Feature
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By Elaine G. Flores
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Plain
Jane: Book Review on Sadika's Way
In the clever and colorful Sadika's Way,
Hina Haq takes a cue from the classics.
In Sadika’s Way, the lead character grows up amidst
a humble family headed by a detached father and a drama-queen mother
in a provincial village where the inhabitants obsess over marrying
off their daughters. Jane Austen’s influence is vivid in the
comedy of manners from first-time novelist Hina Haq.
Sadika’s journey begins in 1969 Pakistan, the
author’s birthplace. Her entry into the world is steeped in
turmoil. Her mother, Bilqees Beebee, desperately wants a son to secure
her position in her family and community. After Sadika’s delivery,
Bilqees Beebee’s mother-in-law chides, “It’s only
a girl. A scrawny ugly one at that. One would have thought that after
all that carrying on, she was giving birth to at least one son, if
not two.” And so begins a hard-knock life.
In this universe, a daughter – particularly
a firstborn – represents bitter failure and a financial burden,
of having to provide a dowry once a marital match is made. Bilqees
Beebee’s resentment is manifested by turning Sadika and her
other two daughters, Zafary and Sajida, into workhorses who thanklessly
toil in the shadow of their spoiled and overfed brother, Asghar Khan.
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Despite a dismal existence,
there is one glimpse of hope for the neglected Sadika: her mother (now
going by the name Khanum) and aunt, Ashfaaq Beebee, who lives in Pennsylvania,
have arranged for Sadika to wed her cousin Haroon, who has quite erroneously
been talked up by Khanum as a brilliant Adonis. When Ashfaaq, Haroon,
and their clan visit Islamabad, Haroon turns out to be as boorish and
ridiculous as Austen’s Mr. Collins. Not that the neighborhood’s
rapacious mothers cared to notice any such thing, engrossed in their
determination to marry off their daughters. Haq writes, “Undoubtedly
everyone with an eligible daughter was getting ready to win the jackpot
– hers, Khanum’s, jackpot! There was a general feeling of
expectancy based on the widely accepted belief that young men were like
eggplants on a flat dish, the slightest dip was enough to totally change
their position.”
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| Author - Hina Haq |
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The brutal competition
ends with a stunning outcome when Haroon snubs his awkward and insecure
intended in favor of her feisty younger sister, Zafary. The humiliation
of losing her fiancé not just to another woman, but to her
own sister – and a younger one at that – embitters Sadika.
The ensuing scandal of being considered rejected and unmarriageable,
compounded by a series of comical but unfortunate events, compels
hapless Sadika to an eventual banishment in America. Though not equipped
to blend easily in this vastly different society, it’s in her
new home that the downtrodden Sadika slowly begins to blossom.
Haq’s Cinderella story is engaging and illuminating
as she sheds light on the cultural nuances of women in Pakistan. The
engaging tale quickly draws the reader in. There are some bumps in
the beginning. Haq, faced with the challenge of having to explain
words to a Western audience, inserts the definitions rather clumsily.
Descriptions such as “the delicious yellow dessert called laddoos”
are distracting and would have been better served as footnotes or
with a subtler hand. Fortunately, as the tale unfolds, Haq gains her
footing and the vocabulary lessons give way to dimensional portrayals
of the characters. Haq does a thorough job of getting into the minds
and hearts of her creations, adding up to a novel that is slyly funny,
intelligent, and memorable, just like Sadika.
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For more information, check out www.academychicago.com.
Elaine G. Flores is a feature writer for Soap Opera Digest, columnist for the St. Louis American and freelance writer. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and lives in New York.
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