Other Names for Love is a story about a father-son relationship in rural Pakistan. Fahad, the son, is sensitive and more feminine, and his father wants to toughen him up.

I loved the writing. It’s lyrical and tense, and while reading, I could feel the heat of rural Pakistan radiate from the pages. The pacing was relatively slow, and not much was happening, but somehow a slower pacing belongs in a novel like this. The book is on the shorter side, less than 300 pages, so it’s finished before you even know it.

What I didn’t know beforehand is that the story is told by Fahad, the son, and Rafik, the father. Usually, I love a dual narrative but in this case, not so much. While I liked Fahad’s voice, I hated Rafik’s voice. I hated constantly reading about ‘the boy’ instead of Rafik calling his son by his name.

So, while I really liked the writing and the atmosphere, I liked parts of the book less. If you’re thinking of reading this book, please check out other reviews. They might have a different opinion.

Other Names for Love Taymour Soomro

Quite a sad tale about a boy Fahad estranged from his family and living in London, who is called backed to his native Abad, the family estate.

If you don't fit in where you are you have to find a life elsewhere, and these are the elements explored here without quite finding an answer.

There are lots of things unsaid and lots of unanswered questions but it was well written and a tremendous read.

Thought provoking and extremely interesting. I recommend it to readers.

My thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy for honest review.

Other Names for Love is a heady kind of novel, one that sucks you into the setting and makes you feel as though you’re right alongside the characters. It’s a very character-driven novel, somewhat light in terms of plot, but with characters who very effectively carry the story along.

The story spans a few decades, starting out with Fahad aged sixteen and his father travelling to the village where his father grew up. In that village, Fahad discovers himself and his desires. Years later, he’s drawn back to the village to convince his father to leave.

The novel switches between Fahad’s POV and his father, Rafik’s. I thought this was effective—if you had had only Fahad’s POV, you would have struggled to sympathise at all with Rafik, but by adding his POV in, Soomro made sure to give you a balanced view from either participant (admittedly, each biased towards himself, as POVs are wont to be). The POVs also contrasted one another nicely, showing a difference between the two generations.

Perhaps it’s the number of classics I’ve been reading recently, but this is a book that I thought evoked those, in the heady heat of the summer, with its focus on familial relationships, and how those are maintained or broken down, or survive the breaking. Not just Fahad and Rafik’s but also Rafik’s relationship with Mousey, which is fraught, but the death of which is a catalyst for the events of the second half of the novel.

I read this book in the middle of a phase where I just wanted to read something that had meaning, as opposed to something mindless, and I think it fulfilled that remit to perfection. This is a book that gives you a lot to think about, because of the simple plot but detailed character work. It’s a book to read slowly and to take your time over (and we all know I can struggle to do that). Really, a book I would highly recommend.

"Other Names for Love" is a tricky book to comment on. So much of it exists between the lines. That in itself a clever metaphor for the subject it broaches. It's a story of things that are difficult to express, of things that we struggle to say. It talks about relationships in an honest way. The pauses that say more than words. Especially when touching upon dynamics that are less openly talked about.

A story not just of coming of age, but life itself. Our growth and decline The overlapping of generations and the changing world. It's carefully written, with many beautiful touches. The story has been tended like an important crop. And the book is a bountiful harvest. Superb writing.

Absolutely brilliant debut.
It summarises the magic of Pakistan with a beautiful description of nature there. It's a great book on Pakistani relationships between fathers and sons.
I absolutely love the overall message of the book and the characters were so fully fledged that we get to see over a long period.
Anyway 4/5 stars

Fahad, a modern Pakistani man, wants to spend the summer in London, but his father Rafik has other ideas. Dragging his son back to their rural homestead in Pakistan, the stage is quickly set for two people, at odds, to clash under the oppressive heat of this dusty, ancient land.

Soomro's writing has a haunting, lyrical quality to it, almost hypnotic at times. The novel, which switches perspectives between these two, whilst also exploring the lives of others who live in this land - teenager Ali and cousin Mousey - and is perceptive in its simplicity. For a short novel it can pack quite the emotional punch at times.

There are times when the perspective draws back and it does become a little unfocused, but these moments are rare, and do not ditract from the overall power of this work.

This novel is a very strong debut and marks Soomro out as someone to watch. Recommended.

Thank to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Other Names for Love is a brilliant debut novel by Pakistani writer Taymour Soomro depicting the detached relationship between a father and son over several decades. At the start of the novel, Rafik, an influential aspiring politician, takes his sensitive son Fahad out to their family lands for the summer. Fahad would rather be in London shopping and going to the theatre with his mother, but Rafik wants to mould Fahad to fit his idea of masculinity. Both characters are dealing with their own struggles: Fahad is grappling with his sexuality, while Rafik's claim to the lands and the political influence that comes with them is threatened by the arrival of his cousin from London. The first half of of the novel deals with the events of this summer, before we meet Fahad and Rafik again many years later in a world that has dramatically changed in ways which Rafik has not fully understood.

There is such restraint in the writing of this novel - the prose is sparing and a lot goes unstated, while the dialogue is often characterised by miscommunication and distance between the characters - even when we first meet Rafik and Fahad travelling together in a railway compartment, we soon learn that Rafik barely knows his son. At the same time, Soomro's writing completely immerses us in a setting which will be unfamiliar to many. The dual perspectives in this novel are skilfully handled throughout, and this becomes a deeply moving story of love, loss and estrangement. The novel frequently put me in mind of E.M. Forster. especially Howards End, in its depictions of human relations and questions of inheritance, secrets and memory.

This is a highly impressive novel worthy of serious critical attention. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

3.5 rounded down

This is a novel about relationships especially between fathers and sons and how one experience can radically alter and change a life . Fahad has hopes of spending the summer in London with his mother but father Rafik has other plans. He takes Fahad to Abad in rural Pakistan where the family’s large estate lies, which is run like a medieval fiefdom where the people revere and hate Rafik in equal measure. Fahad is uninterested until he is introduced to seventeen year old Ali and gradually Fahad falls under a spell both of Ali and the area.

This is undoubtedly a well written short novel. You feel the oppression not just of the Pakistani heat but also that of Rafik. He is a very harsh man, there are no soft edges there. You sense Fahad’s constantly tumbling emotions especially that of being an outsider, he’s been uprooted here and he’s uncomfortable with the latter a feeling that pervades much of the novel. I find Ali a conundrum, he’s certainly unpredictable, he seems to have a predisposition to violence which he brushed aside as if it’s nothing. Although Ali is a massive influence on Fahad’s life he remains shadowy and I never see him in full technicolour.

The novel has numerous examples of conflict, that of father and son but also between Rafik and many others. This extends beyond the family lands in Abad and strays into the chaotic and cutthroat world of politics.

In the first half of the novel the writing feels hypnotic especially with the young Fahad and there’s a dreamlike quality especially in regard to his experiences with Ali. It becomes sharper in tone later as the events cast a shadow over Fahad’s present and future. Ultimately, you are left with a distinct feeling of uncertainty, a sense of searching for something elusive as the family ties with Abad are cut.

However, despite the many positives not least the obvious quality of the writing, I do have issues with it. There is abrupt switching between the perspectives of Fahad and Rafik which I do not care for as it’s Fahad’s take on events I want to read, not his fathers. It does contrast sharply in tone with the sensitivity of Fahad versus the harshness of Rafik which I’m sure is the authors intention and Rafik is certainly a different man at the end, thank goodness. There is also a continuity issue as it makes big jumps and ultimately I just find the novel sad and strange. However, if you are looking for something just a bit different to read then this will fit the bill.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A hypnotic debut novel about a boy's life-changing summer in rural Pakistan: a story of fathers, sons, and the consequences of desire. I liked the idea behind the novel and the execution of that idea was impressive. The writing style was simple and effective and the overall flow of the story felt very smooth. I read this book in one sitting.

Fahad is 17 when he is called to spend the summer at the family estate in Pakistan instead of in London as he prefers. Fahad is reluctant to be involved with estate life and shows little interest in anything other than reading. But then he is introduced to the son of his fathers friend. Fahad learns much about Pakistan from Ali and has his first taste of love too which causes him to flee from Pakistan and himself in shame. Fast forward 20 years and Fahad's father is visiting him in London and much has changed for Ali.

This is a novel that covers many many years but does so in such a disjointed fashion that it is very difficult to get into. With chapters that flick back and to between Fahad and his father we often get a couple of different views of the same event. It is a novel that requires close reading as things are hinted it, approached and then whirled away from before you can really get a handle on what you have read.

It is super descriptive - there is a very good sense of place but the characters are described almost from a distance, it's like watching the action through a curtain so you only ever get glimpses of the people involved. I am sorry that I couldn't rate this book higher but I just couldn't get into it and almost abandoned it at several points.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is much to like about this book; it creates a world you can feel and the main character shows their flaws and attributes in equal amounts. At times I got a little lost in terms of narrative/plot but on the whole enjoyed the read. (Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review).

Fathers and sons, inheritance, birth rights, acceptance. All complicated and intricately woven.

The only way we can get others to love something as much as we do is to give away or share the ownership of the 'loved' thing. Here I'm not talking about legal ownership but rather the sharing of decisions, the sharing of the care and the 'bounty' that comes from the love.

In Soomro's story Rafik's love for Abad was great but he was unable to share that love with his cousin or his son or the other people who live in Abad, so his love could not then be inherited and continue. I see this in my own life as well, holding on and keeping others away is a short term policy. Sad just like the book left me.

I really liked this book and I still don't really know what to say about it - it was that good. Well written, with a cast of well developed characters and a completely riveting storyline. It is such a powerful and thought provoking book that I will think about for a long time.

Fahad, 17, has grown up in London but his father has decided it is high time he returns to Pakistan to teach him the ways of the family and their estate in Abad. There he spends an initially reluctant but eventually transformative summer, a lot of which hinges on his meeting of a local boy, Ali.

There is no doubt that this book is very beautiful and in parts evocative, you can smell the undergrowth in the jungle, feel the harsh rains on your face. Fahad's relationship with his father is the most important one in this story and we jump between each of their perspectives as well as moving 20, 30 years into the future.

Ultimately I did find it quite disjointed and felt as though as I was being kept at arms length the entire time. I think it really had the bones of a sweeping, generational epic but would've needed to be quite a bit longer for that. The jumps between Fahad and his father Rafik took me out of the story and I never felt like I really got to know either of them.

I would have loved a bit more on Fahad and Ali and how their relationship shaped Fahad's life. I can see a lot of people really enjoying this due to the gorgeous writing and vivid imagery.

Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage for the opportunity to review this book!

It's good to see a queer story from Pakistan is published. Other Names for Love is a book filled with emotions, It is a beautiful story that needs to be read and shared.

Taymour Soomro's first book “Other Names for Love” is a charged, hypnotic novel about a boy's life-changing summer in rural Pakistan: a story of fathers, sons, and the consequences of desire. It is a tale of masculinity, inheritance, and desire set against the backdrop of a country's troubled history, told with uncommon urgency and beauty.
The story is delicate, tender and sad, but it isn’t precisely what the blurb says it is. While Fahad’s relationship with Ali is central to the story, this is not a romance novel. It is much more about family and politics than it is about love. The most important and developed relationship is the one between Fahad and his father. This is in no way a bad thing; in fact the story was much more powerful and poignant than I was anticipating. However, readers should not pick up this book expecting a whirlwind summer romance, but rather something much more deep, complex and personal.
Overall, I recommend this book - it truly is a beautiful masterpiece.

This novel won't be for everyone but it was definitely for me.

The writing was beautiful and the story, though filled with sadness, was beautifully told.

An incredible effort for a debut novel and definitely an author to keep a future eye on.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.