Customer Reviews

The Wish Maker

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At first I was hesitated to choose this book as I was kind of over the "Kite Runner" et al, but I am glad I decided to pick The Wish Maker.
I loved this book, whipped right through it, as it was so enjoyable to read.

The plot begins in the present and switches back into the past. We have Zaki, a little boy as our narrator, he has been fatherless since age -2 months. The story mostly takes place in a traditional Pakistani middle to upper class home. I love the voyeurism of seeing how other cultures really are in their homes(they're basically just like us). In Zaki's home there are two forces, the Matriach, Daadi, a very traditional and stern woman and Zaki's mother, Zakia, a feminist and modern woman. There is also the pseudo-sister, Samir Api, who comes to live with Zaki's family as the daughter of his Grandmother's sister. It's a bit mysterious at first as to why Samir comes to live there but eventually the stories unravel. Samir Api is a charming girl who dreams of a Bollywood Actor sweeping her away someday. Zaki's adoration of Samir is evident yet subtle.

We end up asking ourselves,which is a better way to nurture children, old school or modern? the answer is probably in the perfect mix of a multi-generational household.

I love a fictional book that I can learn something from and I did learn a lot of fringe information about the era of Benazir Bhutto and her father's execution, of how pinning hopes on political leaders can often be disappointing. I also learned about the almost "Civil War" like parallels of the Pakistanis and the Indians. Pakistani children of the Grandmother's generation grew up next to Indian children, Parsi children, then one day, they are all gone, and those friendship ties are severed forever. Life goes on.

About halfway through the book I thought it was about women, but it really is much more than that, Zaki is raised in a household of women, but he lives a rich life at school with boys where he watches and learns. He is fatherless but he has strong "back up" with all the women at home who look out for him in their individual ways.

I highly recommend this book, the writer is quite talented (I think this is his first book?) He doesn't hit us over the head with the internationalism, you quickly slip into the plot and relate as human to human, not culture to culture. One thing is for sure after reading the book you will know what that costume the Pakistanis wear is called, a Shalwar Kameez. It is also worn in India but here is the definition: Traditional suit consisting of three pieces: a loose fitting, drawstring pajama like pant, a long, tunic style shirt and a long, complimenting or matching scarf. It is generally accepted that the kameez should come below the knee to the mid-calf region. The kameez is usually fitted throughout the shoulder and bust area and loose from the hips down to the hem. Side walking vents (splits) are added to both sides.

I've visited Pakistan several times and was interested in learning about local life. Like another reviewer, I thought this might end up being another "Kite Runner."

This book starts off well, as we are acquainted with the main characters and life in present (and then past) day Pakistan. However, as the novel progressed, I found myself losing interest. What I found instead were very thorough descriptions. I did enjoy parts of the book...found myself chuckling that the two TV stations available were referred to as "India" and "Pakistan," and also at the description of the first hair-waxing ceremony. When the roof top aerial is malfunctioning, one of the characters cries out "My India is not coming!"

This book is an easy read - you might want to check it out if you have a curiosity about life in Pakistan.

This is exceptionally well written for a first book. It is obvious Sethi has studied the literature of successful Pakistani authors - and has learned from them. His writing is smooth and his book is pleasing to read. For those who like family sagas and/or coming-of-age books, this is a winner.

There were some shortcomings, though. I usually enjoy the very detailed novels from Pakistani and Indian authors. This one had all the drawn out descriptions but spent too much time going nowhere. The middle of the book dragged for me. I think he should have reduced the size of this by about a hundred pages.

If this book had been written by a veteran author, I would not give it more than three stars. Since this is a first novel, and since Sethi shows so much promise, it is definitely worth four stars. I would gladly read any of his future works.

It is definitely an entertaining story and I enjoyed it, but....it is a little 200 pages longer than it should be. The writer should have stayed with the story of Zaki and choti's daughter, but he kept going into different mini stories and honestly some of those had no connection to the central story and appeared to be some ramblings from the writer.
The book does give some interestng glimpses into Pakistani politics.
Three stars.

Initially, I found The Wish Maker a difficult book to follow. The beginning has a tendency to meander and ramble a bit so I found it hard at times to follow the narrative thread. It took me a while to understand that the first chapter takes place in the present while subsequent chapters take place in the past. My major quibble about the book would be with the timeline because it is hard to tell at times whether the events described take place in the present or past.

Once I got past my confusion, though, I found the book to be an interesting coming-of-age tale. It centers mostly around Zaki and Samar, who are cousins but are brought up almost like siblings. Much of the book describes their childhood and it's a childhood that isn't all that different from an American childhood. However, it is set against a background of some major historical events in Pakistan. It's interesting how these events are treated almost casually but it also makes sense that they would be treated thus. The characters, like most of us, are concerned with their day-to-day events and so, even though these historical events are important to them, they sometimes take a backseat to the characters' more immediate concerns.

Another aspect of the novel that I found interesting were the ways in which Western culture has influenced Pakistan in the past and continues to influence it today. I found a scene in a Pizza Hut to be particularly vivid and it makes for a nice reminder of how taking one small piece of a culture can lead to a somewhat warped view of the whole.

Sethi has a nice voice and spins a good yarn. However, I think he could benefit from some brevity and a bit more clarity. I had a hard time getting through the first part of the book and even put it aside for a while and read a couple of books in between. I'm glad that I persisted with it but had the narrative been tighter right from the beginning, I would probably have enjoyed the novel more. The risk is that not every reader will persist and I think that would be a shame because I ultimately found this to be a good story about the impact of family relationships and how they shape individuals.

'The Wish Maker" is a story about a Pakistani family told from the viewpoint of the protagonist, Zaki. Belonging to a family consisting of mostly females, the stories are centered around the female characters of the book: his strong-willed mother, the rebellious cousin and the comical combination of the clucking grandmother and aunts. Besides accounts of growing pains that are universal, there are also experiences of living and growing up in Pakistan. I enjoyed learning about the history and politics of Pakistan as I read the book.

The book started out pretty slowly, but definitely picked up after the first two chapters. I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first. Comparisons with "The Kite Runner" is inevitable, but this book is different. This is more a story of the women/people around the protagonist, rather than a story about the little boy himseld.

"The Wish Maker" is very easy to read, with constant reminders of the wishes that the different characters make. It lacks the smoothness, easy rhythm and a certain poetry, but it nevertheless is a decent first novel. The plot is interesting, and the characters are believeable and relateable. I would be very interested in reading Ali Sethi's next book.

Ali Sethi is a good writer and he has written an impressive debut novel about Zaki Shirazi and his female cousin Samar Api growing up in Pakistan. They are raised by Zaki's mother and his grandmother, Daada, whom I think is the real central character of this story. I only gave it 3 stars, however, because the middle of the book was very difficult to get through. For me, it was like traveling down a windy road and I felt a little "lost" until page 286 when things really started "cooking". I loved the remainder of the book and wished that the author had eliminated about 75 pages in the middle and expanded those pages to the end of the story as that is when it became "rich" in both detail and action. The main problem I had with the middle part is that there are lots of descriptives words used to set-up the scenario but he does not develop the characters very well until the latter half of the book. Usually when I read I can visualize what the characters look and sound like (THE HELP is one of the best examples of this by the way) but I had difficulty doing that with this novel. The author shows a lot of potential, however, and I do recommend the book, just not "Highly".

Stick with this book! The first 150-or-so pages can be confusing. The scenes are being set and the book moves throughout time and tells the story of each of the family members. For the first half of the book it is often difficult to keep up with the names and figuring out where in history the story has moved and how these events tie into everything previously introduced. Once I got mid-way through the book though...I couldn't put it down.

This book shows a side of Pakistan that is different from what is portrayed on the news. There are parts of the history and culture embedded throughout the story and packs a huge punch toward the end of the novel.

The main character, Zaki, is raised in a household with his mother, grandmother and second cousin, Samar Api. Although the main character is a male, the novel celebrates the strong women in his family. The story comes full circle. It starts and ends with the wedding celebration of Samar. The story ends with a greater appreciation for all of the characters and a sense of awe at the extent of their strength and commitment to one another.

A sweeping saga told in lyrical prose about one Pakistani boy's coming of age during a climate of political and social change.

Ali Sethi's debut novel, The Wish Maker, is an ambitious novel-almost an epic-spanning two decades (plus flashbacks), several governments, and much social and political unrest. Make no mistake, Sethi is a masterful storyteller with a mature voice that belies his young years-he was in his early 20s when he wrote this novel-but I felt that the story suffered from information and sensory overload.

The Wish Maker tells the story of Zaki Shirazi, a young boy growing up in a house filled with women. Zaki's mother is a journalist who writes for a magazine and leans toward the liberal left, while his grandmother is more of an old-fashioned conservative. Zaki's cousin also lives in the house and struggles to find herself throughout the novel.

The pages were filled with scores of secondary characters and it was challenging to keep everyone straight. Additionally, unfamiliar terms and foreign phrases were peppered throughout and I looked up several to give myself a more solid understanding of the story and dialogue.

This book could very well go on to receive much critical acclaim-the writing is wonderful-but for me it had too much going on and ambled along accounting for all the daily minutia of Zaki's days. I appreciated the imagery and characterization but felt that there was no real resolution with some characters and that some of the secondary story lines just petered out.

--Nat @ Book, Line, and Sinker
8.19.09

The Review


I've heard quite a bit of praise about this debut novel from Ali Sethi. I admittedly had high expectations for this novel based on my love of the assumed similar novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Like these two novels, Sethi has written a book about living a live in a country undergoing turmoil and political unrest. However, this story is much different than those written by Khaled Hosseini.

There were parts of this novel that I found to be intriguing and enlightening. I did feel a greater sense of understanding about what has transpired in Pakistan's recent history. Political activities and religious influences have caused great effects on the country's people and culture, specifically on the women of Pakistan and the rights they were afforded. Zaki, the main character, is surrounded by the women in has family in such a great way that he was sensitive to human nature and rights. Zaki was a bright young boy and a deeply introspective thinker and saw the inequality that surrounded him. The reader of this novel comes to sympathize for Zaki and his wishes for a better life, not only for himself but for those who he loves.

What made this novel a difficult read was the structure in which this book was written. There is inconsistency in the storyline which tells the histories of the characters involved. Specifically, the timeline of the story is visited at different intervals of the characters' lives. Therefore, it takes the reader some time to understand where he is at in the story and whose history he is reading about. This, in addition to the numerous characters with ethnic names, made it challenging for me to follow. The "back and forth" in the story line works for some novels, but for this particular read, I would have recommended a beginning to end method of story telling by starting with the Grandmother's life through the ending.

Another hurdle that I faced was the language barrier and method of communication, or lack thereof, between the characters. I didn't find their prose intriguing enough. Much is learned in the overall story telling, however it is effortful to understand their psyches.

One thing that I took away from this novel is the ultimate peace and joy that I was born a citizen of such a remarkable and wonderful country. I live in a land that is not dominated by religious insistence. I breathe and speak in a country in which I am entitled to my opinion and may speak of it as freely as I wish. As a woman, I fear that I never take for granted the liberties and equality that I enjoy in my daily existence. This is not the case in so much of our world... today and yesterday.

On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"


The motto of one of Zaki's schools was "I think and therefore I am." I can appreciate this novel for making me think about and question the inequalities of this world. As far as providing a recommendation, I struggle with that. This book is not for everybody. Of that, I am certain. If the history of this region intrigues you and you are interested in learning more about growing up in Pakistan, this book will be one that you will certainly enjoy. However, for me it was a book that took me considerable time to read and absorb. I felt weighted down by its topic with little hope for the characters. With the stack of novels that awaited my eyes, I felt resentfully trapped in such a sad tale. Therefore, for the genre Fiction:Historical (Foreign), I am going to rate this book a 5 OUT OF 10. However, please note that the average rating on Amazon.com is 3 1/2 stars with nearly every reviewer giving it 4 stars. So, this rating may be specific to my reading interests.