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A review by elementarymydear
Northern Boy: A Big Bollywood Dream. a Small-Town Chance. by IQBAL. HUSSAIN
5.0
What a beautiful and powerful story this is!
We follow Rafi, a young boy of Pakistani heritage who is clearly destined for a life in showbiz.
The story is split into three parts, with the largest part being the telling of his childhood, interspersed with his journey from his new homeland of Australia back to Blackburn for a friend’s wedding. All of the characters leap from the page, they’re so vividly imagined. My heart couldn’t help but go out to Rafi as he fights for his chance to pursue his dreams, and there was a horrible pit in my stomach at the moments where I understood what was going on more than Rafi did. It was heartbreaking to see the way adult Rafi had to hide himself away, and how that affected his own life, happiness, and relationship.
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I thought it was particularly powerful how Rafi’s relationship with performing was depicted. It wasn’t that he wanted to be on the stage; he needed it. It became a metaphor for his sexuality, and how he would only be able to thrive when he was given the space and the environment to do so.
All of this set-up led to an incredible final few chapters. I couldn’t put the book down, I was desperate to know what happened, and how Rafi reconciled the two aspects of his life. The story takes us almost to modern-day, and the changes that have happened in Rafi’s life, in his community, and in the world at large. It was a powerful and uplifting finale, as we saw the puzzle pieces of Rafi’s life finally fall into place.
I received a free copy for an honest review.
We follow Rafi, a young boy of Pakistani heritage who is clearly destined for a life in showbiz.
The story is split into three parts, with the largest part being the telling of his childhood, interspersed with his journey from his new homeland of Australia back to Blackburn for a friend’s wedding. All of the characters leap from the page, they’re so vividly imagined. My heart couldn’t help but go out to Rafi as he fights for his chance to pursue his dreams, and there was a horrible pit in my stomach at the moments where I understood what was going on more than Rafi did. It was heartbreaking to see the way adult Rafi had to hide himself away, and how that affected his own life, happiness, and relationship.
📚Blog📖YouTube📖Instagram📚
I thought it was particularly powerful how Rafi’s relationship with performing was depicted. It wasn’t that he wanted to be on the stage; he needed it. It became a metaphor for his sexuality, and how he would only be able to thrive when he was given the space and the environment to do so.
All of this set-up led to an incredible final few chapters. I couldn’t put the book down, I was desperate to know what happened, and how Rafi reconciled the two aspects of his life. The story takes us almost to modern-day, and the changes that have happened in Rafi’s life, in his community, and in the world at large. It was a powerful and uplifting finale, as we saw the puzzle pieces of Rafi’s life finally fall into place.
I received a free copy for an honest review.