Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2012
384 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
An entertaining debut novel that explores the lives of an extended Pakistani family - all with a gently humorous touch and fond but wry eye.
Harris, the presumed patriarch of his large extended family in both England and Pakistan, has unexpectedly received a "small fortune" from his divorce settlement with an English woman: £53,000. As a devout Muslim, Harris views this sum as a "burden of riches" that he must unload on someone else as quickly as possible. But deciding which relative to give it to proves to be a burden of its own, and soon he has promised it both to his extremely poor cousins in Pakistan and to his Westernized, college-student daughter. Then, in a rash bout of guilt and misunderstanding, Harris signs the entire sum away to the least deserving, most prosperous cousin of all. This solves none of his problems and creates many more, exacerbating a tricky web of familial debt and obligation on two sides of the world, until the younger generation steps in to help.
With insight, affection, and a great gift for character and story, Dastgir immerses us in a rich, beautifully drawn immigrant community and complex extended family. She considers the challenges between relatives of different cultural backgrounds, generations, and experiences - and the things they have to teach one another. A Small Fortune offers an affectionate and affecting look at class, culture, and the heartbreak of misinterpretation.
"The multiple viewpoints and complexities answer the local prejudice ('They think we're all the same'), and readers across generations will recognize both the bliss of reunion and the confusion, overcrowding, and clashes that arise when the space is too small." - Booklist
"...[A]nd while getting acquainted with each individual does feel worthwhile - the energy of the narrative too often slows amid stilted dialogue and multiple versions of emotional indecision." - Publishers Weekly
"Keep an eye on this first novel from Oxford and Tisch School of the Arts grad Dastgir, especially for fans of Smith, Monica Ali, and Helen Oyeyemi." - Library Journal
"Dastgir is particularly perceptive about first-generation immigrants' preoccupations with minute class signifiers... Among the strengths of [her] writing are the naturalistic flow of her dialogue and her ear for the Yorkshire lilt. Her screenwriting flair also shines through in the deft jump-cuts between Lahore, Whitechapel and Yorkshire, and the arresting images of London's urban decay." - Anna Travis in The Times Literary Supplement
This information about A Small Fortune was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Rosie Dastgir was born in England to a Pakistani father and an English mother. She was educated at Oxford University and received an MFA in film from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn. Visit her website at www.rosiedastgir.com.
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