Zuleikha arrives in the US from Lahore, Pakistan, by marriage, having trained as a pianist without ever owning a real piano. Now she finally has one-a wedding present from her husband-but nevertheless finds it difficult to get used to her new role of a suburban middle-class housewife who has an abundance of time to play it.
Haunted by the imaginary worlds of the confiscated contraband books and movies that her father trafficked in to pay for her education and her dowry, and unable to reconcile them with the expectations of the real world of her present, she ends up as the central figure in a scandal that catapults her into the public eye and plays out in equal measures in the local news and in backroom deliberations, all fueled by winds of anti-Muslim hysteria.
The Black-Marketer’s Daughter was a finalist for the Disquiet Open Borders Book Prize, and praised by the jury as a “complicated and compelling story” of our times, with two key cornerstones of the novel being the unsympathetic voice with which Mallick, almost objectively, relays catastrophic and deeply emotional events, and the unsparing eye with which he illuminates the different angles and conflicting interests at work in a complex situation. The cumulative effects, while deliberately unsettling to readers, nevertheless keeps them glued to the pages out of sheer curiosity about what will happen next.
PRAISE FOR THE BLACK-MARKETER’S DAUGHTER
“Mallick offers an impressively realistic depiction of a woman caught between tradition, family, and her own sense of empowerment.” ~ Kirkus Reviews
“The Black-Marketer’s Daughter is a key-hole look at a few things: a mismatched marriage, the plight of immigrants in the U.S., the emotional toll of culture shock, and the brutal way Muslim women are treated, especially by men within their own community. Titling it—defining the heroine by her relationship to a man rather than as a woman in her own right—suggests how deeply ingrained that inequality can be.” ~ IndieReader Reviews
“The Black-Marketer’s Daughter is the portrait of a woman who endures violence, intimidation, xenophobia and grief, and yet refuses to be called a victim. In this slender novel, Suman Mallick deftly navigates the funhouse maze of immigrant life in contemporary America—around each corner the possibility of a delight, a terror, or a distorted reflection of oneself.” ~ Matthew Valentine, Winner, Montana Prize for Fiction; Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin
The Black-Marketer’s Daughter by Suman Mallick is the type of book that surprised me in every good way imaginable. I purposefully do not read other reviews or blurbs on books that I intend to review so that my viewpoint is entirely my own. It is only after I read the last page and sat for several minutes absorbing the story and my feelings about it that I allowed myself to know more about the book and its author. I was shocked to find out that Mallick was a man.
I know that sounds sexist or something but hear me out. In most books written by men from the perspective of a woman, the woman is usually excessively female in some way. She’s too emotional, too into her looks; name it, she’s got it. But Zuleikha is this beautifully balanced woman who is aware of her surroundings and her previous misconceptions, and makes the most of her situation. Perhaps because of her upbringing with access to “radical” literature and films, she is not your picture perfect Pakistani bride and is unapologetic about it too.
Because the scandal is not mentioned on the back cover, I will not mention it here either. But I want to praise Mallick’s ability to write about difficult situations in a way that is descriptive yet not gratuitous. His writing style is equal parts wonder and wearied, much like the protagonist. Mallick is able to introduce the magic of seeing a place for the first time in one chapter, and then clinically document the life of a housewife in another.
As a pianist myself, I enjoyed every bit of the narrative that discussed instruments, music theory, and the process of becoming a music teacher. Because the cover features a simple drawing of a piano, it made me ponder the symbolism of it. The piano is Zuleikha’s dream, first love, and comforter in the beginning. It is instrumental in the scandal and clearly becomes her path to redemption and the life she wants in the end.
Holding this slim book in my hand, I really do marvel at the depths that were reached. The emotional weight of this book made it read like a tome. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their eyes to the immigration experience and to the strength of a woman who comes from a culture that does not celebrate individuality and independence. This might be controversial to say, but if you have never seen the parallels between Christian and Muslim beliefs, this book will definitely bridge that gap.
Suman Mallick received his MFA from Portland State University and is the assistant managing editor of the quarterly literary magazine Under the Gum Tree. He lives in Texas.
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1/6/21 |
Promo |
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1/8/21 |
Author Interview |
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1/10/21 |
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1/11/21 |
Author Interview |
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Playlist |
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Scrapbook Page |
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Author Interview |
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1/15/21 |
Review |
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1/15/21 |
Review |
missusgonzo 
Excellent review of what sounds like an outstanding and eye-opening story. Thanks for the post.