Rabeea Saleem

Karachi

Psychologist by day,writer by night.✍🏼for @spectator @TheNationalUAE @IrishTimesBooks @ChicagoRevBooks @vol1brooklyn @scroll_in @dawn_com @ETribuneMag

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Articles

The Names by Florence Knapp: what’s in a name?

4 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Rabeea Saleem

Can a name shape one’s destiny? Knapp’s high-concept debut ponders this question with remarkable psychological nuance. The story begins in 1987 with Cora on her way to register her infant son’s name, with her daughter Maia in tow. Cora’s real concern is that she will “formalise who he will become” based on what she names him. Her husband Gordon has instructed her to name the baby after him, to carry on the family’s tradition.
The Book of George by Kate Greathead: The arrested development and identity crisis of a modern man

Jan 31, 2025 | irishtimes.com | Rabeea Saleem

The Book of George Author: Kate GreatheadISBN-13: 978-1805463245 Publisher: Atlantic BooksGuideline Price: £16.99The Book of George is a mordantly humorous exploration of the arrested development of the modern man. George embodies the archetypal traits of the Peter Pan syndrome, depicted by his emotional unavailability, fear of commitment and avoidance of adult responsibilities.
Behind You is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj: A humane portrayal of Palestinian life

Aug 16, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Rabeea Saleem

Author: Susan Muaddi Darraj The prologue begins with a quotation – ”You have to be loyal to your exile as much as you are loyal to your homeland” – which aptly describes the central conflict of the protagonists of this debut, comprising three families belonging to the Palestinian immigrant community in Baltimore, US. Featuring a novel-in-stories structure, each chapter belongs to a different character depicted as a microcosm of the social identity issues affecting them.
Exhibit by RO Kwon: The shame of longing

Aug 9, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Rabeea Saleem

ISBN-13: 978-0349013725On the cusp of turning 30, photographer Jin Han finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Professionally, she feels uninspired at work and is unable to find any of her recent work worth keeping. Personally, her marriage is falling apart. Jin’s husband of 11 years is unable to fulfill her masochist’s sexual desires. She is also feeling betrayed by his sudden change of heart – his desire to embrace parenthood, a feeling that Jin does not share.
Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman: Much-awaited follow-up novel doesn’t quite deliver

May 17, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Rabeea Saleem

Help WantedAuthor: Adelle WaldmanISBN-13: 978-1805221654Publisher: Serpent's TailGuideline Price: £16.99Waldman’s much-awaited follow-up to The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P could not be set in a more different world. The literary milieu of Brooklyn gives way to the world of a big-box store in gentrified Potterstown, two hours north of New York, a popular destination for “the kind who eschewed – or was priced out of – the Hamptons”.
SOCIETY: TRAPPED BY TABOOS

Apr 20, 2024 | dawn.com | Rabeea Saleem

April is recognised as the Sexual Assault Awareness Month globally. In Pakistan, though, sexual awareness remains a controversial topic and it is often falsely equated with promoting immorality and indecency. In reality, it is to the contrary and sexual awareness plays a pivotal role in preventing sexual violence, which is rampant in our society. Sexual violence in general, and against minors in particular, is a crime that is under-reported, with an extremely low conviction rate across Pakistan.
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar: a sublime debut about the meaning of life

Mar 15, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Rabeea Saleem

Martyr! Author: Kaveh AkbarISBN-13: 978-1035026067Publisher: PicadorGuideline Price: £16.99The spectre of death looms large over the life of Cyrus Shams, son of Iranian immigrants and an aspiring poet. He lost his mother as an infant when the Iran Air plane she was in was shot down by US forces who mistook it for a fighter jet, killing almost 300 passengers. A month later Cyrus’s father Ali moved with him to the country that annihilated his wife.
HEALTH: WITNESSES TO GENOCIDE

Dec 30, 2023 | dawn.com | Rabeea Saleem

Illustration by Radia Durrani In the wake of the devastating events in Palestine following the October 7 attack, the issue has fallen under the social media spotlight.
FICTION: BLAME THE AUTHOR

Oct 21, 2023 | dawn.com | Sandie Jones |Rabeea Saleem |Hammad Ahmed ABBASI |Abbas Nasir

The Blame GameBy Sandie JonesMinotaur BooksISBN 978-1-250-83690-8256pp. Stephen King once wrote that writing controlled fiction is called plotting. “Buckling your seatbelt and letting the story take over, however… that is called ‘storytelling’. Storytelling is as natural as breathing; plotting is the literary version of artificial respiration.”If I had to describe this book, I would call it a literary version of laboured breathing.
Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri: A nimble dissection of fractured outsiders’ lives in Rome

Oct 13, 2023 | irishtimes.com | Rabeea Saleem

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