Stealing Nasreen

By Farzana Doctor

Stealing Nasreen is a novel about the lives of three very different people, all of whom belong to the same small religious community. Set in Toronto with back story in Mumbai, Nasreen Batawala, an Indo-Canadian lesbian and burnt-out psychologist, becomes enmeshed in the lives of Shaffiq and Salma Paperwala, new immigrants from Mumbai. While working in the same Toronto hospital as Nasreen, Shaffiq develops a persistent and confusing fascination with Nasreen, causing him to bring home and hide things he "finds" in her office. Salma, his wife, discovers some of these hidden treasures and suspects that something is amiss. Unbeknownst to Shaffiq, Nasreen begins attending weekly Gujarati classes taught by Salma, who finds herself inexplicably attracted to her student. An impulsive kiss sets off a surprising course of events.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0978223306
• ISBN13: 9780978223304
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Inanna Publications & Education
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Best Novel I've Read This Year!

I could hardly put this book down. It haunted me when I wasn't reading it, the first time that a novel has had a hypnotic effect on me in a long time. All three main characters are complex, sympathetic, and real. I felt equally absorbed in the story of each one. It is a pleasure to read about a lesbian character who is fully human and whose sexual orientation is a given. I appreciate that Nasreen struggles with neither internalized homophobia nor intense social discrimination. I highly recommend this nuanced, insightful, generous, concise, and beautifully-written book.