**Thank you Netgalley, Anar Ali, and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced reader copy of this book**

Night of Power is about a Muslim family that has experienced a tragedy. The head of the family, Mansoor tries hard to provide for his family in a new country after being expelled from Uganda. His wife runs a cooking business, and his grown son lives far away, trying to live a life completely opposite from his father.

This book had the potential to be amazing, but much of it fell flat for me. The pace of the book was quick when usually, a book about family is a bit more drawn out, explaining the characters and giving a lot of background. The characters didn't have as much depth as I would have liked. The plot and the "tragic accident" felt rushed and a bit forced just so the book would have an actual plot.

I did enjoy learning more about the Muslim culture, their traditions, and how the Visrams' living in Canada affected their lives from the moment they moved until the book takes place.

The book is a solid 3.5 stars, but I rounded down because I felt like I disliked more than I liked.

The cover is beautiful and the story is interesting and unique. Great read for those who like dramas centered on families. I enjoyed the first half but struggled to get through the second.

This book had an interesting description, and I've seen a lot of nice reviews of it, but unfortunately, I could not get into it. I didn't finish reading it, and I feel unsure about recommending it.

This is a book about family, relationships, and the immigrant experience as it flows through the family line. This book has a strong main character and an engaging plot, but the writing style is what really carries it to a five star read.

A well-written story with a crisp writing style, Night of Power is a beautiful book with very real characters. It tells the story of a Muslim family with Indian roots, that migrated from Uganda to Canada. The diversity of the characters, along with the author's splendid work on developing them throughout the book, makes for a touching read.

I love that we get to see three different sides of depiction of the Islamic faith. Mansoor's father Govind was a convert He converted from Hinduism to Islam, forcing his wife to do the same. Mansoor, though not a believer himself, marries a devote Muslim woman named Layla. His son Ashif is also not very keen on his faith. We get the reflections of the Ismaili community and their practices through three various perspectives. The difficulty that comes with migrating, and the generation gap between Ashif and his father, is also well depicted.

Though there isn't a solid story to follow through, the book narrates the difficulties of family life, of adjusting to a different culture and successfully shows the message of loving one's parents, but moreover, loving oneself in the onset of a society that's always depreciating you. Definitely recommended.

The book Night of Power tells the story of a family of three who immigrates from Uganda to Canada. The book goes back and forth between their different perspectives, telling the story of their family along with a visit home from the son. I found the book interesting because it talked about a people group that I did not know much about. It also included vivid descriptions of the Canadian setting. However, I thought the book meandered quite a bit in the second half. I was also personally not a big fan of telling the story from the present tense. However, this would be a good book to read if you are interested in stories of immigrants and family drama.

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Mansoor and his family were forced to leave Uganda in 1972 under the order of Idi Amin, South Asians were no longer welcome despite having contributed to the economy and building a solid life there. Being sent to refugee camps in Europe and eventually being welcomed by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau (current Prime Minister’s father) to Canada meant starting over with very little. The family now with a small child move to Calgary after weighing the benefits of each of the Provinces. Mansoor is determined to be a productive citizen and show his son Ashif how hard work can lead to success just as his father taught him. Cultural and religious differences make it difficult for his wife, Layla, to absorb into the Canadian culture but she finds open arms within the Ismaili community and doesn’t feel the same need as Mansoor to bridge the gaps between cultures. Ashif has listened to his father’s words and is now an executive doing well for a blue chip company in Toronto but to the physical and emotional distance now to his parents. On a very special religious night of the year, Lailatul Qadr (Night of Power), a tragic event happens that will break open Mansoor’s family. How the family handles this event and what changes they make to their lives will determine their future.

With the exception of a few minor irritating changes to the time period this short novel was a beautiful story about intention, family and community. There was a genuine honesty to the story that drew me in chapter after chapter.

Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is now available at your local bookstore.

Night of Power is the considered the most holiest of nights in Ramadan. While the title itself connotes a religious and cultural tone, the book actually focuses on the social constructs within a family of refugees. The family in the story are India-Africa-Muslim, having been part of the Indian-Asian Ugandans who fled Uganda in 1972 under Ida Amin (the Butcher of Uganda). However, their past is not a central topic and is only mentioned in a flashback to provide a short background of where they came from. I thought that this might also include Indophobia because of the circumstances, however, Indophobia was not a theme or point that was brought up. The central theme revolves around the broken relationship between the family. It chronicles the dynamics between father, mother, and son.

The main characters alternate between three family members who live in Canada: Mansoor, Layla, and Ashif. The father of the household, Mansoor, strives for success in his business. He wants a better life for his family and is haunted by the memories of his own father. The mother, Layla, holds onto her heritage and religious roots although her husband has made it clear that heritage and religion are not needed in his house to be successful. Ashif, the son, grows to become a busy corporate suit, and his parents fall into his young adult life as ambiguous shadows of his past.

Different priorities and definitions of respect create friction between the family of three. They struggle to look beyond the scars of their relationships with each other in order to heal. Each character struggles with their own identity and assimilating into a new culture that often creates internal conflict.

There are a lot of Punjabi and Arabic words in this book, so I recommend reading it on a Kindle to translate if you are not familiar with Muslim customs.

I really wanted more from the characters and more from the story line, to go deeper and enter the complexity of a cultural climax but felt I only got a spoonful instead of the bowl. I knew this was about family crisis from the blurb, but was interested to see how Ramadan was involved with the story line and that aspect fell short. However, it was still an enjoyable read and I liked it. It's a short read, being only 240 pages. Many thanks to NetGalley, Viking, and Anar Ali for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 stars

I enjoyed this story, it kept my interest all the way through and have recommended it to friends as a book I think they would enjoy.

I recommend this novel as a good reading experience for many different types of readers. I think it especially speaks to readers like me who do not have a lot of history with the Muslim faith and culture. It also tells the story through different points of view so you get a different cultural perspective but also different perspectives within that culture, as you would see within any culture. I think this is especially important now, in this worldwide political climate of nationalism, where countries and societies are turning away anyone they consider different or "other" than who they think they are themselves. Now is when we need ways to remember who we are as people and regain some compassion and respect for all people and cultures.

Definitely recommend.
#NightofPoer #NetGalley

Enjoyed reading this book. Not my typical read. But found it very interesting and a powerful read. Different cultures and people all so very different. Makes for good reading

This novel was not what I expected. It was so much more, it made me cry, laugh and frustrated me also, I loved the message and how it made me feel to read this novel.

This is the story of a family trying to find their way in a new country and of the relationship between a father and a son.

I liked this book because of two reasons.
Reason one: The perspective of the characters. The story is told from the perspective of all three mambers of the family, Mansoor, the father; Layla, the mother and Ashif, the only child. This change in the perspective, which is continuous and well integrated in the story itself, enables the reader to understand the family and the relationships between its members the way, we couldn't otherwise. And we are able to understand that the relationship is burdened by their ideas and their assumptions about the others, which are quite never communicated to each other.
Reason two: a new perspective on Otherness. Differently to other books I know, it's not the father who is protecting the traditions and the beliefs of the old country. He's the one who assimilates and who tries to do everything to be a Canadian. His wife, on the other hand, is the one who is traditional and religious. And I appreciate this change in stereotypical depiction of immigrants.
What I didn't like was the point that I somehow couldn't build a relation to the characters. I stayed an observer who could understand them and their actions, but I couldn't identify with them.
But it certainly is a book worth reading!

Mansoor is desperate to make sure he leaves a legacy for his only son, Ashif. An Indian Muslim from Africa, Mansoor has worked hard since arriving in Canada but has not become as successful as he would have liked.

Since Ashif was a child, Mansoor has drilled the importance of hard work into him, and Ashif is now a very successful city professional. Ultimately, Ashif can't stand his job which is making him stressed and unhappy. He wants only to save enough money to allow his mother and father to finally retire. A tragic event forces the family to consider what is important in life; what they should let go of and what they should hold close. On the Night of Power, their lives will never be the same again, all of them changed in some way.

I really enjoyed the story of a family trying to find their way in Canada, all with different views of what the 'right thing' is. The battle between a father trying to be successful and a son trying to protect his mother, was very carefully written and very believable. The cultural tension and the clash of beliefs within the family and community left me eager to read more, and I read this book in a very short space of time.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

So I just finished this and I did kinda enjoyed it. It was such a beautiful story full of love and hope. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell the characters names but Anar Ali was good at characterisation. The writing style was not that good, it felt old and a bit boring. The ending could’ve been better because..spoilers... The pace was really good, it wasn’t fast or slow and I loved seeing that.

This short novel enables the reader to see two very distinct possibilities when dealing with immigration and the search for a better life. It pushes one to consider the quicksand quality of success and how fast fortunes change with and without our help.

Mansoor Vinsram, like his father before him, is a stranger in a new land determined to make his life a legacy for his family. The reader discovers that Mansoor’s life in Canada is preceded by a life of both wealth and poverty, blessings and great sacrifices. Yet, now this man of India and Africa finds himself at the cusp of a new and bright beginning, the successful legacy he wishes to pass to his only child, Ashif. Mansoor’s point of view is punctuated by those of his wife and son in order to provide the reader with new and shifting perspectives.

“The Night of Power” weaves past and present together to form a story that investigates the defining nature of the relationship between father and son. A son and his parents. A man and himself.