The Black-Marketer's Daughter
by Suman Mallick
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Pub Date Oct 13 2020 | Archive Date Dec 15 2020
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Description
When a Muslim woman in an arranged marriage is discovered having an illicit affair with an American man, violent, fatal consequences ensue, catapulting her into the epicenter of a political firestorm fueled by anti-Muslim hysteria.
"A gorgeously written book with a protagonist I'll never forget."
—Lily Brooks-Dalton, author of Good Morning, Midnight- Now a Major Motion Picture: The Midnight Sky
Zuleikha arrives in Texas via arranged marriage from Pakistan, and soon realizes how different life in America is from the portrayals in the confiscated contraband books and movies her father trafficked in to pay for her education and dowry. Having trained as a pianist without ever owning a real piano, she finally has one—a wedding present from her husband. As Zuleikha learns to navigate her new role as suburban middle-class housewife, she begins to feel diminished by her seemingly kind husband’s regular dismissal. She offers piano lessons to the neighborhood kids, and in doing so begins to find her identity and independence.
Everything changes when Patrick—the father of her young son’s friend—signs up for lessons himself. Zuleihka and Patrick grow closer, and Zuleihka finds herself in love for the first time. Zuleihka is caught between being a good Muslim wife and obedient daughter, and following her heart.
Despite how careful she is, the affair is eventually discovered, and leads to horrific violence with gruesome and fatal consequences. The ensuing circumstances catapult Zuleihka into the glare of the public eye in a foreign land, where she finds herself at the epicenter of a political firestorm with both sides using her situation to advance their own agendas.
A Note From the Publisher
Content warning: Domestic Violence
Advance Praise
"Mallick offers an impressively realistic depiction of a woman caught between tradition, family, and her own sense of empowerment."
~ Kirkus Reviews
"The Black-Marketer's Daughter is a key-hole look at a few things: a mismatched marriage, the plight of immigrants in the U.S., the emotional toll of culture shock, and the brutal way Muslim women are treated, especially by men within their own community. Titling it—defining the heroine by her relationship to a man rather than as a woman in her own right—suggests how deeply ingrained that inequality can be."
~ IndieReader Reviews
"The Black-Marketer's Daughter is a beautifully written tale of womanly courage and love, embellished with the poetry of Omar Khayyam. Although male, Suman Mallick has written exquisitely from a woman’s point of view to give us Zuleikha, a fanciful young Pakistani woman in an arranged marriage in America, and her story makes this concise, riveting book a love letter to all domestic violence victims, especially Muslim women. This finely wrought novel offers redemption and a way out from under the patriarchal religious dogma that purports to exalt women but in fact degrades the female sex. I highly recommend this book!"
~ Sherry Jones, internationally bestselling author of The Jewel of Medina
"In The Black-Marketer’s Daughter, Mallick employs careful, measured prose to convey a punishing story: that of a Muslim woman, disoriented and alone in America, who slips further and further into the gears of a society built on misogyny and self-interest. Ultimately, her strongest advocate may be the perception and empathy Mallick brings to revealing the harrowing truth of her situation."
~ Dan DeWeese, author of Gielgud and You Don't Love This Man
"The Black-Marketer's Daughter is the portrait of a woman who endures violence, intimidation, xenophobia and grief, and yet refuses to be called a victim. In this slender novel, Suman Mallick deftly navigates the funhouse maze of immigrant life in contemporary America—around each corner the possibility of a delight, a terror, or a distorted reflection of oneself."
~ Matthew Valentine, Winner, Montana Prize for Fiction; Lecturer, University of Texas at Austin
"This novel reminds us that our lives spring from cultural traditions we must either escape or embrace. With rich language and a keen eye for the details of a small enclave in North Texas, Suman Mallick reveals a complex world hidden within American society."
~ Andrew Mitin, author of Time Spent Away
"In The Black-Marketer's Daughter, Suman Mallick explores the myriad systems by which this world further entraps victims of violence--the law, the mosque, the marriage--and offers us a way through."
~ Matthew Robinson, author of The Horse Latitudes
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781648261541 |
| PRICE | $17.99 (USD) |
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