The World Unseen

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View books by Shamim Sarif.

lovely - Rated
What a wonderful book. I can't believe it has been on the shelf for all these years without my noticing it. I feel as if I've been left out of a big secret.
Shamim Sharif writes beautifully about hard topics - discrimination, hatred, violence, adultery etc. Amongst all this bad is the story of a love between two women, and it isn't so much the being in love that captivates but the journey of that discovery. It's so touching and sweet that it crosses the boundaries of 'normality' and you find yourself wanting and hoping that they find a way to be together.
The characters are very well developed and you feel you know even the ones who exist on the edges of the book.

A gem of a find and a must read book.

Excellent book - highly recommended - Rated
This is a fabulous book - beautifully written and extremely perceptive. Once I started, I couldn't put it down.

(The only bad review below is from someone who appears to be focused on the where the author lives rather than what she writes).

accurate portrayal of socio-cultural differences - Rated
The characters in this book remain vivid to me even 2 months after reading this wonderful novel. I picked it up and was riveted for 5 hours till I finished it! I was amazed at the accuracy of the authors portrayal of the issues presented , even down to the comedic funeral rites and rituals. Anxiously awaiting a sequel!

A beautifully written book about human relationships - Rated
I bought this book to accompany me on the plane back to the US. I finished it on the 10-hour flight. The characters are compelling and rich - the story beautifully narrated. A must read.

an extraordinary first novel, with insight and tenderness - Rated
This is an extraordinary debut novel, written with a mixture of quiet restraint and passionate understanding, about the quest of two young Indian women in apartheid Africa for identity and passion. The novel has an authenticity, a precise attention to nuanced detail of social behaviour and a beauty of characterisation, which engrossed and touched me. Amina and Miriam remain vividly present to me as characters long after the book is closed - but so do their menfolk, caught up in a system which stultifies human relationships, and so do the black Africans, like the lovable Richard and Jacob. Sarif portrays the dynamics of a complex society with great clarity, regret and humour. Watch this author: she will do great things.