Good Intentions: ‘Captivating and heartbreaking’ Stylist

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Good Intentions is a magnificent and messy love story that broke my heart. Bittersweet and tender, Ali writes about modern day relationships with such compassion. This is a novel for anyone who has ever known what it is to be conflicted in falling in love, feeling the expectations of our families but also ourselves; it is for anyone who has ever felt their heart breaking under the weight of it all' Huma Qureshi, author of How We Met It’s about the unwillingness in him to give them a chance, because he has already decided who they are and what they are, which is something I think we are all guilty of with our parents, when actually, they’re just as human as we are,” Ali says. “My mum is 48, right. So I would like to think that when I’m 48, I will have the ability to change my mind on something. If I think that I could be that person, why is she not allowed to be that person? Why are parents generally not allowed to be those people?” Plenty more to come He does this with many topics, one being race, and the abhorrences People of Color and non-whites have to go through in this crude world. This was a common thread throughout the book but wasn't something that felt overly redundant.

Ever fallen in love with messy, confusing consequences for everyone involved? Then Good Intentions is for you’ Stylist Good Intentions is so absorbing, compelling, and beautifully written. Its ending brought me close to tears—what an incredibly assured debut. I can't wait to see what Kasim Ali writes next." He was wary, he says, when writing Good Intentions, of building a narrative where “[Nur’s] parents are just racist, like, capital-R Racist”, when “it’s actually got a lot to do with how [Nur] perceives his parents.” Writing for me is such an intrinsic part of my life. Now, I’ve been doing it for so long I can’t not write. I’m always writing however … i found nur and yasmina - especially yasmina - hard to warm to. i struggled to root for either of them. i think them having flaws was effective and refreshing to see, however it’s important to root for characters and often i felt disconnected; which could be due to the 3rd person narration. however, i LOVED the side characters - imran and rahat 🥺 every time they were in a scene i got very very happy - they were just so lovable, and i wish i’d felt that way about nur and yasmina. i also loved nur’s siblings - they were such a great addition to the story.I wanted, too, to ask questions that I felt weren’t being asked. Of parents’ expectations of their children, of the way my culture can judge, of the way it can often feed into our very worst traits. I strove for authenticity above all. Throughout this book, we follow the life of Nur, as he takes his course of life through family status, relationship status, and finding out his overall identity. Scared to tell his parents about a girlfriend, Nur tries to balance his family life with his love life. At a certain point, the two worlds collide, and Nur now doesn't know where to go. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration Fast-forward to the summer of 2020 and the novelist Luke Brown, author of last year’s Theft – a comedy of manners about sexualised class war – argued that only women have the freedom to present sexual relationships in ways that are “real and complex” (he singled out Sally Rooney, Gwendoline Riley and Lisa Halliday). Writing in the Times Literary Supplement, he said that heterosexual male desire had been linked so closely to abuses of power that “no sensible man is impolitic enough” to write honestly about the more unpalatable aspects of their experiences of love with women. Men think that to be allowed a place at the table, they need to have the right views and be these nice guys Rob Doyle, author Not because it’s a bad book — on the contrary, it’s an excellent one, earnestly depicting the nuances of South Asian culture and the prejudices and customs deeply engrained in it, even in the UK. But what Ali frustratingly uncovers in his story is the fact that these prejudices continue to impact young South Asians, and can threaten to drive a thriving relationship to its tragic breaking point.

A generation ago the shortlists were dominated by men: the “big beasts” of the 80s and 90s. Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, William Boyd, Kazuo Ishiguro et al in the UK and Philip Roth, John Updike and Saul Bellow in the US. The writers we considered our leading novelists were men. This has changed, and while it is almost universally accepted with publishing that the current era of female dominance is positive – not to mention overdue and necessary, considering the previous 6,000 or so years of male cultural hegemony – there are, increasingly, dissenting voices among publishers, agents and writers. They feel that men – and especially young men – are being shut out of an industry that is blind to its own prejudices. Sutton says people have always read literature by men and this isn’t about to change. But what has “radically changed” is the literary space into which they are emerging. Their status no longer feels dominant. This wasn’t the only time I’d been let down like this. Aziz Ansari’s Netflix comedy Master of None left a bitter taste in my mouth. To watch Ansari’s character, modelled on himself, forego Islam, drink alcohol, eat bacon, and have sex only with white women, felt so unlike the life I had lived. Good Intentions is a magnificent and messy love story that broke my heart. Bittersweet and tender, Ali writes about modern day relationships with such compassion. This is a novel for anyone who has ever known what it is to be conflicted in falling in love, feeling the expectations of our families but also ourselves." Nur wants to be the good son his parents ask him to be, and the good boyfriend Yasmina needs him to be. But as everything he holds dear is challenged, he is forced to ask, is love really a choice for a second-generation immigrant son like him?A frank, moving, and truly compelling tale of the complexities of modern romance, and how family, friendships, society, and our own internalized prejudices can impact upon it. Good Intentions is a beautiful and honest story that I'd defy anyone not to be pulled in by, from a fantastic new talent in contemporary fiction." Sally Rooney, author of the phenomenally successful Normal People. Photograph: David Levenson/Getty Images

There is something of a Sally Rooney vibe to this story about twentysomethings navigating adult waters (the snappy dialogue, the conflicted emotions, the relationship dramas) . . . This timely, savvy novel is recommended." Alluring . . . [A] thoughtful portrait of young people weighing the bonds of tradition with personal identity. Readers will root for this imperfect love until the end." One of the most eagerly awaited debuts of 2022 . . . Exploring race, romance, and mental health problems with disarming candor . . . [ Good Intentions] is a rather clever novel about vulnerability and victimhood that subtly subverts the reader's expectations.” When I was writing Good Intentions, I wanted to write about a boy who wasn’t afraid to be physically and emotionally vulnerable with his friends, who would have conversations with men in his life that were open and honest about how he is feeling. And it’s not a bad thing. Because people like that, like I, exist. And there is strength in being in tune with your feelings,” he says.Feeling the family pressures on choosing the right woman and keeping up family traditions of letting his parents be involved in who he chooses to marry, Nur keeps Yasmina a secret for 4 years, not even telling his parents they are living together. This ultimately has its repercussions on both Yasmina and his family. I was really interested to see how this would unfold. I knew this was gonna be thought provoking and inspire a lot of discussions but damnnn. Shoutout to Kasim Ali though because I loved the writing style in regards to the inner monologues, self reflections and how he writes friendships. As someone who also has anxiety I don’t feel like I’ve ever read it’s symptoms and how it impacts relationships as accurate as in this book. That being said it’s not necessarily Muslim rep and I don’t think it was meant to be.