Saffron Dreams

Shaila Abdullah's "Saffron Dreams" is a moving, sensitive and eye-opening novel about Arissa Ilahi, a young Pakistani woman living in New York City, who loses her husband in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Towers. While the novel has scenes in Pakistan prior to the 9/11 attacks, the focus of the novel is Arissa grieving for her lost husband, Faizan, her efforts to get her life back together in a country whose people are becoming intolerant and prejudiced against Muslims, and being a single mother to a newborn son with multiple disabilities. Along the way, Arissa learns to find support in loved ones, especially her in-laws, and to sever dysfunctional relationships, even with family members. Despite many difficult decisions she must make for the independence of herself and her son, Arissa remains strong and hopeful. The September 11th attacks are wounds still healing in the United States. Readers of "Saffron Dreams" will better understand the grief experienced by those who lost loved ones during that critical time. The novel also offers insights into Islamic, particularly Pakistani, culture and the difficulties faced by immigrants to the United States in their efforts to assimilate yet retain parts of their culture. As Arissa notes in the novel, immigrants come to love both lands as their own. "Saffron Dreams" is as American a novel as any written because the immigrant experience is an integral part of the American story. The novel is part of Modern History Press's "Reflections of America" series, and its young female Pakistani narrator provides a unique perspective on how Americans are still trying to cope with and interpret the events of September 11th and the wars that have followed. While the story is not as full of dramatic conflict as other recent Middle-Eastern immigrant novels such as "The Kite Runner," the internal conflict of Arissa is just as moving and perhaps more meaningful to readers who will see in Arissa someone not so unlike them, someone who simply wants a better life for herself and her child. At the background of the novel is the theme of the value and importance of each human life. Arissa is determined to carry on her husband's legacy, to make sure his life is remembered and valued. At the urging of her mother-in-law, she decides to complete her husband's novel, "Soul Searcher." Equally, Arissa makes the decision to give birth and raise her child despite his disabilities. Through it all, she learns to value her own life, not allowing prospective lovers, dysfunctional family members, or Pakistani and American culture to control or define her future or identity. Arissa's story shows the individual importance and value of each person. Her voice is so distinct the reader is surprised to recall that "Saffron Dreams" is a novel rather than a personal memoir. Author Shaila Abdullah was born in Karachi, Pakistan but now lives and works as a freelance writer in Austin, Texas. While she did not experience

Exquisite. That best describes the book, SAFFRON DREAMS. The story is from a woman's perspective with true pain, ambition, desperation, duty, and love all mixed together. Arissa Illahi is a Pakistani-Muslim artist and writer whose childhood was spent in an affluent family in New York City. Her mother is overly flirtatious with her uncle and her parents eventually split. She meets an interesting man who she would like to meet again and regretfully, doesn't until her parents contact a matchmaker and show her the pictures of prospective husbands. There he is and their life together begins. All is not perfect as they do have the everyday problems and challenges of being overly educated and not being able to find profitable careers to match. Her husband works as a waiter in one of buildings that are part of the World Trade Center. In his free time, he is writing his first novel, which he hopes, will allow him to become a full-time author. Arissa discovers that she is pregnant and her life changes. Her husband was working on the morning of 9/11 and he did not escape the tragedy that occurred. Arissa has to deal with his death, being pregnant, finding a job to support the baby and herself, and also, how to be a Muslim in New York City at this time. To add to this challenge, she discovers that her child will be handicapped; it is just not known yet to what degree. SAFFRON DREAMS possesses a strength of dreaming, reality, and a personal voice in literature. You truly feel you are Arissa as her life continues daily. She wants to be a good mother, continue her faith, rely on her family, and also to fulfill her husband's wishes of completing his novel. There just isn't always enough time for everything. Shaila Abdullah is a Pakistani-American author currently living in Austin, Texas. She has also written, BEYOND THE CAYENNE WALL which is a collection of stories about Pakistani women and the changes and challenges in their lives. SAFFRON DREAMS is truly an exquisite novel. The care of the characters, complete with flaws exposed, makes this a reflective and insightful read for everyone. REVIEWED BY TERI DAVIS

Timely, poignant and heartrending, Saffron Dreams captures the essence of a Pakistani woman's life after the throws of 9/11 when her husband dies in the tower destruction. Racial tension and disturbing displacement prevail as Shaila Abdullah weaves a plot that is so real the reader will feel every sentiment and relate to the mixed emotions. Yet, in the end we come to peace in discovering there is hope and choice if we persist in finding it. A fictional novel that reads like a memoir, Saffron Dreams gives us confirmation that with freedom within, goals can be attained, and life goes on regardless of setbacks and challenges.

For many people the loss of a spouse, especially in something like the tragic events of 9/11, would be almost more than they could bear. In this engrossing and beautifully written novel, the author shows how additional losses can actually strengthen and provide a sense of meaning and purpose. The birth of a child with severe disabilities, in contrast to the devastating loss of a spouse, can come to be a positive experience by enabling us to see the beauty in creation that is sometimes missed in the glow of perfection. This is not a story of happy but rather of hopeful endings. Our lives are uncertain, but with hope and courage bitterness can be replaced by an appreciation for what is present.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/08) Arissa Illahi, a Pakistani woman living in New York, has it all - a loving husband, the freedom to pursue the work she enjoys, good friends, understanding family and a child on the way. Then one fateful morning her life shatters - the World Trade Center in NYC collapses in a terrorist attack, and takes with it Faizan, Arissa's husband. Arissa's world will never be the same. Not only has she lost her soulmate, her beloved husband and the father of the unborn child, but she suddenly finds herself in a world where she is perceived as an enemy just for being a Muslim. There are books that are beautiful simply because they are so positive and pleasant. And there are those that manage to be beautiful in spite of the pain and the suffering and the heartbreak contained within. Shaila Abdullah's "Saffron Dreams" is both. Her writing is mesmerizing. On one hand it feels like a classically cut diamond - precise, sparkling, blindingly beautiful, but also incredibly sharp. On the other hand her writing reminds me of a dish I've often had traveling in India - a thali. Yes, I am very well aware of the fact that the author is Pakistani and not Indian, but many of the foods she mentioned in the book reminded me a lot of India, and that is probably why I thought of thali. Thali is usually a round metal tray with many compartments, each containing a different item, such as rice, dhal, different vegetables and curries, chutney, yoghurt and something sweet to finish. Each of those items complements or contrasts the others to perfection, and together they are some of the best food I've ever tasted. This is the way I feel about "Saffron Dreams." It was comforting, it was funny, it was spicy; and then heartbreaking, full of despair, filled with hope, amazingly fresh and vibrant and satisfying. Following Arissa's story makes the reader realize how little most of us know and understand the world of Muslims, and how incredibly wrong so many of our perceptions are. If you are looking for a tender love story, you'll find it here. If you are curious about how people live, love and laugh in another culture, you are in for a treat. If you want to read about overcoming challenges, your wish will be granted. If it is simply beauty that you are searching for, you'll find it in abundance in "Saffron Dreams" by Shaila Abdullah. This is a book I would highly recommend to anybody who loves beautifully written and intelligent contemporary prose, especially to the readers who are curious and open minded, and to those who enjoy stories with strong female characters.