Abundance
The matriarch of an Indian American family experiences an escalating health crisis in Abundance, Hafeez Lakhani’s compelling novel.
Across three decades, Indian immigrants Ramzan and Sakeena raise a family in South Florida while running a donut chain franchise. Then, sixty-year-old Sakeena experiences serious health troubles and learns that she is in dire need of a liver transplant. A devout Muslim, Sakeena believes in naseeb, or the idea that each person has a determined destiny. Though Sakeena decides that a transplant would defy her naseeb, Ramzan is desperate to convince his wife to have the operation.
Through shifting perspectives, the book relates the distinct yet intertwined backstories of each family member. The bond between Ramzan and Sakeena is enduring and intimate, from their youthful romance amid lush monsoon rains through years of shared commitment and economic challenges. Their eldest daughter, Fareen, works for a New York financial conglomerate; her musical talents are “buried” beneath more pragmatic ambitions. High-spirited yet nurturing Kawal lives near her parents, while Adnan is in Nigeria, trying to avoid the legal consequences of manufacturing counterfeit merchandise.
Tensions build as Sakeena’s health worsens. Ramzan is overwhelmed with anguish; Fareen’s career dissatisfaction increases; Kawal cares for her mother while awaiting the birth of her second child. And though Adnan attempts to continue his “crooked” overseas business ventures, his love for Sakeena leads to a poignant reawakening.
Evocative and yearning descriptions of India contrast with the complexities of cultural assimilation and the demands of franchise management. The family’s Muslim faith is also conveyed with meaningful intensity: while at a mosque, Adnan contemplates the “common energy and affection in the heat of mutual breath” as he yields to the centering and sustaining power of prayer.
Spanning from Rawalpindi to Miami, the intricate novel Abundance is an immersive contemporary immigrants’ saga.
Reviewed by
Meg Nola
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
