Irfan Master

This book is set in India in 1947. Bilal is a young boy living with his terminally ill father. Bilal and his father are Muslims in a predominantly Hindu town. All around them and in all of India there is religious turmoil, families who have lived peacefully side by side for decades are now battling with each other. Bilal's town is changing and you can see during the course of the book the differences in people's attitudes towards each other as things gradually escalate. Stallholders and show more friends turn on each other, families are leaving, gangs appear and terrorise those left. A very sad time in India's history as it broke up into different parts.

Although Partition forms the backdrop to this story, the novel is even more far-reaching. It touches on the importance of tolerance, love and family. Bilal is determined to protect his dying father from the news of Partition - news that he knows will break his father's heart. With the help of his friends, Bilal persuades others to collude with him in this deception. All that Bilal wants is for his father to die in peace but that means he has a very complicated relationship with the truth.

I loved how beautiful the relationships that Bilal has with his three friends. They are very different, but you can see the loyalty and the affection between each boy. But it's really the father and son relationship that pulled at my heartstrings. Bilal loves his father very much and you can see how proud of Bilal the father is but it was also really heart-warming to see how much Bilal's father has touched the lives of those around him and how willing they are to do a good thing for him and his son in return.

This a story that touches on the importance and morality of telling the truth and telling lies. It's a story of family and friendship set in a period of Indian history that I was only vaguely aware of. I am a very long way from this book's Youth target audience but I enjoyed it all the same. It's such a sweet and sad story, one that will stay with me for awhile. show less

What a quirky book. Tells the story of Adam who lives with his mother and sister and his grandfather in a housing commission estate in the UK. His father has beaten him and his mother and has caused brain damage in his little sister Farah so she cannot talk, only use sign language. When his grandfather dies in hospital, he wills his heart to be transplanted into William, the man who shared a ward with him. William finds out who's heart he has and goes to visit Adam's family and becomes a show more family friend as he feels part of their dynamic.
Meanwhile Adam feels distanced from his mother because every time she looks at him, she sees her violent ex-husband and so never hugs him or smiles at him. Adam finds solace in his art work and spends his time drawing what he sees around him, the girl he fancies Lalia and also graffiting some abandoned trains.
This is a story about friendship, family and love. It has a powerful ending with Adam's mother standing up to the gossiping community members in the Community Hall. very different book. show less

An incredibly powerful, heartbreaking story set in India in 1947 in the days leading up to the partition of the country. Thirteen-year-old Bilal goes to elaborate lengths to keep his dying father from hearing the news about the imminent division of his beloved Mother India. Particularly poignant is the depiction of the unraveling social fabric as tensions between Hindus and Muslims escalate into open hostilities. An exceptional historical novel.

Set in India in 1947 at the time of Partition. Although the backdrop is this key event in Indian history, the novel touches on the importance of tolerance, love and family, as Bilal goes to extreme lengths to hide the political situation from his dying father. At times violent, exciting and thought provoking.