Synopses & Reviews
There are only two tragedies in life. One is not getting your heart's desire - and the other? Getting it. Fourteen-year-old Lucky Khalil has a destiny - worse than a destiny, he has a dream. He dreams that one day, he will win the World Cup for England . It torments him, because it tastes real, because when he wakes he weeps with disappointment that it is just a dream. Meanwhile, Luckys mother Delphine seems to have had all her dreams come true, but feels trapped in her apparently perfect marriage. She fantasizes about rediscovering the freedom of her youth, but rekindling a relationship with her maverick father-in-law, Zaki, can only end in disaster. Zaki, a charming gambler who loved and lost Delphine long before she married his successful son, feels equally trapped in the corner shop he has run for years. He wonders if the time has come to abandon his responsibilities, to try once more to achieve his own dreams.
As each of the Khalils discovers in Roopa Farookis beautifully written and richly layered tale, the closer one's dreams become, the easier it is to lose sight of what really matters.
Review
Praise for
Corner Shop:“Aspirations and family ties play out across three generations of the Khalil family in Farooki's fine new novel (after
Bitter Sweets)…. [A] flawed yet likable cast… question what, exactly, leads to a more fulfilled life. This character- and culture-rich novel will appeal to Jhumpa Lahiri and Zadie Smith fans looking for quainter fare.”
--Publishers Weekly
“Farooki's characters are convincingly complex… While her first novel, Bitter Sweets, was called "enjoyably breezy" (New York Times), this work has a depth to it that requires more substantial adjectives. Highly recommended.” -Library Journal
“A complex exploration of the ever-changing nature of wants and desires and the consequences of achieving ones dreams, Farookis tale eschews easy answers for the complex, appealing characters that people its pages.” -Booklist
"A winner... [the] characters are imperfect yet loveable, full of life but confused, annoying in their own ways while tremendously charming. One cant help but feel like a confidant as family crises, friction, achievements, disappointments, and realizations unfold.... [This] comic and poignant novel conjures questions that come back to tease and haunt the reader." --India Currents magazine Praise for Bitter Sweets:“By the end of this enjoyably breezy book it becomes clear that Ms. Farooki has been maneuvering her characters toward a major showdown. She contrives a twist of fate that will drag their hidden lives into the light."-Janet Maslin, The New York Times“Fast-paced and populated with characters as colorful as a closetful of saris."
-People “Roopa Farookis delicious debut novel…is a candy apple of a book, an alluring confection that is substantial and healthful at its heart….This book…is simply, shrewdly sweet.”
-More magazine
“Farooki pulls off a lightly spun epic tale with effortless charm and more than enough delightful twists to keep pages turning. Even the characters most unexpected and disastrous choices seem somehow inevitable, and one is quickly resigned to rooting for the wily woman at the center.”
-Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Delphine Khanum fantasizes about rekindling her relationship with her father-in-law Zaki, whom she loved long before she met and married his son. But as she discovers in this richly layered, multi-generational tale, the closer one's dreams become, the more risk there is of losing sight of what really matters.
About the Author
Roopa Farooki was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and brought up in London. She graduated from New College, Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and worked in advertising before writing fiction full time. Roopa now lives in Southeast England and Southwest France with her husband and two young sons, and teaches creative writing at the Canterbury Christ Chuch University masters program.