#Review of The Lost Pearl by #Author Lara Zuberi

Description:

Everything changes for nine-year-old Sana Shah when she witnesses the horror of her father’s assassination. She suffers through the pain of losing him, while realizing the worth of lessons learnt from him as pearls of wisdom. The tragedy forces Sana to leave her home in Pakistan and move across the globe to California. As time passes, she remains tormented by her memories as she struggles to rediscover her identity in a foreign land. Keen on pursuing journalism, she attends Stanford, where she meets a law student, Ahmer. They are drawn together by their cultural heritage, as well as their shared experience of having lost and endured. He becomes the source of her happiness as well as the catalyst in mending her strained relationship with her family. As the story unfolds, however, their lives become intertwined in unexpected ways. The obstacles are countless, and may be impossible to overcome. Spanning nearly two decades and set against a backdrop of landmark political events in both Pakistan and America in recent history, The Lost Pearl is an emotional tale about the strength of the human bond and the consequences of a truth left untold.

Review:

We all understand what emotions, feelings and tragedies could do to us but little do we understand until we are subjected to them. Others can feel your pain only when they have gone through it themselves and therein, lays the experience. In this tale of tragedy, trauma and politically changing world, Lara Zuberi has beautifully created a tale of a young girl Sana who fights the world alone for the love of her assassinated father. Looking closely at Sana’s character, it made me feel like I was looking through a mirror as her pain could be easily felt by me. With Lara’s beautiful descriptions of the scenarios and places and even Sana’s feelings as she grew up, it made me live the story in my mind’s eye. The story is beautifully carved with a genuine flow with the events generally flowing throughout although it had me gripping me the pages when Sana comes to know about Ahmar’s father.

Lara Zuberi had done a great job by weaving a tale that is worth reading. Her wonderful knowledge of history and the current affairs had helped us relive the past and understand the turmoil and the perils that had befallen our country over the years.

A wonderful and gripping tale. Good job!

Biography:

Lara Zuberi is of Pakistani origin. She writes literary fiction which has a multicultural flavor. She is an oncologist by profession, and is donating 50% of the proceeds from her debut novel, The Lost Pearl, to underprivileged cancer patients. She is currently working on her second novel, while trying to balance her diverse roles as mother of a three-year-old, physician and author.