Book cover: Jonathan Ball; background picture: Glen Carrie on Pixabay
This reader’s impression was written and sent to LitNet on the writer's own initiative.
Not another samoosa run!
Nadia Cassim
Kwela
ISBN: 9780795711121
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Not another samoosa run! is required reading. You’ll get so much more than you bargained for, exactly like finding the right romantic partner in life.
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I have a particular fondness for novel voices and debut releases of any kind. There’s only one first impression, as the saying goes. In the South African context, where truth is undoubtedly stranger than fiction and where many different kinds of stories and blends of storytelling modes and genres remain open to writers from all walks of life, you might have certain preconceived ideas of what a debut novel from a writer such as Nadia Cassim might be like.
Astutely, amusingly and very much in line with not judging a book by its cover or title alone, this debut is one that goes some way towards upending and challenging assumptions about the Muslim world and Indian culture and what a story situated in this local milieu might seek to do. In this case, the setting is a close-knit Muslim-Indian community in Gauteng, with the main character and heroine, Tasneem, approaching 30 as a divorcee.
At 27, Tasneem is viewed by some as “tarnished” – as second-hand goods, so to speak – and the general consensus is that she must make haste to find a new husband. It simply will not do for her to remain without a partner and without a plan, while she studies psychology and processes the complex aftermath of a life partnership ending prematurely.
Without offering any spoilers whatsoever, I feel it’s important to credit Cassim handsomely for her (in many ways) bold and unusual choice of a potential suitor in Aadil. Aadil is nothing if not a complex, three-dimensional and consistently engaging fictional creation, a man who has more than one serious flaw and is entirely removed from the realms of the cookie-cutter romantic ideal. This despite being a charmer, charismatic, sensual and more than just a little lucky (or is that unlucky?) with the ladies.
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Cassim writes a host of intriguing plot lines involving both Tasneem and Aadil coming to terms with their own flaws, brokenness and trauma, as well as the reconciliation of familial and communal expectations with their own needs, desires and dreams.
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Cassim writes a host of intriguing plot lines involving both Tasneem and Aadil coming to terms with their own flaws, brokenness and trauma, as well as the reconciliation of familial and communal expectations with their own needs, desires and dreams. Cassim is an author who knows just how to balance a clear flair for language and description with sensitive and even disarming characterisation.
The novel moves along briskly, amusing you no end on the one hand, and making you belly-laugh more than you might expect. And yet, it very deliberately delves deeply and convincingly into what it means to live with preconceived ideas and notions of what your identity and life path should be. Thus, the theme of authentic living is a cornerstone, along with self-actualisation and understanding your shadow – as those with any interest or background in psychology, like Tasneem herself, will grasp.
The story of Tasneem and Aadil and their families in Not another samoosa run! goes way above and beyond the confining threshold of what might be called a romance novel or chick lit. Not only that, but the author doesn’t ever get weighed down by the potential heaviness, didacticism or preachiness that could easily have crept into the text as it builds tension. The aforementioned focus on fallible human beings finding their way, living their best lives and enjoying eventual happiness is expressly not achieved through a blanket selfishness or discarding of the feelings or importance of others. Rather, Cassim shows with warmth and generosity what a modern kind of ubuntu and locally inflected brand of consideration and kindness could look like.
Cassim establishes herself as an uncommonly astute, insightful and very generous observer. Time and again, she finds a way to craft memorable, layered scenes, blending action and observation from a position of just enough intimacy or distance, depending on the moment or the characters. Where scenes need a longer runtime, she lets the moment play out just as it should; conversely, where the reader is already well aware of the intense emotions and charged conflict between viewpoints and different ideal outcomes, you get a palpable, fitting escalation of atmosphere and feeling.
Tellingly, this novel doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming a tedious and predictable saga of one or two people making it and rushing into each other’s arms by the end. Instead, there’s a very satisfying and altogether different kind of conclusion and wrapping up of an affecting and flavoursome narrative.
Cassim tenderly and compassionately documents what it costs to survive trauma, what it means to take responsibility for one’s own pain and life choices, and what it means to reckon with what is inevitable for us humans – an unavoidable inheritance of loss. Through this, pockets of understanding, kindness, warmth, and even joy and exultation can emerge organically. Here, character feeds plot and story, and vice versa, and you don’t feel short-changed.
Cassim writes as an insider about local Indian people, about community, about custom and ritual, and about the precarious comforts and sometimes deeply uncomfortable business of being part of a family. You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends, and “found family” is certainly a thing.
From this insider’s position, one where she can observe and relate (in multiple senses of the word) rather than judge, she creates a full cast of wonderfully flawed, instantly relatable and entirely human subjects. These are fictional creations that allow her to explore themes of belonging, responsibility, authenticity, sexuality, friendship and navigating what it means to fail – and prevail, nonetheless.
There’s a fine line between comedy and tragedy, love and hate. These resilient and messily real people keep on reminding you how important it is to stay true to yourself in a world where even your own flesh and blood might want to repurpose you as a commodity.
Cassim crafts her tale with exquisite care. So much more than a romance, it is a kind of comedy of manners and a very thoughtful and hard-hitting exploration of choice and consequence. Her sentences sing, shimmy and shine, and her dialogue crackles with brio and verve. And that ending: resolutely refusing the clichéd, and choosing instead the conclusion the story and characters deserve.
Not another samoosa run! is required reading. You’ll get so much more than you bargained for, exactly like finding the right romantic partner in life.
