Source: DRC via NetGalley (PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G. P. Putnam’s Sons) in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date: August 15, 2023
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

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Why did I choose to read this book?

I was browsing the Most Requested Books list on NetGalley when I came across this book. When I read the description, it read like a thriller/mystery, kind of an “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibe. A mistake in Rozeena’s youth comes back to haunt her in her final years – what will happen??

I also enjoy learning about places around the world through fiction, and this book happens during the Partition of India and Pakistan after British occupation and the characters are affected by the aftermath of the event. The description of the book also mentions the exploration of social castes, which is something I always have an interest in learning about.

What is this book about?

This book is not about what I thought it would be about. As mentioned above, I thought it would be a sort of murder mystery, and while there was a significant death that changes everything, what happens is super obvious to the reader. The stress comes from holding your breath waiting to make sure that the group of friends handles the aftermath in a way that prevents them all from getting burned. Luckily one of the friends is in a higher social circle and is able to help them keep everything under wraps.

What is notable about this story?

Nigar Alam does an excellent job with tension in this story. Everything always seems to be on the brink of collapse: the lower social class friends’ hidden identities, Rozeena’s young medical aspirations, all the families’ status and living situations, the love connections – all of it is threatened at all times and is reflective of the turbulent political climate that exists at the time.

I love it when an author tricks me and it is always notable when they pull it off. The accidental death of someone in the story is a distraction from the true mystery, and Alam makes you wait until the very very VERY end before it is revealed. Much respect to weave a tale that was able to keep me interested for that distance and then also surprise me with something that wasn’t even on my radar. Bravo and cheers to you, good author.

Was anything not so great?

I always consider a story’s purpose when I write these reviews. Which was more important, the story moving along quickly or our relationships with/depth of understanding of the characters? In Under the Tamarind Tree, the speed of the story was crucial to keeping you looking every which way except where the secret was, and so the investment in the characters and their relationships suffered a bit. But story vs. characters is always a balancing act, and some stories are best told as a series of events with the characters being pushed along by the current. I just tend to enjoy a character-driven story better, because if I don’t care about the characters, I tend to care less about what is happening to them along the way.

Alam did a great job of investing me in the story despite my lack of investment in the characters, and so while this is something that isn’t usually very great to me (and wasn’t here), the strength of Alam’s writing got me through to the end anyway, and that’s awesome!

What’s the verdict?

4 stars on Goodreads and a hearty recommendation from me. If your local library carries this one, definitely put it on your holds list to read at some point. Let me know if you are as surprised as I was by the twist!