Book review - Kismet
Housekeeping note - August 21, 2023: I have switched hosting platforms for this website, so some things, particularly previous posts, might be a bit out of sorts for a few days. Everything should be back to normal by the end of the week. If that isn’t the case, let me know.
Content warning: violence, homicide, racism
My 13th book in the 2022+ challenge is Kismet by Amina Akhtar. The book satisfies Category 19, a novel with more than one point of view. With this being the 13th book in the 25-book challenge, we’re officially over the halfway mark! At this rate I might finish the challenge by 2025.
The book
Kismet follows Ronnie Khan, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants who is herself born and raised in Queens, New York. Orphaned in childhood, she is raised by an abusive aunt, but as a young adult Ronnie meets Marley, a self-help guru. Marley helps Ronnie be more assertive, and soon Ronnie has broken free from her aunt and moves with Marley to Sedona, Arizona; i.e., the New Age capital of America.
Marley hopes to grow her brand as a self-help influencer in Sedona, while Ronnie is looking for a clean break from her life in Queens.
What I liked
I mentioned earlier that this novel is told from multiple perspectives. It's mostly told from Ronnie's point of view but not exclusively. There are chapters told from the perspective of some local ravens, who are unhappy with the environmental damage that many of these new arrivals to Sedona are causing. We also get some narration from a person who is killing off some Sedona residents. The different points of view serve as clever ways to convey information that is important for the reader but that Ronnie wouldn’t know.
Another thing I enjoyed was the skewering of the superficiality of many so-called spiritual circles. It's very easy to get sucked into the consumerism and whitewashing of it all.
What I didn't like
This is a bit nit-picky, but there was a plot point involving identical twins that I didn’t entirely believe. I bring it up because this plot point is pretty important to the story. A little reworking could have made that storyline more believable without compromising the overall integrity of the story.
Overall verdict
Minor plot quibbles aside, I really enjoyed Kismet. Is it the deepest thing ever written? Not really. But it has some interesting things to say about spiritual communities, and how people of color and their ideas can be co-opted in unintended ways. The tone isn’t a million miles away from My Sister, the Serial Killer, so if you enjoyed that book, you’ll probably like this one, too.
What's next?
The next book is Adventures in Immediate Irreality by Max Blecher. This satisfies Category 8, a fictionalized memoir. Buckle up, because it’s a doozy.
How important is it for you to incorporate different perspectives into your reading? Leave your thoughts in the comments!