is a satisfying read that allows the reader to consider perspectives that they may not have considered from a black and white, good vs evil viewpoint.

[Hulananni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this back quite a while ago and for some forgotten reason I stopped 1/5 of the way into it.

I picked it up again on Feb. 17 and finished it on Feb. 18. Absolutely mesmerized by the story as it unfolded.

A lot is explained re the ‘culture of revenge’ that permeates some Middle Eastern societies.

I believe more people should read this fiction to understand the world we’ve been living in. Not accept it but understand it.

This is one I’ll remember for a long time.

[Cameron Mcconnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting novel of the intersection of different cultures.

[Hanneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Page turner. Very current.

[Sheila Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for this journey and more
understanding. And For Love

[Kathy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orono, MN author
Loved it

[Laurel Deloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book by a Minnesotan, who must have a history with a Muslim husband. She writes with some authority about a marriage from both sides of the story. This husband with an inducer friends blew up an Los Angeles freeway during rush hour, he hides with the help of many who then disappear, but ** spoiler returns to explain to his wife who doesnt buy it and to hos sons, one of whom does.*(**

Amazon: A story of love and terrorism.
Kathryn, an American woman, and Rashid, a Pakistani-born Muslim man, seem to have bridged the divide between Western and Islamic world views with their marriage and two American-born children. But everything changes when Rashid’s father is suddenly killed by a US drone attack near the Afghan border, and their cross-cultural family descends into conflicting ideas of loyalty, justice, identity, revenge, and terrorism.

“A thought-provoking love story. This novel masterfully blends the dangers of geopolitics superimposed on romantic and unconditional familial love... Ruff bravely circumnavigates the violence at the heart of the story to lay bare the intricate drama of before and after. Revenge versus justice. Clanship versus kinship. Passionate love versus filial obligation. All are explored with intimate humanity in this compelling, tender, and timely novel.”—Kim Fay, author of The Map of Lost Memories, Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Beneath the Same Heaven" is an emotional cartwheel through the aftermath of a family being torn apart by an act of terrorism. The novel deals patiently with both sides of the issue and also manages to serve up a sexy romance, heartbreaking family truths and a peak inside of two very different cultures with equal love and understanding. A quick read that will leave you crying.... at least I did.

[Polly · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was interesting to meet Anne Marie at a bookclub event and hear about her process writing and promoting this book. A story about a couple - a Pakistani man and American woman with two children. Focus is on explaining the clan culture involving honor and vengeance juxtaposed with the American culture with its focus on courts, justice etc.