num_pages: 376
description: An entertaining debut novel reminiscent of Zadie Smiths White Teeth that explores the lives of an extended Pakistani family of immigrants in Londonall with a gently humorous touch and fond but wry eye Harris the presumed patriarch of his large extended family in both England and Pakistan has unexpectedly received a small fortune from his divorce settlement with an English woman: 53000. As a devout Muslim Harris views this sum as a burden of riches that he must unload on someone else as quickly as possible. But deciding which relative to give it to proves to be a burden of its own and soon he has promised it both to his extremely poor cousins in Pakistan and to his Westernized college-student daughter. Then in a rash bout of guilt and misunderstanding Harris signs the entire sum away to the least deserving most prosperous cousin of all. This solves none of his problems and creates many more exacerbating a tricky web of familial debt and obligation on two sides of the world until the younger generation steps in to help. With insight affection and a great gift for character and story Dastgir immerses us in a rich beautifully drawn immigrant community and complex extended family. She considers the challenges between relatives of different cultural backgrounds generations and experiencesand the things they have to teach one another. A Small Fortune offers an affectionate and affecting look at class culture and the heartbreak of misinterpretation.
language: English
title: A Small Fortune
publisher: Riverhead Books