Aasmani Inqilab's childhood would be unusual for an American girl; for a Pakistani one, it is almost unheard-of. Her mother is Pakistan's most famous women's rights activist and a feminist icon who "lives in sin" with her lover, Pakistan's most beloved poet. Because the poet is so frequently imprisoned or exiled, Aasmani's mother is often too distracted to care for her and leaves her with her biological father and his new wife. All this chaos ends suddenly when Aasmani is 14. The poet is found brutally murdered, her mother plunges into a depression and disappears mysteriously two years later. You might think I'm spoiling the novel with this much information, but this is all set-up for the heart of the novel, which takes place 14 years later. Aasmani is 31, living on her own for the first time, outwardly "just fine" while inwardly consumed with grief, rage and denial. When a letter appears written in her mother's secret code, she must choose whether to investigate it.

This book contains a mystery, but no matter what the jacket copy would have you believe, it's not really a mystery novel. Most of the suspense is psychological: if Aasmani chooses to believe her mother is alive, what will be the cost to her sanity? Should she forgive her mother for abandoning her so many times and the poet for asking her to do so? How do we love someone who is both brilliant and flawed? How can we see the dead as the real people they were and not the mental picture of them we created in their absence?

I absolutely loved this book. It is emotionally resonant, character-driven and asks worthwhile questions about living. I particularly admired writer Kamila Shamsie's show-don't-tell writing and ability to create larger-than-life characters who still felt very real. Although I gave this book a 5 star rating, it may not appeal to every reader. There is very little action because most of the book consists of Aasmani's conversations with her biological father, half-sister, new boyfriend and assortment of old family friends. Each of the dialogues explores the novel's central questions from a variety of perspectives. I left the book feeling wholly satisfied and intrigued by the questions it proposed, but other readers might find the conversations tedious and Aasmani frustrating. Read if you love cerebral, character-driven books that focus on ideas rather than action. ( )

A lyrically written modern mystery set in Pakistan. The main character's mother is a feminist activist.

Fabulous, engrossing read set in Pakistan. I couldn't put it down, it is also very well written. ( )