A major new international voice debuts with a sweeping story of love, friendship, and family ties that brings to life the turbulent world of modern Pakistan.The unforgettable story of a fatherless boy growing up in a household of outspoken women, The Wish Maker is also a tale of sacrifice, betrayal, and indestructible friendship. Zaki Shirazi and his female cousin Samar Api were raised to consider themselves “part of the same litter.” Together they watched American television and memorized dialogue from Bollywood movies, attended dangerous protests, and formed secret friendships. In a household run by Zaki’s crusading political journalist mother and iron-willed grandmother, it was impossible to imagine a future that could hold anything different for either of them.But adolescence approaches and the cousins’ fates diverge. Samar’s unconventional behavior—in which Zaki has played the role of devoted helper—brings severe consequences for her, while Zaki is sent out to discover the world for himself. It is only after years of separation from Samar that he is forced to confront the true nature of happiness, selfhood, and commitment to those he loves most.Chronicling world-changing events that have never been so intimately observed in fiction and brimming with unmistakable warmth and humor, The Wish Maker is the powerful account of a family and an era, a story that shows how, even in the most rapidly shifting circumstances, there are bonds that survive the tugs of convention, time, and history.
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The Wish Maker is about a Pakistani boy who is growing up without a father, in the midst of governmental strife and in a house full of women. I thought that many parts of this book were honest and gritty. And I really enjoyed those parts. I had high interest in the beginning of the book, but at the end, I was still confused who the characters were. I felt like more time should have been devoted to character development and defining more of the cultural terms for the audience. I liked the main character, I just wished he had a stronger voice throughout the whole book.
Ali's writing style is confusing to me. On some pages, the conversations happened in paragraph form and on other pages, it happened in line by line all the way down the page. The use of the Pakistani language was confusing to me too. Sometimes the words were translated, sometimes not. Sometimes the main characters voice was loud (like when Zaki went to school), sometimes I didn't know who was narrating or even at what point of the story it was being told (was it someone remembering? someone speaking about now?) Normally, I can understand why the author's style changed and am able to follow the flow of the story. I wish I could say the same for this book. I feel like this book has the potential to be a great book, but it's just not there yet. Some heavy re-working of the text is needed first. I was disappointed at best.
