The Sweetness of Tears - by Nafisa Haji (Paperback)

About the Book

From the acclaimed author of "The Writing on My Forehead" comes a novel about a woman who travels from California to Chicago, Pakistan to Iraq, chasing loose threads that she hopes will lead to the truth and understanding of her own beginnings.

Book Synopsis

From Nafisa Haji, author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Writing on My Forehead, comes The Sweetness of Tears, an emotional, deeply layered story that explores the far reaching effects of cultural prejudice, forbidden love, and hidden histories on a young woman and her family. A paperback original from a superb writer whose first novel was enthusiastically praised by Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Haji, an American of Indo-Pakistani descent, writes with grace, heart, and wisdom about the collisions of culture and religion, tradition and modernity played out through individual lives.

From the Back Cover

When faith and facts collide, Jo March--a young woman born into an Evangelical Christian dynasty--wrestles with questions about who she is and how she fits into the weave of her faithful family. Chasing loose threads that she hopes will lead to the truth, Jo sets off on an unlikely quest across boundaries of language and religion, through chasms of sectarian divides in the Muslim world. Against the backdrop of the War on Terror--travelling from California to Chicago, Pakistan to Iraq--she delves deeply into the past, encountering relatives, often for the first time, whose histories are intricately intertwined with her own . . . only to learn that true spiritual devotion is a broken field riddled with doubt and that nothing is ever as it seems.

A story of forbidden love and familial dysfunction that interweaves multiple generational and cultural viewpoints, The Sweetness of Tears is a powerful reminder of the ties that bind us, the choices that divide us, and the universal joys and tragedies that shape us all.

Review Quotes

"A touching debut from a very talented author. " - BookBitch.com
"This impressive debut follows the life of Saira Qader, a Muslim American of Indo-Pakistani descent who rejects the cultural traditions of family and duty to become a world-roving journalist." - Sacramento Bee
"THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD is not only a family history but also a social history with an ambitious arc. Haji deftly illustrates how the Qaders' lives intersect with defining world events. (Haji is a) talented new writer of sense and a distinct sensibility." - San Francisco Chronicle
"[Haji's] new novel will appeal to readers interested in the clash of cultures. Promising for discussion, as the reading group guide suggests." - Library Journal
"(A) deeply moving and beautifully written novel about different generations of an Indo-Pakistani family takes the reader on an emotional journey into how family and traditions define us and our choices in life. It's a fast read, but its deeper meaning resonates long after the last page." - Associated Press
"...A family story, and the many threads eventually cleave to illustrate how a complicated blend of race, religion, culture, and tradition can create peace rather than conflict." - Publishers Weekly
"The type of storytelling that opens the reader's eyes to other lives." - The Columbus Dispatch
"Grab a cup of chai (tea), and curl up in a big chair to read; time will fly and you'll want to refill your cup before you even think about putting this book down. (The story) will stay with you for a long while." - Wichita Falls, TX, Times Record News
"A moving meditation on the meaning of family, tradition, and the ties that bind. Lyrical and touching. A story of mother and daughters, and of a young Muslim woman at crossroads, shaped by the forces of her past, her religion, her roots, her culture, and her own determined will." - Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
"A masterful first novel." - Booklist
"A brainy, beautiful braid of stories about three generations of a Muslim family. This book, if widely read, will go a long way toward deconstructing stereotypes about American Muslims, and that, on top of its value as a work of fiction, makes it a treasure." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
""An elegantly written look at family dynamics and how cultural traditions shape lives. Poses questions and doesn't give all the answers, allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions and continue the dialogue long after finishing the book." - Deseret News
"THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD by Nafisa Haji explores how a family's history--one spanning continents, love affairs, and political revolutions--can both haunt and heal." - Parade (Parade Pick)
"The struggles of second-generation immigrants are well presented, calling to mind novels like Monica Ali's Brick Lane. In addition, the climax is powerful and satisfying, as Saira belatedly comes to recognize the inescapable tug of family. Recommended for all libraries." - Library Journal
"Love, loss, respect, family honor, tradition--they can all be found in most cultures. As we enter a rich world tasting of spicy curries, ringing with Urdu poetry and wrapped in dazzling saris, we see how all encompassing these traditions can be. We are welcomed into such a world by Nafisa Haji in her new novel, THE WRITING ON MY FOREHEAD." - Chattanooga Free Press