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The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters

One of the important things that books do for us is provide a window into other lives. What Nadiya Hussain does in her debut novel is give us a window into a Bangladeshi family that lives in a small village in England, with four daughters (and a son) and a number of secrets.

Fatima is the eldest, near 30, still living at home, and trying to figure out where her path as a dutiful daughter is leading her, and if that’s somewhere she really wants to go. Farah got married to a nice Bangladeshi boy, like she was supposed to, but can’t seem to start the family they’re supposed to have. Bubblee, Farah’s twin, is an artist living in London (gasp!), by herself (GASP!), and is determined not to fall into a traditional life. And Mae is still in high school, and has a rather popular YouTube channel, starring her family, who don’t seem to realize how much of their lives are shown through Mae’s filter. A tragedy brings them all together, and a lot of those secrets come out, shaking everyone out of the ruts they found themselves in.

What I liked about this is how normal this family was in all of their messiness. There’s some melodrama, and some of it derives from their Bangladeshi roots, but most of it is caused by the ordinary messiness of people and their lives. We see the story from the point of view of each sister, so we get to see how each reacts to being the hero of her own story. Some are supremely confident as protagonists, and others are not at ALL. As someone who struggles with writing more than one PoV, I was very impressed with how clearly drawn each sister was.

Nadiya Hussain is most well-known around these parts as the winner of season 6 of the Great British Bake Off, and here she uses her visibility to show people a window into the lives of immigrants from her community. Like her, it’s warm and funny, but with depth and purpose.

– Redheadedgirl

The four Amir sisters – Fatima, Farah, Bubblee and Mae – are the only young Muslims in the quaint English village of Wyvernage.
On the outside, despite not quite fitting in with their neighbours, the Amirs are happy. But on the inside, each sister is secretly struggling.
Fatima is trying to find out who she really is – and after fifteen attempts, finally pass her driving test. Farah is happy being a wife but longs to be a mother. Bubblee is determined to be an artist in London, away from family tradition, and Mae is coping with burgeoning Youtube stardom.
Yet when family tragedy strikes, it brings the Amir sisters closer together and forces them to learn more about life, love, faith and each other than they ever thought possible.