Butterfly Season: Natasha Ahmed

Image Credit: Goodreads

It feels wonderful to write a book review after so long! The sabbatical from the blog has made me realize how much I missed this. So without further delay, let me get to the book in question. Natasha Ahmed very graciously sent us her debut novelette “Butterfly Season” for review. I downloaded it on my Kindle and I realized that this is going to be the first book I review after reading on the Kindle! Before I go into the review, here is a summary of the story from Amazon:

On her first holiday in six years, Rumi is expecting to relax and unwind. But when she is set up by her long-time friend, she doesn’t shy away from the possibilities. Ahad, a charming, independent, self-made man, captures her imagination, drawing her away from her disapproving sister, Juveria.

Faced with sizzling chemistry and a meeting of the minds, Ahad and Rumi find themselves deep in a relationship that moves forward with growing intensity. But as her desire for the self-assured Ahad grows, Rumi struggles with a decision that will impact the rest of her life.

Confronted by her scandalized sister, a forbidding uncle and a society that frowns on pre-marital intimacy, Rumi has to decide whether to shed her middle-class sensibilities, turning her back on her family, or return to her secluded existence as an unmarried woman in Pakistan.

We follow Rumi from rainy London to a sweltering Karachi, as she tries to take control of her own destiny.

I am not usually into romantic reads, especially the typical Mills & Boon type where the women swoon for everything sad or joyous and the men are always handsome and strong. However, I like Ahmed’s type of romance where there is friction, attraction, disagreements and understanding all at once. It also is reflective of Pakistani society and its outlook in current times.

The relationship between Rumi and Ahad forms the core of the book and one that results in many lines of thought. One of the first things that struck me was that Pakistani women are coming out of the bondage of traditions and are aspiring to be part of a progressive society. I always had this misconception (thanks to the one track news fed to us by various forms of media) that Pakistani women are conservative and they want to stay that way or they have no recourse even if they want to change. Rumi agrees to pre-marital sex, she drinks and she has opinions of her own. Yet, she always has the shadows of doubt in her mind, questioning herself if she is doing the right thing. Years of traditions being beaten into one’s head is not easy to break away from. Like these, I was mildly surprised at the number of similarities Pakistani women have with Indian women. We are equally answerable to uncles and aunts, apart from parents, on all major decisions in our life, have to think “what other people will say” and of course, are expected to marry “a boy” approved by elders.

Evidently, Rumi is different, just like many Indian women today. She respects customs but they don't bind her. She has a mind of her own and is independent. She has a great friend in Mahira as well. Someone who is supportive and equally strong minded. Juveria provides the foil to these strong women as the one who is obsessed with society and culture and traditions. She is also jealous of the fact that Rumi is free-thinking and has the nerve to do what she does. Juveria is quite real because I know that there are tons of women who are like her. Ahad is the typical Pakistani Brit (like Indian Brits) who barely speaks his native tongue and “melts” in the suffocating Karachi heat. His friend Faizan, Mahira’s husband, is good natured and generally a nice person, but we don’t know much else about him. The men in the book could do with a few more shades to them, according to me.

Ahmed’s writing is quite straightforward, punctuated with the right amount of thrills and sensations that belong in a romantic story. Although the ending is predictable, it paradoxically remains different because of Rumi's decisions. Ahmed has not let the book sag with convention. I cannot reveal more here without having spoilers.

Karachi reminded me of Delhi in India too especially when Mahira says,

“The reason you think Karachi is so dangerous is because of all the negative press. All you hear is how many died, and who robbed who.”

Maybe, there is a side to Delhi that we don’t see in the news. As of now, my judgement is completely clouded by the awful news that comes from that city every day.

At the end of it all, over and above everything else I wrote about, "Butterfly Season" reinforced my belief that Pakistan and India are not really very different in so many ways.   It gladdens me. Many thanks to Natasha for sharing this wonderful book with us!

Verdict: Breezy romance with some interesting, thought provoking material

Rating: 3.2/5