Radiant Fugitives, Nawaaz Ahmed
Radiant Fugitives, Nawaaz Ahmed
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Radiant Fugitives
A Novel

Author: Nawaaz Ahmed

Narrator: James Fouhey

Unabridged: 14 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/09/2021


Synopsis

A dazzling, operatic debut novel following three generations of a Muslim Indian family confronted with a nation on the brink of change.

Working as a consultant for Kamala Harris's attorney general campaign in Obama-era San Francisco, Seema has constructed a successful life for herself in the West, despite still struggling with her father's long-ago decision to exile her from the family after she came out as lesbian. Now, nine months pregnant and estranged from the Black father of her unborn son, Seema seeks solace in the company of those she once thought lost to her: her ailing mother, Nafeesa, traveling alone to California from Chennai, and her devoutly religious sister, Tahera, a doctor living in Texas with her husband and children.

But instead of a joyful reconciliation anticipating the birth of a child, the events of this fateful week unearth years of betrayal, misunderstanding, and complicated layers of love—a tapestry of emotions as riveting and disparate as the era itself. Told from the point of view of Seema's child at the moment of his birth, and infused with the poetry of Wordsworth and Keats and verses from the Quran, Radiant Fugitives is a moving tale of a family and a country grappling with acceptance, forgiveness, and enduring love.

About Nawaaz Ahmed

Nawaaz Ahmed was born in Tamil Nadu, India. Before turning to writing, he was a computer scientist, researching search algorithms for Yahoo. He holds an MFA from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and is the winner of several Hopwood Awards. He is the recipient of residencies at MacDowell, Yaddo, Djerassi, and VCCA. He's also a Kundiman and Lambda Literary Fellow. He currently lives in Brooklyn.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Barbara on September 11, 2022

I really wanted to love Nawaaz Ahmed’s “Radiant Fugitives”. Unfortunately for me the narrator structure didn’t work. Ahmed uses third person narration; the narrator being an unborn baby. Usually, he is telling his tale to his grandmother; sometimes he refers to his mother as “my mother” and other ti......more

Goodreads review by Jasmine on August 04, 2021

4.5 stars. This beautifully written book had me tearing up by the end of it. This unique story is told to Seema’s grandmother by her unborn child. Seema lives in San Francisco, is nine months pregnant, and is trying to reconcile with her estranged mother and sister after having been driven away for......more

Goodreads review by Megan L (Iwanttoreadallthebooks) on August 02, 2021

I enjoy reading debut novels because I am always excited to discover new authors and their work. And while I appreciate what Nawaaz Ahmed was trying to achieve with his debut Radiant Fugitives, it really did not work for me. I was immediately put off by the use of a fetus/unborn baby- I give Ahmed p......more

Goodreads review by Jim on July 26, 2021

Radiant Fugitives is an incredible debut novel from Nawaaz Ahmed. Following an Indian family struggling with issues of modernity, globalization, and religion, Radiant Fugitives is an incredibly complex and nuanced treatment with enormous compassion for its central characters. Ahmed has an impressive......more

Goodreads review by johnny on August 04, 2023

seema's unborn son tells this story to his grandmother. his mother — muslim, lesbian, divorced, pregnant, political activist — has lived an extraordinary life. when nafeez, his grandmother, visits seema and tefarah in san francisco, she is old and dying. she tried to mend the divide between the two......more