With three novels under her belt, acclaimed British novelist Shamim Sarif's books are definitely worth a read
2009-03-23
The World Unseen
In the pressure cooker of 1950s apartheid South Africa, two women meet and their worlds are turned upside down. Yet in a system that divides white from black, black from Asian and women from men, what chance is there for an unexpected love to survive?
Despite the Falling Snow
Ageing entrepreneur Alexander Ivanov is selling the immensely successful American catering company he's single-handedly masterminded. Few people know he was once a passionate advocate of Krushchov's Russian Communist Party - until he met the love of his life: Katya, unknown to him at the time an American Secret Agent. Overwhelmed by their mutual passion they marry; Katya temporarily ceases her political activities, and when Alexander is chosen as one of a Government delegation to America she begs him to defect, promising she'll find a way to join him. It's easy for Alexander. But there are unexpected complications for Katya and she fails to arrive. Grief-stricken Alexander never discovers why - until, forty years later his niece Lauren travels to Russia to discover the shocking truth.
I Can't Think Straight
Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend, Ali. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. But Tala is not ready to accept the implications of the choice her heart has made for her and escapes back to Jordan, while Leyla tries to move on with her new-found life, to the shock of her tradition-loving parents. As Tala's wedding day approaches, simmering tensions come to boiling point and the pressure mounts for Tala to be true to herself.
