The writing flows effortlessly between introducing various characters and their backdrops and intertwines their lives. First and foremost, the narration style of the author is phenomenal. Uzma Jalaluddin has taken an exceedingly fresh spin on Pride and Prejudice in her debut novel Ayesha at Last. His character goes through tremendous upheaval and growth in the book, and I loved how he learns to take control of his life eventually. Her character is juxtaposed against the character arc of Khalid, who is conservative and dresses in suburban Toronto as though he lives in the 17th century. She believes in herself and speaks her mind. Things take a drastic turn when Khalid gets engaged to Hafsa, all the while thinking of Ayesha.Īyesha’s character is spunky, sassy, and true to her faith. The story revolves around how Ayesha must navigate not wanting an arranged marriage, dealing with orthodox Khalid, and managing her younger cousin’s constant refusals to get married. Khalid is as smart and intelligent as he is orthodox and conservative, and her cousin is everything would-be mother-in-laws search for: rich, beautiful, young, and naïve. She lives in suburban Toronto with her inter-generational family that migrated from India years ago, and gets unwittingly entangled between the lives of reserved bachelor Khalid and her younger naïve cousin Hafsa. The story traces the life of Ayesha Shamsi, who wants to be a poet but is settling for a teaching job to pay off her family debts.

It starts off with a bang-a snobbish man judging a struggling hijabi woman getting into her car. Borrowing this book was probably the best thing I did last year.Īyesha at Last is a story set in suburban Toronto, based on Muslim families living there. I came across this book by chance while browsing Muslim authors on the Edmonton Public Library website. I read this book last year when the pandemic hit, and I was looking for diverse Muslim representation in Canadian literature. Content Warning: human trafficking threats, miscarriage.

Ayesha at last by uzma jalaluddin