The Book of Everlasting Things is, at its a core, a love story that takes place over nearly the entire course of a lifetime. Samir Vij (Hindu) is just 10 years old when he first lays eyes on Firdaus Khan (Muslim) in his family's attar (perfume) shop. Throughout their childhood, the two spend time together and fall in love. But by their late teens, there is talk of partition, and suddenly it is no longer acceptable for the two to associate. Their lives completely upended, Samir leaves for France and Firdaus remains in their hometown of Lahore. Through the years, the two yearn for each other as their lives continue on.
Once I got into this book, I couldn't put it down. But it took a little time to get into it. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Flatiron books for the ARC.

This book had beautiful prose and a beautiful and heartbreaking story. It's one I'll immediately go buy and add to my bookshelf and gift to others.

I love reading books by authors who are of a different race, culture, religion, or ethnicity than me. I enjoy books that shed a little light on a different world view and allow me a peek into cultural experiences outside my norm. I also generally enjoy historical fiction because, although the story is imagined, the events in the historical setting are always enlightening. This story checked all those boxes and I did genuinely enjoy it.

A Hindu perfumer and a Muslim calligrapher fall in love in the early 1940s. As the country gains its independence from Britain, it also faces Partition, in which the religious divide rends the country in two. The Muslims were forced to flee to Pakistan while people who were Hindu and Sikh fled to India. The political and religious divides tear the couple apart. The story spans decades and generations, covering the history of the first World War all the way to modern times.

The language in this story is so incredibly rich and engages all the senses! You can almost smell the perfumes being distilled and feel the luxurious, bright fabrics that fill the rooms. The smell of spicy food cooking and the sounds of life in a busy marketplace are spellbinding. The author does a phenomenal job of drawing the reader into another world in another time. The characters are well-rounded and captivating. These are the elements that kept me reading to the end. This is a rich story in every respect and I am glad I saw it through to the end.

That being said, this book is L-O-N-G! The story takes so many tragic turns, covers so much history, and introduces so much information to wade through that it does get a little cumbersome. If you're looking for a quick, light read to fly through, this is not the right time for you to pick up this book. But if you love a detailed, well-written story full of sensory delights, I encourage you to add this book to your TBR pile.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC for my honest review.

This book piqued my interest solely based on the topic of the partition. I wanted to learn about the impacts this had to the country, culture, families, etc.

Tue story follows two families through a few generations: the Vij who are Hindu perfumers and the Khan who are Muslim calligraphers. The book did a fantastic job with illustrating the cultures and setting. I was swept away by the lyrical writing in this beautiful story. In the end, I walked away with more knowledge of the partition and how heartbreaking the history is.

I will say the book is a bit long and slow, especially at the beginning, because it tries to accomplish quite a bit.

A remarkably confident and skilled debut! This is a sweeping story of inter-religious romance between a Hindu perfumer and a Muslim calligrapher against the backdrop of Partition, which made their love illegal. Malhotra expertly depicts the ways in which colonialism changed and often destroyed families, neighborhoods, cities, and countries, and how those effects wrought changes on individual lives and relationship. Another strength in the writing here is the almost uncanny way that Malhotra captures and expresses a number of different kinds of love: romantic love, familial love, love for one's profession or craft....There is so much here to love, and it will stay with me for a long time.

This was a beautifully done novel, I appreciated that the book is section into multiple parts, it helped to show growth and how the partition messed with families. The story itself is beautifully done and it was a wonderfully done novel. The characters were great and I was invested in going on this journey with this family. This was a beautifully done read and I appreciated getting to read this. I can't wait to read more from Aanchal Malhotra.

“During the war, Paris saw curfews and food ration cards. Only potatoes and leeks in the market. Till this year, there was rationing of bread, and there remains shortage of oil, sugar, coffee, and rice,” Patel told Samir as they walked through the streets. “But in 1940, millions of Parisians fled to escape the advancing German army. It was Paris’s great exodus.”

The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra was a really interesting read.
The story is divided up into several parts, and is about two families pre-, during- and post- the partition of Hindustan into India and Pakistan.

As an American of European/Jewish heritage, this story really resonated with me.
I was not aware of this history before reading the book.
The multi-generational story follows a family of perfumers, the Vij family, who are HIndu,
and a family of calligraphers, the Khan family, who are Muslim.

There is a bit of a Romeo/Juliet plot line, but the descriptions of the work of the perfumers especially were delightful. You really understand the fragrance and process descriptions, and can almost smell the creations.
You long to see the beautiful calligraphy and illuminations that are described as well.

The story kept me very interested to see what would happen next, although this is a pretty long book.
This would be a great summer read.
If I had any critiques it would be that it would be super helpful to include a glossary for those of us who don't speak Urdu or Arabic.

Thanks also go to NetGalley for supplying an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

India, in 1937, Samir begins his apprentice at ittar shop in Lahore. His uncle, Vivek, is a perfumer and sees the boy’s extraordinary gift for sense of smell. He takes Samir to different places to learn the whole prospect of the business. Along the way revealing the art of distillation, history of flowers and its scent, knowledge of ingredients.

One day, a family of Khans arrives at the shop and makes an offer. Altof Khan is skilled in calligraphy and he wanted his daughter, Firdaus, to learn this ancient art as well. He offers a label inscribed by Altaf and illuminated by Firdaus in exchange for a battle of special fragrance. And with the story of this family, the beautiful art of calligraphy is woven.

As the Great War rages in Europe, in Lahore, there is a talk of separate state. How will it affect the people of different religions? The rift between people begins to surface, when the Muslim seller refuses to sell fruit to the Hindu priest.

The two young people, Samir and Firdaus, as they continue study their ancients crafts, their paths constantly cross, and feelings develop between them. But then, when Partition happens of their city, Hindu Samir becomes Indian and Muslim Firdaus becomes Pakistani.

The story has a spellbinding feel, which is given by the art of perfumery and calligraphy. I was engrossed by it at first. After about 30% my interested started waning as the story wasn’t making much progression. As much as I love character driven stories and this magical feel of perfumery and calligraphy, I slowly started disconnecting from the story as at some points it started having that feel of repetition when I wanted the story to progress. I’m also familiar with the conflict presented in this story, so maybe it was another reason that it didn’t engross me fully to the end to find out what happens next. And personally, I’m not into love stories, and that’s another aspect that can keep your interest if you like love stories.

I still highly recommend this book as it does have that magical feel.

Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the kind of rich, sweeping saga that I tend to enjoy reading and I'm sure there's an audience out there for this book who will be sucked in by it and love it. I found myself bogged down in the language (meaning the writing style) and had to force myself to push through it. I'm certain this is personal, me and where I am mentally as I come to the book to read it.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good, but just good. I feel like it was trying to accomplish so much within the story, the historical aspect of the story was not up to par with what I'd hoped and felt a little boring and the romance was a bit dull. Worth the read, but not up to my expectations.

3/5 ⭐

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested in this book for 2 reasons: (1) the description of the plot and (2) the topic of partition, which was not familiar to me. It did not disappoint!

The writing is lyrical prose that is lush and poetic. I liked the characters, their culture, and how multigenerational they were. I genuinely wanted to see them cultivate a life together. However, like so many historic events where people are forced to take sides, mistakes are made. I found myself wanting to see them succeed and yet heartbroken by their circumstances.

So I went into this not knowing a lot about partition. Partition is the division of India and the creation of Pakistan with the separation of Hinduism and Muslim religions. We have the Hindu perfumers, the Vij family, and the Muslim calligraphers, the Khan family.

As other reviewers have commented, this is a bit long but well worth the read. Highly recommend!

Such a beautiful and tragic story. This multigenerational novel is about the division of India and the creation of Pakistan. It focus on the Hindu perfumers, the Vij family, and the Muslim calligraphers, the Khan family. The story is filled with history and customs with a sweet yet heartbreaking love story interwoven throughout.

The love story of Samir and Firdaus was my favorite part of this book. I also loved young Samir’s passion for scents and how he described something that I often take for granted.

I did find this novel to be a bit long and too slow paced. I found myself skimming a lot and then slowing down at the parts I found more interesting. However, I learned a lot reading this book and overall, I really did enjoy it. It truly was a beautiful story.

Thank you Net Galley and Flatiron Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

I will post this review on Goodreads now, and on Amazon after its publication date.

This book tries to accomplish many things. It is a multigenerational story of the Khan and Vij families in Lahore . It is a history of the city of Lahore. It is a history of the art of perfumery and Ittar in Hindustan and France. It is the history of the Muslim art of Calligraphy and illumination. It is a recording of World War I and the aid given to the French by the Indian sepoys- an army of Sikh,Hindu, and Muslim soldiers. It is multiple love stories and a specific tragic love story of Samir Vij, a Hindu, and Firdaus Kahn , a Muslim. It is a heartbreaking tale of the 1947 Partition of British India ( Hindustan) into Pakistan and India and the divisive violence which occurred between neighbors over religion. Neighbors who until that time lived together peacefully in a diverse community. It is a tale of exile- some self- imposed and some because it was the only answer to a family's safety and the lifelong effect of that exile on the participants. As you can see, this book encompasses much and this reader wondered at times if scope perhaps could have been narrowed. All of the information together provided an interesting look in to the history of the creation of the 2 new nations from one and the effects on its cultures and peoples; however ,layered on top of the tale of Samir and Firdaus, it often felt overwhelming .
The reader could easily become bogged down in to reading a documentary or history tome. It was almost as if there were two or more books here: Lahore- its culture and peoples, Vivek Vij and WWI history, Samir and Firdaus and then their descendants tale and how 2 people handle loss differently, and then the tale of exiles, even if self- imposed, affect a person's life. Often during the book, this reader would stop and think about a certain passage- perhaps enjoy learning about the perfumery art but then was plummeted to a many paged tale of the horrors of the trench war of WWI. Then stop and think of that for a while. this jumping from topics did not make for smooth or consistency flow to the read even though each section was fascinating. In its way, it felt like a schoolbook . But then among all of this , we have Samir and Firdaus' tale woven throughout. At times a beautiful love story yet at other times this reader , at least , found Samir pitiful and annoying. I was much prouder of Firdaus. But this may be an opening for a discussion with other readers. I had some knowledge of the Partition before reading this book and even personal knowledge from speaking to someone who lived through it and who at 84 still explained how it had changed all of their lives. Even with that knowledge , I found the book to be eye-opening in may ways. I believe that it is an interesting read and worthwhile read especially for someone without any knowledge of this part of history, I just wonder exactly what the author's initial plan was for the book since it seemed to keep expanding as it went on. It was a slow read for me yet I am glad that I finished it even though i found it exhausting at times. I would recommend it to a reader interested in the history of the Partition and role of Indian soldiers in WWI, or the culture of India/Pakistan but not necessarily for someone looking for a " love story" as I have seen it advertised. I therefore would rate it as 3.5 for a fictional history and only a 3 as love story. There are many , many topics for discussion for a reading group and it would be easy to design questions for a reading guide for book club or group and thus an excellent choice for such.

What an amazing adventure! The Book of Everlasting Things transported me. The author’s vivid descriptions and full characters kept you engaged for decades of the main characters’ lives. I learned about the history of perfumes and the work that goes into producing a scent, truly fascinating! I learned about the heartbreak that accompanied the birth of Pakistan. The vivid scenes of the battlefields of WWI as experienced throughout the eyes of a Indian soldier fighting hundreds of miles from home in a war he did not understand were heartbreaking. I will be recommending this novel to my book club and to all who enjoy reading about characters who seem to leap off the page in settings that are beautifully described. This is a book that will stay with me.

I grew up with parents who grew up just after the Partition of India and Pakistan. My grandparents remember the trauma of it. So I was intrigued by a book that wove this in as a pivotal element of the narrative.

Pros:
-beautiful prose
-compelling characters and complex
-realistic depictions of a tumultuous and traumatic event in history

Cons:
-longer than it needed to be, often due to the prose
-overdone trope
-if you're not familiar with the culture and language, you may struggle without Google or a dictionary

Unfortunately, the Hindu and Muslim lovers separated by Partition is such an overdone trope. It's the central plot of so many books, poems, Bollywood movies, and plays about Partition. This book didn't do carry it out exceptionally well but it didn't do it poorly either.

However, if it's a storyline you find compelling or you haven't been maxed out in it I think this is a good option.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this eARC for my honest review.
Expected Publication Date: Dec 27, 2022