Blog tour: Under The Tamarind Tree

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Welcome to the blog tour for Under The Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam!

More about the book…

1964 — Karachi, Pakistan. Rozeena will lose her home — her parents’ safe haven since fleeing India and the terrors of Partition — if her medical career doesn’t take off soon. But success may come with at a price. Meanwhile, the interwoven lives of her childhood best friends — Haaris, Aalya, and Zohair — seem to be unraveling with each passing day. The once small and inconsequential differences between their families’ social standing now threaten to divide them. Then one fateful night someone ends up dead and the life they once took for granted shatters.

2019 — Rozeena receives a call from a voice she never thought she’d hear again. What begins as a request to look after a friend’s teenaged granddaughter grows into an unconventional friendship — one that unearths buried secrets and just might ruin everything Rozeena has worked so hard to protect.

Captivating and atmospheric, Under the Tamarind Tree shows us the high-stakes ripple effects of generational trauma, and the lengths people will go to safeguard the ones they love.

More about the author…

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Nigar Alam spent her childhood in Turkey, Nigeria, Italy, Kenya, Indonesia and the United States before returning to Karachi.

With an MBA and CPA, she has worked in both Brand Management and Auditing.

Currently, Nigar teaches and lives with her family in Minnesota.

My impressions…

Having learnt more about Partition when I visited India, and being endlessly fascinated by the history of the Indian subcontinent, I was drawn to this book like a moth to a flame. And, to some extent, my heart got burnt by the horrors, the sadness and the trauma that are imbued in these pages.

100% worth it, though. There is so much I loved about this novel: the dual timeline format, the intergenerational friendship that develops between Rozeena and Zara, and the wonderful sense of place that brings Karachi to life being only a few examples. This is a wonderful debut!

Three words to describe it. Emotional. Evocative. Hopeful.

Do I like the cover? Yes, all those colours are stunning.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, this is a beautiful debut.

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