Uzma Jalaluddin
Author of Ayesha at Last
About the Author
Series
Works by Uzma Jalaluddin
Dina Gets Lucky 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Agent
- Ann Collette
- Short biography
- Background & Education: Born and raised in Toronto, she is the child of South Asian immigrants. She attended the University of Toronto, studying biology, sociology, and English literature.
Career: She has taught high school English and science since 2003 and is a contributing columnist for the Toronto Star, where she writes about parenting and culture. - Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Map Location
- Canada
Members
Reviews
This retelling of You’ve Got Mail is set in Toronto. Hana Khan is an anonymous podcaster, an intern at a local indie radio station, and a waitress at her family’s halal restaurant. But the restaurant is struggling and Hana doesn’t believe it will survive when a new halal restaurant opens up in their street.
I really enjoyed this! Some of the developments were predictable, following as they do the structure of You’ve Got Mail, but there are surprises too. Like the pressure Hana faces show more at the radio station to only represent and only present certain narratives about South Asian Muslim migrants. Or the other instances of racism she encounters in her community.
Or the abrupt arrival of two relatives visiting from India, and how they both, in different ways, influence Hana’s perspective and her circumstances.
And I like stories which are, for want of a better label, about “courtship through messages”.
StanleyP: Our lives are running parallel. I have business-and-family-shaped complications too. That new project I was telling you about is finally happening. No relationship-shaped complication for me either.
[...] AnaBGR: Why can’t I be the complicated one? You always have to copy me.
StanleyP: It’s what a bot does. The Stanbot is also programmed to give excellent advice and tell hilarious jokes, and is available for revelations of real names or the exchange of pictures/phone numbers. Just say the word. I’d love to get to know you better.
My stomach jolted with awareness at his words. I wanted more too. But it wasn’t as easy for me. All the bravery I possessed was currently being put towards other things. show less
I really enjoyed this! Some of the developments were predictable, following as they do the structure of You’ve Got Mail, but there are surprises too. Like the pressure Hana faces show more at the radio station to only represent and only present certain narratives about South Asian Muslim migrants. Or the other instances of racism she encounters in her community.
Or the abrupt arrival of two relatives visiting from India, and how they both, in different ways, influence Hana’s perspective and her circumstances.
And I like stories which are, for want of a better label, about “courtship through messages”.
StanleyP: Our lives are running parallel. I have business-and-family-shaped complications too. That new project I was telling you about is finally happening. No relationship-shaped complication for me either.
[...] AnaBGR: Why can’t I be the complicated one? You always have to copy me.
StanleyP: It’s what a bot does. The Stanbot is also programmed to give excellent advice and tell hilarious jokes, and is available for revelations of real names or the exchange of pictures/phone numbers. Just say the word. I’d love to get to know you better.
My stomach jolted with awareness at his words. I wanted more too. But it wasn’t as easy for me. All the bravery I possessed was currently being put towards other things. show less
This was delightful. The first chapter put me off enough that I did skip forward to make sure that the rest of the book wouldn't make me as uncomfortable as that scene made me and reassured, I continued. I love the town of Snow Falls, I love Anna and Maryam becoming friends, getting to know them, and the people in their respective worlds. Our two couples all have to wrestle with finding their dreams, understanding themselves under the masks they have been wearing, and taking a new path to show more happiness. I love a good tale of transformation and this book is full of them.
Jalaluddin writes Maryam's chapters and Stapley writes Anna's, which melded the two writers together beautifully. They said they outlined the story then wrote their chapter concurrently so it has a wonderful flow. Hope we see another collaboration between these two. show less
Jalaluddin writes Maryam's chapters and Stapley writes Anna's, which melded the two writers together beautifully. They said they outlined the story then wrote their chapter concurrently so it has a wonderful flow. Hope we see another collaboration between these two. show less
Cozy in Scarborough, Toronto 🍁
A review of the Harper Perennial paperback (May 6, 2025) released simultaneously with the eBook/audiobook.
[Maybe a 4, but bumped up to a 5 due to Toronto & Canadian bias 😊]
I can't hide my delight and bias here about this cozy mystery which has the widow Kausar Khan returning to Toronto to help her daughter Sana who show more is the lead suspect in the murder of a shady landlord in the suburban plaza where the daughter operates a clothing store.
Kausar and her husband Dr. Khan had retreated to North Bay after the trauma of their youngest son being fatally injured in a hit and run in Toronto. Kausar has refused to travel back for 15+ years, although Sana and her 2 grandchildren have visited North Bay periodically. When her daughter is facing possible arrest, trial and conviction, Kausar steels herself to return.
What follows is her amateur investigation and her reconnections with friends from the past as she uncovers shady real estate dealings, undercover police operations, a possible car-theft ring and last but not least, the actual murderer! This is often done with a nod and a wink to Agatha Christie and the methods of Hercule Poirot (one of my current ongoing binge-reads) ending with the now famous "gather all the suspects in a room for the final reveal."
We are left hanging a bit at the end with some unresolved issues, but this is not cause for an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert! Instead it is a sign that we can hope for the return of Kausar Khan in a future book #2 of a hopefully ongoing series. show less
A review of the Harper Perennial paperback (May 6, 2025) released simultaneously with the eBook/audiobook.
"I'm not interfering," Kausar said. "I only want to find out what's going on."
"That is the literal definition of interfering, Mom." Adam sighed.
[Maybe a 4, but bumped up to a 5 due to Toronto & Canadian bias 😊]
I can't hide my delight and bias here about this cozy mystery which has the widow Kausar Khan returning to Toronto to help her daughter Sana who show more is the lead suspect in the murder of a shady landlord in the suburban plaza where the daughter operates a clothing store.
Kausar and her husband Dr. Khan had retreated to North Bay after the trauma of their youngest son being fatally injured in a hit and run in Toronto. Kausar has refused to travel back for 15+ years, although Sana and her 2 grandchildren have visited North Bay periodically. When her daughter is facing possible arrest, trial and conviction, Kausar steels herself to return.
What follows is her amateur investigation and her reconnections with friends from the past as she uncovers shady real estate dealings, undercover police operations, a possible car-theft ring and last but not least, the actual murderer! This is often done with a nod and a wink to Agatha Christie and the methods of Hercule Poirot (one of my current ongoing binge-reads) ending with the now famous "gather all the suspects in a room for the final reveal."
May said. “Now, back to the case. Are you going to tell me who killed Imran? I know you’ve figured it out.”
Kausar shook her head and tried to look mysterious. “According to your detective shows, I’m not allowed to unmask the killer until the very end.”
“How about a hint?” May wheedled. “Poirot always gave Hastings a fair shot.”
We are left hanging a bit at the end with some unresolved issues, but this is not cause for an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert! Instead it is a sign that we can hope for the return of Kausar Khan in a future book #2 of a hopefully ongoing series. show less
In December 2000, Ramadan, Hanukkah and Christmas all overlap. Two women are seated next to each other on a flight to Toronto. Anna is going to meet, and spend Christmas with, her boyfriend’s family. Growing up, she celebrated Hanukkah as well as Christmas, but her father died a few years ago and her Jewish stepmother has recently remarried. Maryam is going to her younger sister’s wedding. She has found it stressful to be preparing for a wedding, and now to be travelling with her family show more (her parents and grandfather, as well as her sister), during Ramadan.
During a terrifying storm, Anna and Maryam open up to each other and then, when their flight is diverted and they are snowed in in the picturesque and aptly-named Canadian town of Snow Falls, they become friends.
Their subsequent experiences in Snow Falls challenge and inspire both of them to reevaluate their lives -- from romantic prospects and career aspirations to family relationships. Putting it all into one sentence makes it sound sudden and dramatic, whereas it is much more gradual and thoughtful. Realistic. But also wrapped up in a winter holiday package which makes clear everyone is heading for a happy ending.
Towards the end of the novel, Maryam says:
I can identify with Anna and Maryam’s experiences of feeling like Christmas movies don’t reflect their experiences of that season. I can understand their delight at finding places in Snow Falls where their cultures are accepted and represented. I didn’t always share that delight at some of the winter-holiday-aesthetic, because personally I find some of that cheesy rather than appealing, but that’s okay. I really enjoyed the rest of this story.
During a terrifying storm, Anna and Maryam open up to each other and then, when their flight is diverted and they are snowed in in the picturesque and aptly-named Canadian town of Snow Falls, they become friends.
Their subsequent experiences in Snow Falls challenge and inspire both of them to reevaluate their lives -- from romantic prospects and career aspirations to family relationships. Putting it all into one sentence makes it sound sudden and dramatic, whereas it is much more gradual and thoughtful. Realistic. But also wrapped up in a winter holiday package which makes clear everyone is heading for a happy ending.
Towards the end of the novel, Maryam says:
“You don’t know what you’re missing until you are included in the story too”The depiction of the December holiday season in movies often feels like it is intended to hit nostalgia buttons which my childhood never installed. (I’m a Southern Hemisphere dweller brought up by parents who didn’t believe in pretending about Santa. They also didn’t believe in owning a video player, so my exposure to the whole Christmas movie genre at a young and impressionable age was very limited.)
I can identify with Anna and Maryam’s experiences of feeling like Christmas movies don’t reflect their experiences of that season. I can understand their delight at finding places in Snow Falls where their cultures are accepted and represented. I didn’t always share that delight at some of the winter-holiday-aesthetic, because personally I find some of that cheesy rather than appealing, but that’s okay. I really enjoyed the rest of this story.
Anna had generously offered to execute the wedding theme Maryam had dreamed up, a cross between one of Dadu’s Bollywood wedding scenes and a Christmas gala. Either way, there would be a lot of gold tinsel and red velvet.show less
“I never realised how much overlap there is between South Asian fashion and Christmas decor,” Anna mused, as she ran her finger down the list Maram had handed her. “Both use a lot of candles, gold and silver, red and green”
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Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 8
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 1,656
- Popularity
- #15,515
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 99
- ISBNs
- 72
