The Storm / Arif Anwar

Shahryar's student visa is about to expire. He has explored every avenue that would enable him to remain in the U.S. for the sake of his young daughter, and as his desperation increases, he receives an offer that would solve all his problems. Between Burma and Washington, DC via Calcutta and Chittagong, the paths of many men and women have intersected over the past 60 years, their love stories and life-altering decisions all leading to him, to this difficult choice.

Behind this tale of a rudderless Bengali man tossed on the sea of his destiny are a stolen letter, two objects bearing mysterious marks, and a ghostly boatman whose appearance announces terrible storms. But in the end, contrary to his namesake from the One Thousand and One Nights, it's Shahryar himself who tells a story — his own.

Although it's a cliché to call The Storm a tapestry or a mosaic, this novel is so filled with rich details and emotions that it's entirely justified; its numerous pieces come together, shaped and coloured by what came before, sometimes decades earlier, to form an intricate yet coherent picture. 

An ode to the fragility and persistence of life and to the resonant power of the written word, this novel's melancholy haunts the mind long after the last sentence. The author's sensitive writing has a poetry which, combined with the water imagery that permeates the narrative, make this a beautiful, profoundly moving book. It's as simple and as complex as love itself.

I was provided with a free electronic copy of this book through NetGalley by the publisher, Atria Books, in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ****