Thank you to NetGalley and Footnote Press for the ARC of this book.

This is a wonderfully compelling story about people, their hopes, fears, and desperation to remain in a country that can be hostile. It is a character-driven novel that is smart, honest, and joyful, with compelling characters.

We are introduced to the unwavering dedication of the staff of Shah & Co. solicitors and the constant stream of clients seeking help. Jamila Shah, daughter of the recently retired owner, works tirelessly with her clients to navigate the challenging process of staying in a country that often feels unwelcoming. Her personal life is a constant struggle, with little time for herself, family, friends, or a partner. Jamila is exhausted, and the narrative builds towards a moment when something must change.

The story switches between Jamila, her clients and the staff, providing a rich portrait of culture and normalcy. A compassionate and empathic novel about the UK immigration system, with determination and hope the thread throughout.

Overall, this was a wonderful debut novel. The author has written a tender and evocative story.

The author of this debut novel (he has during the eight year process of writing this novel written and published non-fiction book about Western miconceptions about Muslims) is a qualified immigration solicitor and this book, about an immigration solicitor, combines two of his academic qualifications – a doctoral degree on the fairness of the British asylum system and a MA in Creative Writing at the UEA.

The central character of the novel, which opens in Manchester in late 2012, is Jamila Shah, twenty nine years old and single, her live is dominated by her work running the family immigration solicitor business that her father (who still acts as something of a mentor) founded.

The book is concerned with a number of the cases that she takes on – with details both of the lives and circumstances of her clients (some of whom become third party point of view characters) and particularly the minutiae of UK immigration law particularly as interpreted by the Home Office (the book is set during Theresa May’s tenure and includes – with a slight shift of month and City – the “Go Home” billboard vans), enforced by the immigration authorities and interpreted by unsympathetic courts. The cases here are different from the current “boats” situation as they typically seem to be about clients who first arrive in the UK from their home countries, live in England for some time and then and subsequently claim asylum or citizenship, with the cases then hinging around the grounds for that claim as well as details of their lives in their home country and since they moved to the UK.

So, for example the first two clients we encounter in detail are: a Sri Lankan Tamil who was tortured by the Sri Lankan army as a wrongly suspected LTTE member but who the Home Office believe is no longer a risk after the end of the civil war (a copy of a Home Office letter setting out this rather flawed logic is included in the novel); a Pakistan lady who the authorities believe is faking her lesbianism to be able to claim asylum on grounds of persecution if she returns.

But we also see Jamila’s life – increasingly finding that the demands of her jobs (which spills over into weekends and holidays) and her clients (often frustrated and angry with her as they see her as the face of the hidden system denying them their rights) are affecting her health and making friendships and relationships impossible.

And while her married sister agrees – her parents are horrified at the idea that she will not dedicate herself to the business her father built (the stresses and work pressures including at holidays and weekends he experienced having impacted on Jamila and her sister’s childhood – but seen by her parents as providing for their futures).

After something of a breakdown at the end of the first section of the book Jamila makes a deliberate decision to put boundaries around her work and delegate some of it to her staff, and rather cleverly the author mirrors this in the text with those staff members (one of who has immigration status issues of his own) taking a more central third party point of view role, particularly at the start of the second part of the story.

The story then moves back more towards Jamila – we see her making tentative steps to end the neglect of her closest friends (one of whom it has to be said seems more of a cipher to represent anti-immigration views – albeit these are given little authorial sympathy) and form a tentative relationship – I must admit I was not sufficiently invested in Jamila as a character (perhaps the sporadic untranslated Urdu in the novel forming part of the reason for my barrier) to be as interested in these passages as those about her immigration practice (with a tabloid sting in which she is caught up proving more interesting).

I was not always as convinced as in that first Tamil case, by the other cases that Jamila takes on: by what she advocates on behalf of her clients and by the unreasonability of the Home Office position (what an Author’s Note calls “the hostile environment” and the “broader culture of disbelief and disdain that informs Home Office decision making”). At times the approach seems to be that anyone should be allowed to come to the UK, to settle and become citizens – and for Jamila this is largely based around the idea that borders/ability to decide who lives where are fundamentally flawed concepts. This idea was of course brilliantly explored in imaginative terms in Mohsin Hamid’s “Exit West” – but for a book rooted very much in present reality it seems to ignore that they do exist and are the basis of nation states – also that its far from clear to me that the Home Office’s practices are more disbelieving than the electorate of the country (whether I or the author agrees with them).

Both Jamila’s friend in her reaction, and the tabloid sting could have been mechanisms to explore this but the novel seemed to introduce them more as arguments/approaches to be dismissed.

Overall, this was certainly an interesting read although I would have preferred if the book had kept more closely to its core subject matter – like her Father I preferred it when Jamila’s life was dominated by her clients and the vagaries of the home office.

I wanted so much more from this book; in a good way! I wanted more compassionate writing about people’s stories, which could well be true, and their seemingly never-ending challenges to try to stay in the UK.

Engaging story of triumph (mostly) against a government-generated hostile environment and the people who navigate the way through it. Educational in its own right, it’s also a story of genuine people and the extremes they’re put through as they fight their way through each day.

This was an interesting book which I enjoyed upp to a certain point. I think that is was difficult to rave about given the subject matter which was centered around the immigrants and there struggles. I think the book was too heavily biased, The desriptive writing was very realistic and well received. Thanks for the ARC to Net Galley.

"Determination" by Tawseef Khan is a captivating exploration of the challenges and triumphs faced by an immigration lawyer and her clients. Through richly drawn characters, Khan delves deep into the complexities of the immigration system, exploring the resilience and determination of those navigating it. With its compelling narrative and thought-provoking themes, this character-driven novel explores family, loss, love and sacrifice.

‘Determination’ is a beautiful, heartbreaking, and compassionate story. This character-driven debut showcases the empathy and love humans can have for each other, but also shines a light on the hostility, anger and resentment that seems to grow towards those who want to make a life for themselves in the UK.
So, what is Determination about? - Jamila Shah is a twenty nine year old immigration solicitor who is forced to seek change in her life after her work causes a breakdown. Whilst navigating how to persue her own happiness, Jamila is also committing herself to helping her clients who are on the cusp of deportation.
This story is not just about Jamila, but also the staff of Shah & Co Solicitors, who also recently arrived in the UK, as well as some of Jamila’s clients.
I felt this book was written beautifully and provided a compassionate story whilst still offering us an important political critique. I found myself feeling deeply connected with all the characters and it was hard to put this book down once I started. I do wish we could have heard more from certain characters but I do appreciate the stories we did get.
4/5 for me and can’t wait for this to be available for everyone to read. The publishing date for this book is June 13th 2024.
Thank you to NetGalley and Footnote Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings: domestic abuse, baby loss, racism and implications/discussions of homophobia, death and torture of asylum seekers