Grief is a punch in the gut, whether your relationship to the deceased is good, bad, or somewhere in the middle. My Momma died about six and a half years ago, and we had a complicated relationship. Most days, life is life. Sometimes, I still weep bitter tears. The one thing we can all agree on is that whatever societal ritual we perform to mark the passing of an individual is usually integral to that moving on. However, this book explores the what-if we don’t to very intriguing results.

About the Book

Nazia Sami is a celebrated author, but perhaps her greatest plot twist is yet to be produced. In her final days, she wields a pen one last time as she fills her diary with instructions for her sister, Naureen, and writes six letters to be delivered after her death. There is to be no funeral for Nazia. Instead, only six invitees are asked to attend a party, one of whom is a mystery guest. Over the course of an extraordinary evening, secrets are revealed, pasts reconsidered, and lives are forever changed. Perfect for fans of MOHSIN HAMID and KAMILA SHAMSIE, No Funeral for Nazia is a striking and inventive exploration of what death can mean for both the deceased and those left behind.

My Thoughts

This is a unique exploration of death, especially its effects on those left behind. I’ve never quite read something like this, and I’m not sure I ever will again. This is one of those books that feels like an island all its own. While it explores a different culture than mine, focusing on a group of Muslims in Pakistan, like all stories, it focuses on the human condition at its core. Everyone, everywhere, experiences grief. In the end, the trappings are just different.

We all have the eccentric aunt or uncle who said, “Don’t cry at my funeral. I want you to throw a party.” Possibly in much more colorful language. It’s just that this time, the family had it in writing with very strict instructions. The foray into hypnotism and uncovering secrets made it that much more intriguing. I can’t deny I kept thinking that Nazia would jump out of a closet to catch people out at any moment. But this wasn’t that kind of story.

Some might find this story boring or domestic, but human interest is one of my favorite formats. My former journalist’s heart was drinking up the spilled tea, craving the mystery of why Nazia had invited all these people here. I was so surprised when the book ended because I flew through it, wanting to know the secrets hidden in the pages. There were so many moving parts, and it was clear the author is brilliant at planning and story telling.

I really enjoyed the story, especially how it highlighted various aspects of the human condition: love, vulnerability, insecurity, and so much more. In many ways, I both admired and felt sorry for our heroine, who technically wasn’t even alive during the story. She was so admired, beloved, and misunderstood by those who supposedly loved her. Her life was complicated and difficult, and in the end, she just wanted to give those she loved some peace.

I am so grateful to the author and to TheWriteReads Tours for including me on this tour, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Who’s It For?

If you love domestic dramas with complex storylines, wonderfully crafted characters, and glimpses into the human condition, grab this book! Also, if you enjoy learning about different cultures and practices, this is a great one. I have always loved working with TheWriteReads tours because they always seem to offer up-to-date readings from different cultural experiences. This one focuses on Muslims from Pakistan, and it was really interesting.

Content Warnings: Attempted Sexual Assault, Child SA (Off Page), Betrayal, Infidelity, War, Violence, Suicide/Ideation, Child Abuse, Death, Grief

About the Author

Taha Kehar is a novelist, journalist and literary critic. A law graduate from SOAS, London, Kehar is the author of three novels, No Funeral for Nazia (Neem Tree Press, 2023), Typically Tanya (HarperCollins India, 2018) and Of Rift and Rivalry (Palimpsest Publishers, 2014). He is the co-editor of The Stained-Glass Window: Stories of the Pandemic from Pakistan. Kehar has served as the head of The Express Tribune’s Peshawar city pages and bi-monthly books page, and worked as an assistant editor on the op-ed desk at The News. Kehar’s essays, reviews and commentaries have been published in The News on Sunday, The Hindu and South Asia magazine and his short fiction has appeared in the Delhi-based quarterly The Equator Line, the biannual journal Pakistani Literature and the OUP anthology I’ll Find My Way. Two of his short stories appeared in an anthology titled The Banyan and Her Roots, which has been edited by the British writer Jad Adams. In 2016, he guest-edited an issue of The Equator Line, titled ‘Pakistan: After The Stereotypes’, that focused on new writing from Pakistan. Kehar curates Tales from Karachi: City of Words, an Instagram e-anthology that publishes flash fiction from and about Karachi. He recently compiled and edited the first print anthology of the initiative titled Tales from Karachi (Moringa, 2021). Based in Karachi, he teaches undergraduate media courses.

Amazon US: https://a.co/d/15RNq52
Bookshop US: https://bookshop.org/a/25511/9781911107743
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Funeral-Nazia-Taha-Kehar-ebook/dp/B0CW9M3QGP/
Bookshop UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/no-funeral-for-nazia-taha-kehar/7511513?ean=9781911107743
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156334791-no-funeral-for-nazia
Author Website: https://www.tahakehar.com/

As a Bookshop.org (US) Affiliate, I may earn on qualifying purchases. Bookshop.org purchases support local, independent bookshops. My chosen affiliate bookshop is Tubby & Coo’s Traveling Bookshop, a local, queer-owned bookshop in New Orleans.