Tells the story of three orphaned sisters who are trying to carve their own paths, deal with their own demons, and more.

Firstly, this is one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a long time. The way the author weaves together the narratives, the languages she uses, etc. It was just gorgeous.

I loved the relationship she also forged between the sisters. You could the ebb and flow of loyalty and family, but also the three sisters trying so desperately to understand their own narratives. The uncle was the one part of story that still has my mind puzzled. I feel like more could have been done for the girls, but bureaucracy would make it hard, I'm sure.

Overall, I really loved this book. It's been one of my favorites so far this year.

Thank you for the ARC!

Definitely gives Mustang (the film) vibes, and paints an appealingly unsettled and complex portrait of trauma-laced domesticity. Perhaps a little less formally/linguistically daring (or at least potent) than I might have expected from Asghar, but I also was confident this would be a top 2 or 3 book of 2022, so my expectations were a bit too high. Excellent nonetheless, especially for a debut, so grain of salt my criticisms, folks.

Thanks for the review copy, I learned about gender siblings, family, and what it is like to be Muslim in America. Very interesting.

This is an achingly beautiful debut novel from Fatimah Asghar. When We Were Sisters is a profound meditation on the bonds of sisterhood, the weight of grief, and the power of resiliency.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

The narrative of the book unfolds the profound connection among three orphaned siblings who, following the demise of their parents, find themselves responsible for each other. The youngest, Kausar, grapples with the unfathomable loss of her parents while navigating her evolving understanding of gender. Aisha, the middle sister, contends with her sensitive younger sibling as she endeavours to maintain a sense of family in an impossible situation. Meanwhile, Noreen, the eldest, shoulders the responsibilities of a sister-mother while also striving to forge her path.

As Kausar matures, she confronts the clash between her private and public spheres, forcing her to decide whether to remain in the familiar realm of love, sorrow, and codependency or embark on a new journey. When We Were Sisters is narrated with exquisite prose and an experimental style influenced by the author Fatimah Asghar's background in poetry. This 350-page book reads swiftly due to its unique structure, yet Asghar skillfully delves into the characters and their coming-of-age tale, exploring themes of family, sisterhood, religion, race, and identity. The story is emotionally poignant, depicting three orphaned girls entrusted to a neglectful uncle who provides minimal care. Kausur, as the narrator, unfolds the narrative, revealing how her sisters initially constitute her entire world. However, as she grapples with comprehending the world and her role within it, she gradually withdraws into herself. The book left a profound impact, evoking deep emotions as it portrays the journey of three sisters navigating love, loss, and self-discovery.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fatimah Asghar shows us the many faces of sisterhood when tested by the constant waves of grief and neglect in their debut novel When We Were Sisters. Kausar, Alisha, and Noreen are suddenly orphans after the murder of their father and the death of their mother years prior. Their uncle takes the girls away from the only home they've ever known and forces them to grow up in a run-down apartment abandoned for weeks and sometimes without food and adult supervision.

Three young sisters are orphaned after the untimely death of their parents. The sisters are sent to live with their uncle and a journey of sadness, desperation and loneliness begin. The audience of this novel will feel for these sisters as they deal with essentially being left to handle childhood and life’s hardships alone. The authors style of writing was not what I prefer and at times I lost interest in the story. Thank you to #RandonHouse and #Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel.

Thank you to @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of When We Were Sisters by Fatima Asghar. This debut novel is about three sisters from Pakistan who have moved to America with their parents. Their mother dies, and their father is murdered. They have one uncle in America who reluctantly takes them in, but his American wife is not happy about this, and he has the sisters live by themselves-the oldest one is only nine when the story begins-in an apartment building that he owns. This is told from the perspective of the youngest sister, and follows them through childhood and adolescence and into adulthood. They go through a lot, including prejudice against muslims and also poverty, and are mostly there for each other. It was pretty dark and sad-sadly I’m sure probably realistic. I liked this one okay but probably would give it 3.5 stars. #netgalley #whenweweresisters #fatimaasghar #bookstagram #debutnovel #lovetoread #bookblog #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #takeapagefrommybook #readersofinstagram #novelreader #bookloversofinstagram #booklover #bookbloggersofinstagram

4 stars- this is one that will stick with me for a long time after reading. thanks netgalley & the publisher!

3.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House One World for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Three Muslim American sisters are orphaned after their mom dies from an illness and their father is murdered. They move to be with an uncle who "cares" for them yet are left alone in a decrepit apartment where nothing seems to work right and many times don't have the money to buy food. The uncle only checks in on them from time to time and it seems he's in it for their families money which he controls. The story is seen through the Kausar (I believe 10 years old at the beginning of the story, the youngest of the three sisters. We see this situation through her eyes of what they deal with - neglect, racism, sexual abuse. .Aisha is the middle and Noreen the oldest. All are dealing with their loss, grief and being uprooted from their home in different ways. Noreen has become their mother figure yet also wants to fit in with American culture. Aisha is dealing with the grief and her crybaby little sister. Yet, through it all, they support each other and persevere to survive what life has dealt them. I most enjoyed the parts where the author interwove her poetry with her prose.

Just like her poetry, Fatimah Asghar's fiction is specific and memorable in its details, and emotionally evocative.

Please see the following link for the review published last year: https://counterclock.org/blog/review-of-when-we-were-sisters

My first introduction with Fatimah Asghar happened through their poem “If They Should Come For Us”— which explores the intricate theme of borders between humanity—in my sophomore year of high school. I remember reading their lucid writing, the wisdom of it, how the words felt warm on my tongue. As a fifteen-year-old who wrote a lot, I was immediately struck by the fierceness, inimitable quality, and the liquidity of their writing where the sentences seemed like an island of themselves.

Flash forward to three years later, finally a high school graduate, I read When We Were Sisters, a novel that reminded me so much of my past, of the time lost but also of the time gained. It reminded me of the utmost bond between the writer and their writing, of artistic resilience and of the complexities of the human experience. In between the lines, I found myself on a precipice of something. A new space.

In When We Were Sisters—a portrait of grief entwined with the complex familial relationships, Asghar explores such space. They write with an urgency that feels poignant and fulfilling. Their world of orphans is resilient yet moving, powerful yet stunning—the tone as sharp as their characters. It is powerful, gut-wrenching yet so beautiful. They explore sisterhood, trauma, orphanage, and how characters connect with the world through a fractured sense of place. A literary manifesto, their work is cited by them as “one of the most difficult artistic endeavours” they’ve ever undertaken.

In the book, Asghar made me believe in language and how it could reach corners nothing else is capable of reaching. The protagonist of the story, Kauser—an orphaned Muslim South Asian girl—is often belittled by the imaginary wall of words she has built for herself. Her intense bond with her sisters, namely Noreen and Aisha follows her from the brink of childhood to the fence above adulthood. Slowly and gracefully, they follow each other’s cabaret, stuck in a time lapse of dense imagination and language which is important to them in understanding the world. They build a home from a torn foundation and lay the bricks one feet apart. Soon, they realize they’re housed in a labyrinth. Their parents are dead. Their uncle call them “prostitute” when they are seen talking to boys. His tone is ambiguous—almost demanding. But in the midst of this all, Kauser appears as a brave character, hoping to make a difference.

As a young person coming of age, I could relate to Kauser a lot. Her growing up and contending with the collision of her private and public life and her decisions touched a periphery in the story that felt thoughtful and subliminal. Whether it is the exploration of sisterhood, trauma, orphanage, longing, or grief, Asghar’s characters spoke out to me. As a person of South Asian origin, I value collective experiences in literature when it comes to storytelling. Kauser both surprised and navigated me throughout the text. She is complex, brimming with emotions. But it comes from a brokenness that seems almost never-ending. Unlike her sisters, she would not shy away from sharing moments of tenderness with her uncle—who otherwise seemed conceited and hostile toward herself and her sisters—because she sees the brokenness behind his dark eyes and threatening face. She visits the lighter parts of him in the sporadic moments like such when he is sitting beside her, sharing what he calls his forgotten past filled with conflict and revolution.

Identity remains one of the key themes in the story. In a 2022 interview, Asghar commented on the issue of representation, saying, “When we are talking about representational burden, in my mind, the ideal goal would be that none of us should have the burden of carrying a representational voice. It’s important to normalise the various ways in which these identities are lived.” While reading this book, I found myself on the precipice on two identities. One dealt with Kauser and her understanding of the world and second with how the reader perceives her. There was a lot that I was still coming to terms with through the worlds of the characters, particularly in understanding the raw aptitude of their internal conflicts. Every time I thought I understood them, the internal world of the story came forth with new complexities to unravel with. It left me wanting for more. Such is the experience of reading this book.

At the end, I was left intrigued by the pressure the atmosphere of the book had created. I was amused but also distorted. I admired the characters for their resilience but also was torn into shreds because of their complexity. Sure, they might not be easy to reckon with, but reading about them made me realize the importance of diverse perspectives in the world of storytelling. Asghar’s world is vivid with lyrical prose that traverses the lines between fiction and autofiction.

When We Were Sisters is a remarkable story about sisterhood, trauma, and grief. To turn its pages is like turning the whole ocean apart, finding pieces of itself in the debris. An interwoven tale of broken places, sadness and grief, the novel will make you sad, happy, hopeful—everything, but all at once.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have read it! What a wonderful book!

Ahhh I read this one!!! First of all, thank you to One World for sending me this after reading Safia Elhillo's Girls That Never Die. I'm honored to have an advanced copy of this beautiful award-winning book. One of the lines that stuck with me is "The world belongs to orphans." Absolutely breathtaking. The book is not too long, and the pace moves consistently. Each character is so rich that none of them felt flat; they all added something to the story. I love love love sisterhood as the core part of the book. Their journeys are incredible. All parts regarding what the protagonist goes through are handled with care, and I am really appreciative of that. Fatima Asghar has written a stellar debut!

“What no one will ever understand is that the world belongs to orphans, everything becomes our mother.”

A book so clearly written by an author with a deep and seamless grasp of poetry, who understands its capacity to tell stories that make meaning out of silences and give many meanings to a single word. A book about family, and sisterhood, and loss, grief, love and rage with nowhere to go. A narrator who grows up in a world where they have to grapple with gender, their broader identity and place in the world, and the role of loved ones and their various forms of absence from a young age. Harrowing, moving, and brief but gripping, this tale manages to leave an indelible mark on its reader from the very beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for access to an e-ARC of this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

as someone who has two older sisters, this one hit really close to home. It was BEAUTIFUL. I related so much.
Asghar has such a way with words and pacing of stories...

If They Come For Us is one of my favorite collections of poetry, so I had high expectations for Asghar's debut novel. When We Were Sisters definitely lived up to all of them and went beyond.

This book is definitely not written in traditional prose. Going beyond just being lyrical, Asghar plays around with the visuals of the text with space, form, and punctuation. It's like her poetry in that sense, and also in the cadence of the words.

We follow Kausar's life through struggles with gender, family, and selfhood. Asghar wrote the grief and growth of a young orphan so beautifully. The story was heartwrenching, especially the short "him" and "her" sections.

It took me way too long to finally pick this book up. This and their poetry collection have made me forever need anything Fatimah Asghar has ever written. 5 stars.

Poetic and poignant, I read this entirely in a single sitting. I so enjoyed Asghar’s first poetry collection and I am happy to report that this novel is just as good, emotional and dark but altogether flawless, give this a read if you’re looking to have your heart cracked open.

The lyric essay or prose poem or flash fiction--whatever category you want to call it, this is the genre I'm most attracted to in terms of craft.

I ran into Fatima Asghar's first when I saw her poetry book at, of all places, Target. I'm a happy participant in the book economy, and if a book like that shows up at Target, then I'm going to participate in the capitalist manner of voting for more quality books of poetry by buying it. I didn't have high hopes--Target, after all, having mostly Kupi Kaur books--but it's a stunning collection.

This book is as well.

I would have loved fewer scenes in which the uncle was inept and more of the protagonist's life after living with her sisters, but this is a small critique.

What I really loved was her use of poetry interspersed between major sections and her use of brackets to indicate voice and trust.

I look forward to Asghar's next book--she proves able to move between genre and voice so well.