Ayesha At Last: A Novel

I’ve been wanting to read this book since before it even came out. I mean, look at that cover! And a Pride and Prejudice retelling? Sign me up! Unfortunately, despite my enthusiasm, it took me over a year to get to it. But it was just as good as I hoped it would be! Jalaluddin does a fantastic job of sticking to the original storyline while adjusting some elements to make it new and feel like it’s own story. I love Ayesha and Khalid and the progression of their relationship felt more authentic than a number of P&P retellings I’ve read. One thing I always forget when diving into a P&P retelling is how much I usually want to punch a number of characters for just being downright awful. While in real life I would never do such a thing, some of these secondary characters left me sorely tempted. The book deals from the beginning with micro aggressions and discrimination in the workplace and the manipulations that some of the characters try to pull off made me want to scream. But I would say that this is a mark of how well this was written and while it made me angry how terrible people can be, it was part of the experience of this book that made it fantastic. I highly recommend this retelling to all, both fans of P&P and those who aren’t. It lived up to all expectations.

"Because while it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single Muslim man must be in want of a wife, there's an even greater truth: To his Indian mother, his own inclinations are of secondary importance." I really enjoyed this one. It is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, but centered around a Toronto mosque. I was impressed with how well this translated to the original story. And I really enjoyed learning about the Indian Muslim community. The thing I love about books is that I get to experience things I wouldn't otherwise experience in real life, and this was definitely one of those books. Khalid (Mr. Darcy) is a fundamentalist Muslim. He keeps his beard long, wears long robes, and doesn't spend time with women outside of his family without a chaperone. He prays 5 times a day and feels like the only way to honor Allah is in the traditional way. Ayesha (Elizabeth Bennett) thinks Khalid is a fundy snob. She wears her hijab and prays as well. But she also works outside of the house and can't cook like a good woman who wants to be married should. It helps because I have close friends who are Muslim and I was able to ask them questions and have conversations about the things I was reading. They are not Indian though, so there were some things that I wasn't able to get as much personal perspective on (like the idea of rishta rituals where resumes are basically traded in order to find a suitable spouse). But I found it all so interesting. The more I read about different religions and different cultures, the more I see how alike we all are in the end. Indian Aunties and Jewish Mothers (and Chinese moms too) are all very involved and always know what is right for their children. I think that if more people spent the time to get to know people who seem "different", they'd realize the same thing. I liked this book a lot. I liked learning about other cultures, but I also just enjoyed the story. The characters were great and the writing was fun. You should check it out!

Love that book and you can finish it so quickly without realizing 🫶🏽.

I would give this a 3.5 rating . It was fun, but not perfect, not in any way slyly witty like Jane Austen. For us non-Muslims, mixing the modern world with the old customs seems confusing, but I don't disagree with them. Ayesha's and Khalid's chastity is refreshing and admirable. I followed the story with great interest and was glad that she did not have them modernize and compromise their principles. One question, did I miss it? Zareena said she had fallen in love with her husband, but she was here in Toronto, heavily pregnant, without her husband. By the end of the story, he had not come. What is going on here? Why is she in Canada? What is their happily ever after story? Why did he sound like an angry creep when Khalid called him? Why had Zareena never mentioned her brother to her husband? Why the secretive hoarding of money, as if she was running away? Why was this story never finished? Help! I wouldn't mind seeing this done as a movie, though! How spectacular Hafsa's wedding would be!!

This lovely story about Ayesha & Khalid is a wonderful revamping of Pride and Prejudice, with a decidedly Desi flavor. It’s engrossing, funny in places, but most importantly, it has a great deal of heart and intelligence. The characters are vivid, rich, and diverse in beliefs, customs, and life paths. There are no sex scenes in this book, (spoiler) but it is still wildly romantic and a very satisfying read. Excellent novel.

#Ownvoices chaste, sweet romance between desi "fundy" esque man and hijab-wearing but more modern woman: both active in their Islamic faith. The blurb says its a modern Pride & Prejudice, but only insofar as Khalid stubbornly inhabits a traditional orientation towards dress and arranged marriages inside his faith and Ayesha does have some prejudice to overcome both towards Khalid and her more flyaway, younger cousin. The main problem besides pride on both sides, is that Ayesha pretends to be her younger, richer cousin (who coincidentally is meeting a series of young men before committing to an arranged marriage) Hafsa at a Mosque meeting to plan a modern conference for young folks where she meets Khalid. This mistaken identity causes confusion and hurt feelings later on, as it tends to do. From a romance perspective, the attraction between the two main characters never sparked for me, but from a sociological perspective, it was super fascinating for Christian background me to read the thoughts of Khalid as he becomes more and more attracted to Ayesha despite her outspokenness, and to see standards of beauty when hair, for instance, is concealed under hijab. The text is sprinkled with words like "rishta" (or arranged proposal process) that were always quite understandable within context, but due to the multi-lingual/ethnic background of the Islamic community in Toronto depicted here I didn't know if that was a Arabic term or India-language term. There was also (for a food obsessed person like me) a pleasing amount of reference to food culture such as Aunties grilling both Hafsa and Ayesha about their ability to fry samosa or Khalid indicating he thought Butter Chicken was boring and not suitable for a wedding banquet. While not my preferred level of steam or sparky romance, this was such a sweet little romance with insight into a minority culture I think the USA desperately needs right now for perspective. I would read more by this author.

This well-written, well-paced romance introduced me to cultural norms of which I was unfamiliar, but ultimately seemed not so different from my own. Ayesha is such a relatable heroine, trying to bridge the gap between her own expectations and the hopes of her family. Khalid is the strong, silent hero who is restricted by his own responsibilities and the baggage of being the good son to make up for his sister's missteps. Readers will find themselves cheering for both of them. And Ayesha's nasty (beautiful) cousin is an entertaining gift to the story, a character Jane Austen herself might have created. Don't miss this one. BTW, there is no sex if that stuff bothers you. If it doesn't, well honestly the story is so good, you won't even miss it.

I enjoy uzma Jalaluddin’s writing and gift 8for telling a compelling story. Her characters are also compelling and I feel I am learning from her characters and story plots and theme. Thank you

This was a fantastic, unexpected romance novel which I enjoyed for the positive Muslim and Canada rep. A book featuring Muslims and Toronto were already a winning combination, but the addition of a character called Saleha (Ayesha's mom) put a cherry on top. The references to Pride and Prejudice was evocative especially in the exploration of the importance of marriage both as a personal state and as a community institution. Modern retellings which focus on the character dynamics often ignore this social context. Yes, Pride and Prejudice is a romance but the lead character explore so much more and reflect a vision for personal fulfilment which still resonates today. While lighter in places, this book hit that larger context much better. There was character beats which were different which kept me on my toes. The two leads were fantastic - especially Khalid. His shyness and innocence was refreshing. His 'prejudice' was a little more stretched but in context it was believable. Ayesha is a little flatter but I liked her devotion to her family and her striving for finding her place in her society. I could go on gushing but it's best to read this. Highly highly recommended. I am looking forward to Ms. Jalaluddin's next book. Lastly, I really want to see this as a movie - anyone out there listening.

You know its a good book when you are hooked to it. I liked the story and howw it placed every event in a delicate and smooth way. I was really into the book once i started reading it that i could only stop when i finished it. It was my first book from a muslim writer and i was looking forward to it.

Heard about in on TikTok.amazing storyline

Loosely inspired by P+P, this story has lots of other literature influences too (Shakespeare) which keeps things fresh and interesting. I really liked how the author kept some elements of P+P but really made the story her own - exact translits to new situations can be boring but this one did really well. The novel's not afraid to address contemporary topics while at the same time being a great read. Recommended!

Ok