We Meant Well, Erum Shazia Hasan
We Meant Well, Erum Shazia Hasan
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We Meant Well
A Novel

Author: Erum Shazia Hasan

Narrator: Rishma Malik Scott

Unabridged: 10 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: ECW Press

Published: 08/15/2023

Synopsis

“Unsparing and compassionate … A novel of harrowing eloquence, We Meant Well explores compelling cultural contrasts and the ambiguity of charitable outreach.” — Foreword Reviews A propulsive debut that grapples with timely questions about what it means to be charitable, who deserves what, and who gets the power to decide It’s the middle of the night in Los Angeles when Maya, a married mother of one, receives the phone call. Her colleague Marc has been accused of assaulting a local girl in Likanni, where they operate a charitable orphanage. Can she get on the next flight? When Maya arrives, protesters surround the compound. The accuser is Lele, her former protégé and the chief’s daughter. There are no witnesses, no proof of any crime. What happened that night? And what will happen to the orphanage if this becomes a scandal? Caught between Marc and Lele, the charity and the villagers, her marriage and new temptations, and between worlds, Maya lives the secret contradictions of the aid worker: there to serve the most deprived, but ultimately there to govern. As Maya feels the pleasures, freedoms, and humanity of life in Likanni, she recognizes that her American life is inextricably woven into this violent reality — and that dishonesty in one place affects the realities in another.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Thomas on July 08, 2023

A novel that tackles important issues though also felt really frustrating to read at the same time. To start off with the positive, I think Erum Shazia Hasan addresses important issues related to colonialism, white saviorism, and people’s complicity in those forces even when they are not white. Our......more

Goodreads review by Kelsey on December 04, 2022

I absolutely devoured this book, like a car crash of cringe that I simply couldn't stop looking at. Hasan has managed to capture the tension of being a foreigner in a developing country, ostensibly to "help," but quickly realizing that the systems in place mean you will never be able to make any sor......more

Goodreads review by Queralt✨ on July 18, 2023

3.5* This was such an interesting book and I think it’s difficult to rate. We Meant Well it’s a messy read. It’s messy and uncomfortable because it feels very real and we get little answers - but do we want them? The book follows an NGO worker with a failing marriage, Maya. Her private life is dull an......more

Goodreads review by Maria on September 20, 2023

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, x a million. WOW. This book packs such a punch, and has so many layers to it. I probably shouldn’t be writing this without having processed everything I read, but here we are. This book questions a lot of intentions behind actions, expertly has you push and pull between right......more

Goodreads review by pae on December 14, 2022

We’re all Maya at some point. Unreliable narrator, because all humans are, and how she shook her confidence and her ability to actually help people.......more

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