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The Good Children
From the twice Orange Prize longlisted author of BITTER SWEETS and THE FLYING MAN. Perfect for any reader of Booker Prize 2013 shortlisted Jhumpa Lahiri and Khamila Shamsie.
Leaving home is one thing. Surviving is another.
1940s Lahore, the Punjab. Two brothers and their two younger sisters are brought up to be 'good children', who do what they're told. Beaten and browbeaten by their manipulative mother, to study, honour and obey. Sully, damaged and brilliant, Jakie, irreverent and passionate. Cynical Mae and soft-hearted Lana, outshone and too easily dismissed.
The boys escape their repressive home to study medicine abroad, abandoning their sisters to their mother and marriages. Sully falls in love with an unsuitable Indian girl in the States; Jakie with an unsuitable white man in London. Their sisters in Pakistan refuse to remain trophy wives, and disgrace the family while they strike out to build their own lives.
As they raise their own families, and return to bury the dead, Sully and Jakie, Mae and Lana, face the consequences of their decisions, and learn that leaving home doesn't mean it will ever leave them.
THE GOOD CHILDREN is a compelling story of discipline and disobedience, punishment and the pursuit of passion, following the children of a game-changing generation and the ties that bind them across cultures, continents and decades. Painful and sweet, tough and surprising, it is a landmark epic of the South Asian immigrant experience.
Leaving home is one thing. Surviving is another.
1940s Lahore, the Punjab. Two brothers and their two younger sisters are brought up to be 'good children', who do what they're told. Beaten and browbeaten by their manipulative mother, to study, honour and obey. Sully, damaged and brilliant, Jakie, irreverent and passionate. Cynical Mae and soft-hearted Lana, outshone and too easily dismissed.
The boys escape their repressive home to study medicine abroad, abandoning their sisters to their mother and marriages. Sully falls in love with an unsuitable Indian girl in the States; Jakie with an unsuitable white man in London. Their sisters in Pakistan refuse to remain trophy wives, and disgrace the family while they strike out to build their own lives.
As they raise their own families, and return to bury the dead, Sully and Jakie, Mae and Lana, face the consequences of their decisions, and learn that leaving home doesn't mean it will ever leave them.
THE GOOD CHILDREN is a compelling story of discipline and disobedience, punishment and the pursuit of passion, following the children of a game-changing generation and the ties that bind them across cultures, continents and decades. Painful and sweet, tough and surprising, it is a landmark epic of the South Asian immigrant experience.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2014
About the author
Roopa Farooki
16 books73 followersRoopa was brought up in London and graduated from New College in Oxford in 1995. She worked in advertising and it 2004 quit to write full time. She now lives in south east London and south west France with her husband and two sons. Bitter Sweets is her first novel and in 2007 it was nominated for the Orange Award for New Writer.
Her second novel, Corner Shop was released in October 2008 and her third novel is due in 2009.
Her second novel, Corner Shop was released in October 2008 and her third novel is due in 2009.
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February 6, 2017One of the loveliest, superbly characterized books that I ever read.
And my second book by a Pakistani author, as far as I remember.
I didnot even know of the author or this title, when I saw the book in an online Bookchor discount sale. I was attracted by the name, the cover pic and the nationality. Bought it on an impulse. Though bought as second hand, it was mint fresh, and one day, when I was between good reads, I picked it up as it seemed to beckon me from the shelves.
From page 1, I was sucked into the story. I encountered one of the cruelest natural mothers in the history of literature, one of the inefficient fathers, and four lovely children, strong in their own way - two boys, two girls.
This story follows their growth and development as adults, and finally ends when they are old people themselves.
Mentally I walked every step of their individual trials and tribulations, and have the satisfaction of being in a story well told.
I would forever be on the lookout for other books by this author.
And my second book by a Pakistani author, as far as I remember.
I didnot even know of the author or this title, when I saw the book in an online Bookchor discount sale. I was attracted by the name, the cover pic and the nationality. Bought it on an impulse. Though bought as second hand, it was mint fresh, and one day, when I was between good reads, I picked it up as it seemed to beckon me from the shelves.
From page 1, I was sucked into the story. I encountered one of the cruelest natural mothers in the history of literature, one of the inefficient fathers, and four lovely children, strong in their own way - two boys, two girls.
This story follows their growth and development as adults, and finally ends when they are old people themselves.
Mentally I walked every step of their individual trials and tribulations, and have the satisfaction of being in a story well told.
I would forever be on the lookout for other books by this author.
December 1, 2014
Novel set in Lahore, New England and London
The Good Children in question – Sully, Jakie, Mae, and Lena – are the offspring of Dr and Mrs Saddeq, residents of Lahore in West Bengal when the story opens in the 1940s – and of Lahore in Pakistan (though they have passed on) when it ends in 2010. Roopa Farooki (herself a Pakistani, born in Lahore, brought up in London – and now living in the South of England and the South of France) chronicles the life of each child through from the 1940s to what is, in effect, the present. Each child is very different… As late teenagers, the two boys, Sully and Jakie, are despatched to the States and England respectively to study to be doctors. It is the first time they have been separated. Each ends up successful – Sully as an acknowledged expert on the psychological traits of those who kill and torture ‘for fun’, and Jakie as a prominent GP in Notting Hill, London. But getting there is not easy… Jakie was a ‘brown’ doctor in the NHS of the 1950s… with all the unwitting racial prejudice that was involved. It didn’t help, of course, that he fell in love with a somewhat challenging Irish man – a man he lives with throughout the book (and with whom he adopts a child). Sully falls in love with, and marries, a quite ‘unsuitable’ Indian girl in the States. Their mother, Amma, feels let down by both of them… The girls, Mae and Lena, coming from a good family are expected to be trophy wives in Lahore… but they both revolt. They leave Lahore and have careers. They also have disastrous marriages. The reader is left in little doubt that the reason for the scattering of the children is their controlling and thoroughly unpleasant mother who both browbeat and beat them physically into being ‘good children’. Their father, Abbu, is a perfectly pleasing but ineffective player in the novel.
The four children come together and back to Lahore twice in the course of the book – the first time for the funeral of their father, and the second time for the funeral of their mother. Lives have moved on and ‘what might have beens’ are discussed.
The book is excellent in the way it studies the way in which Indian children from a strict family background struggle with, and adjust to, living either overseas with all the inevitable cultural influences and challenges – or, in the case of the girls, simply in the modern world. It goes on to look at the lives of their children, and their children’s children, and how totally different these are to where their parents and grandparents came from. It is a generational book of impact.
It is a book very much in the mould of The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri or A God in Every Stone by Khamila Shamsie. There is a generation of very powerful Asian women writers who easily straddle both Eastern and Western cultures to great effect.
The Good Children is a thought provoking book that examines the impact on people of travel and living in an alternative culture – but still with inevitable ties to where they came from. The theme is one that is bound to become more and more significant as travel and relocation, for both work and play, becomes the norm of modern living. It is a book I thoroughly enjoyed, and have thought about quite a lot since putting it down.
The Good Children in question – Sully, Jakie, Mae, and Lena – are the offspring of Dr and Mrs Saddeq, residents of Lahore in West Bengal when the story opens in the 1940s – and of Lahore in Pakistan (though they have passed on) when it ends in 2010. Roopa Farooki (herself a Pakistani, born in Lahore, brought up in London – and now living in the South of England and the South of France) chronicles the life of each child through from the 1940s to what is, in effect, the present. Each child is very different… As late teenagers, the two boys, Sully and Jakie, are despatched to the States and England respectively to study to be doctors. It is the first time they have been separated. Each ends up successful – Sully as an acknowledged expert on the psychological traits of those who kill and torture ‘for fun’, and Jakie as a prominent GP in Notting Hill, London. But getting there is not easy… Jakie was a ‘brown’ doctor in the NHS of the 1950s… with all the unwitting racial prejudice that was involved. It didn’t help, of course, that he fell in love with a somewhat challenging Irish man – a man he lives with throughout the book (and with whom he adopts a child). Sully falls in love with, and marries, a quite ‘unsuitable’ Indian girl in the States. Their mother, Amma, feels let down by both of them… The girls, Mae and Lena, coming from a good family are expected to be trophy wives in Lahore… but they both revolt. They leave Lahore and have careers. They also have disastrous marriages. The reader is left in little doubt that the reason for the scattering of the children is their controlling and thoroughly unpleasant mother who both browbeat and beat them physically into being ‘good children’. Their father, Abbu, is a perfectly pleasing but ineffective player in the novel.
The four children come together and back to Lahore twice in the course of the book – the first time for the funeral of their father, and the second time for the funeral of their mother. Lives have moved on and ‘what might have beens’ are discussed.
The book is excellent in the way it studies the way in which Indian children from a strict family background struggle with, and adjust to, living either overseas with all the inevitable cultural influences and challenges – or, in the case of the girls, simply in the modern world. It goes on to look at the lives of their children, and their children’s children, and how totally different these are to where their parents and grandparents came from. It is a generational book of impact.
It is a book very much in the mould of The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri or A God in Every Stone by Khamila Shamsie. There is a generation of very powerful Asian women writers who easily straddle both Eastern and Western cultures to great effect.
The Good Children is a thought provoking book that examines the impact on people of travel and living in an alternative culture – but still with inevitable ties to where they came from. The theme is one that is bound to become more and more significant as travel and relocation, for both work and play, becomes the norm of modern living. It is a book I thoroughly enjoyed, and have thought about quite a lot since putting it down.
July 4, 2014
Thank you to Headline/Tinder for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review
I can't wait any longer, I must share this book with you, if you are heading off on holiday you need to pack this in your luggage, you need this book in your life - now! This book is beautiful from the cover to the words on this inside, it is that good!
Now I will stop gushing for a minute and actually tell you about the story, it is about four siblings growing up in Lahore in the 1940's, two boys and two girls - Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana, living with their father and their tyrannical mother in a houseful of servants. The story charts their lives and also their future lives as the boys leave their family home and set up new lives in the US and the UK and the girls become trophy wives for their lucky husbands.
Their tyrant of a mother wants to control all of their lives, she is a cruel manipulative woman who constantly wants to get her own way and be the centre of attention, when the oldest daughter Mae prepares to get married she outwits her mother at her own game by becoming better than her mother at everything which needless to say sends her mother in to a spiral of despair as she sees her daughter take over her role but Mae's big day is ruined by her mother revealing a surprise of her own one that goes horribly wrong. The boys also "rebel" by falling in love with unsuitable people, Sully with an unsuitable Indian girl Radhika and Jakie falls madly in love with a white Irishman, not the partners their mother would have chosen, all four of them make their own way in the world, the way they want to live.
The story I feel is like a book of two shades, the earlier part of the story when they are still in their youth is so vibrant and colourful but as you visit them later in life the story seem darker as they leave the boys leave their lives behind in Lahore to start their new lives in the US and the UK it feels like the colour has been drained from their lives to begin with.
The Good Children is an amazing book, I am not even going to tell you anymore about it apart from it just blew me away, I don't know what I expected but I loved the fact that the children in the story broke away from tradition and live their lives the way that's best for them. It is a nice thick book and I didn't feel the story lagged at any point as some sizeable books can, the characters are beautifully written and the world around them is very well described. I enjoyed it so much I'm going to take it on holiday with me in September, it will make my 9 hours flight more enjoyable!
The Good Children is awarded 5 out of 5
I can't wait any longer, I must share this book with you, if you are heading off on holiday you need to pack this in your luggage, you need this book in your life - now! This book is beautiful from the cover to the words on this inside, it is that good!
Now I will stop gushing for a minute and actually tell you about the story, it is about four siblings growing up in Lahore in the 1940's, two boys and two girls - Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana, living with their father and their tyrannical mother in a houseful of servants. The story charts their lives and also their future lives as the boys leave their family home and set up new lives in the US and the UK and the girls become trophy wives for their lucky husbands.
Their tyrant of a mother wants to control all of their lives, she is a cruel manipulative woman who constantly wants to get her own way and be the centre of attention, when the oldest daughter Mae prepares to get married she outwits her mother at her own game by becoming better than her mother at everything which needless to say sends her mother in to a spiral of despair as she sees her daughter take over her role but Mae's big day is ruined by her mother revealing a surprise of her own one that goes horribly wrong. The boys also "rebel" by falling in love with unsuitable people, Sully with an unsuitable Indian girl Radhika and Jakie falls madly in love with a white Irishman, not the partners their mother would have chosen, all four of them make their own way in the world, the way they want to live.
The story I feel is like a book of two shades, the earlier part of the story when they are still in their youth is so vibrant and colourful but as you visit them later in life the story seem darker as they leave the boys leave their lives behind in Lahore to start their new lives in the US and the UK it feels like the colour has been drained from their lives to begin with.
The Good Children is an amazing book, I am not even going to tell you anymore about it apart from it just blew me away, I don't know what I expected but I loved the fact that the children in the story broke away from tradition and live their lives the way that's best for them. It is a nice thick book and I didn't feel the story lagged at any point as some sizeable books can, the characters are beautifully written and the world around them is very well described. I enjoyed it so much I'm going to take it on holiday with me in September, it will make my 9 hours flight more enjoyable!
The Good Children is awarded 5 out of 5
January 13, 2020
This book should actually be titled “Ridiculous Mother And Obnoxious Children”.
“Good Children” narrates the story of four Punjabi siblings brought up in Lahore by their disciplinarian and somewhat mentally disturbed/emotionally distant mother, who lives to keep up appearances and their father who lurks somewhere in the shadows as far as parenting is concerned.
The story is divided into three parts, the first ranging from 1938-1961, the second from 1961-1997 and the last from 1961-2009.
The timeline itself is sort of crazy and disruptive to the narrative that jumps between all four siblings.
The two boys Sully (Sulaman Saddeq) and Jakie (Jamal Kamal) and girls Mae (Maryam) and Lana (Leena).
For starters, it’s a bit of an overstretch that a muslim household in 1938 was totally English in all habits and mannerisms plus the names of all children?!
The two boys to further their education are sent to The United States and The United Kingdom respectively where they live as they please, marry whom they will but the readers somehow need to believe that their strict upbringing and distant mother is responsible for their discontented selves.
The daughters get married early and with their consent at young ages due to society and pressure from their mother but are both divorced/separated within a few years (where is societal pressure now?
P.S. I’m not advocating forced or unhappy marriages just stating how it all feels out of place in this story).
.
The representation of religion is done very poorly and in trying very hard to be relevant to multiple themes the story keeps losing the plot every time.
This book felt like a lost opportunity and even though I love reading about relationship dynamics and family sagas this one was a disappointment.
“Good Children” narrates the story of four Punjabi siblings brought up in Lahore by their disciplinarian and somewhat mentally disturbed/emotionally distant mother, who lives to keep up appearances and their father who lurks somewhere in the shadows as far as parenting is concerned.
The story is divided into three parts, the first ranging from 1938-1961, the second from 1961-1997 and the last from 1961-2009.
The timeline itself is sort of crazy and disruptive to the narrative that jumps between all four siblings.
The two boys Sully (Sulaman Saddeq) and Jakie (Jamal Kamal) and girls Mae (Maryam) and Lana (Leena).
For starters, it’s a bit of an overstretch that a muslim household in 1938 was totally English in all habits and mannerisms plus the names of all children?!
The two boys to further their education are sent to The United States and The United Kingdom respectively where they live as they please, marry whom they will but the readers somehow need to believe that their strict upbringing and distant mother is responsible for their discontented selves.
The daughters get married early and with their consent at young ages due to society and pressure from their mother but are both divorced/separated within a few years (where is societal pressure now?
P.S. I’m not advocating forced or unhappy marriages just stating how it all feels out of place in this story).
.
The representation of religion is done very poorly and in trying very hard to be relevant to multiple themes the story keeps losing the plot every time.
This book felt like a lost opportunity and even though I love reading about relationship dynamics and family sagas this one was a disappointment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2019
Beautifully written story about 4 very different children who have grown up with what to me looks like a mother with narcisstic personality disorder (perhaps I am not considering the strong cultural influence of the mother’s background here- although I am aware of it as my parents are from the same area). Parenting this way (completely devoid of warmth) has such dire psychological consequences for the children especially Sully. However each of the children have their strengths and manage to muddle through life and succeed in some way. I particularly empathized with Sully throughout this book. I enjoyed this book and would give it 4 stars.
February 20, 2015
First of all, a big thank you to Book Bridgr and Tinder Press for allowing me to read a copy of this fantastic novel. The author, Roopa Farooki has been long-listed twice for the Orange Prize (now Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction) for her novels, Bitter Sweets and The Flying Man and after reading this beautifully written tale of how a mother’s love affects her children in different ways, I can definitely see why. It tells the story of four siblings – two boys, Sully and Jakie and two girls, Mae and Lana who grow up in 1940’s Lahore, Pakistan during the time of the partition under an authoritarian and controlling mother whose behaviour to her children is a mixture of emotional, mental and physical abuse as she tries to bring them up as “good” children.
Sully and Jakie are sent overseas to America and London respectively to become doctors and are each very successful in their field but the looming shadow of their past and their mother’s influence haunts both and ends up influencing their life decisions. Sully ends up marrying a very “unsuitable” Indian girl and Jakie falls in love with an Irish man in a time when homosexuality was still very much frowned upon. The fact that he is a Pakistani doctor in the NHS in the 1950’s also makes his life very difficult, as racial prejudice was rife and he faces challenges every day both in his career and his love-life which also proves to be a rocky road. Mae and Lana, the girls left behind are expected to make good marriages because of the status of their own family and the disappointment of their mother in her sons who appear to have failed her. Both girls succeed in marrying well initially but have their own problems and indeed tragedies within the marriages. The siblings return home twice – for their fathers then their mothers funeral where it becomes obvious how much power their past has over them and how it has affected their whole lives as a result.
The novel is split up into different sections allowing the reader to “hear” from each character individually and covers the time period 1938-2009. I loved hearing from each character although I don’t feel we got to hear as much from the second daughter, Lana which was a shame. However, what I did hear was wonderful. As the oldest son, Sully probably struggles the most with his mother’s influence which seems to affect his whole personality and as a result, sadly, his marriage. Jakie, as I mentioned before has enough to deal with as regards racial and homophobic prejudice but his relationship with Frank, a challenging yet loveable character is also threatened. I really enjoyed reading about Mae who I felt was the strongest and most independent sibling of them all. I gave a little cheer every time she was able to stand up to her mother or when she decided to forge her own path in life, going against everything her culture (and mother) dictated. One of the many beautiful things about this novel has to be the powerfulness of the characters. In fact, once I finished, I felt like I knew them intimately and felt connected to their struggles. I think the author also tackles a range of difficult subjects, like family values, culture, homosexuality, racism (to name a few), with ease and finesse which left me with a lot to think about long after I had finished. I will definitely be reading more from Roopa Farooki and I hope this book gets the acclaim it deserves.
For my full review please go to http://www.bibliobeth.com
Sully and Jakie are sent overseas to America and London respectively to become doctors and are each very successful in their field but the looming shadow of their past and their mother’s influence haunts both and ends up influencing their life decisions. Sully ends up marrying a very “unsuitable” Indian girl and Jakie falls in love with an Irish man in a time when homosexuality was still very much frowned upon. The fact that he is a Pakistani doctor in the NHS in the 1950’s also makes his life very difficult, as racial prejudice was rife and he faces challenges every day both in his career and his love-life which also proves to be a rocky road. Mae and Lana, the girls left behind are expected to make good marriages because of the status of their own family and the disappointment of their mother in her sons who appear to have failed her. Both girls succeed in marrying well initially but have their own problems and indeed tragedies within the marriages. The siblings return home twice – for their fathers then their mothers funeral where it becomes obvious how much power their past has over them and how it has affected their whole lives as a result.
The novel is split up into different sections allowing the reader to “hear” from each character individually and covers the time period 1938-2009. I loved hearing from each character although I don’t feel we got to hear as much from the second daughter, Lana which was a shame. However, what I did hear was wonderful. As the oldest son, Sully probably struggles the most with his mother’s influence which seems to affect his whole personality and as a result, sadly, his marriage. Jakie, as I mentioned before has enough to deal with as regards racial and homophobic prejudice but his relationship with Frank, a challenging yet loveable character is also threatened. I really enjoyed reading about Mae who I felt was the strongest and most independent sibling of them all. I gave a little cheer every time she was able to stand up to her mother or when she decided to forge her own path in life, going against everything her culture (and mother) dictated. One of the many beautiful things about this novel has to be the powerfulness of the characters. In fact, once I finished, I felt like I knew them intimately and felt connected to their struggles. I think the author also tackles a range of difficult subjects, like family values, culture, homosexuality, racism (to name a few), with ease and finesse which left me with a lot to think about long after I had finished. I will definitely be reading more from Roopa Farooki and I hope this book gets the acclaim it deserves.
For my full review please go to http://www.bibliobeth.com
July 31, 2014
Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana live in 1940's Lahore during the difficult period of partition. Their life is further compounded by struggling to be the "good children" their controlling and manipulative mother demands them to be.
The book follows their lives as they leave the Punjab to study, find partners, get married and raise families. Despite their intelligence and awareness of how they were all manipulated by their mother, it is apparent that her influence was all pervasive. Throughout their lives it seems they can never escape the need to be seen to be doing the right thing. Even as they return as adults to bury their parents, it is clear that they cannot bury the past and are still programmed to be the good children their mother desired.
I really enjoyed this book and quickly found I was taking sides with the children and hoped that as they grew they would escape their mothers clutches and become their own person. Each child followed a different path with varying degrees of success and it was interesting to follow their progress. Following them from 1940 to the present day also provided an interesting insight into the social mores and prejudices that was part and parcel of growing up as an immigrant. It was also a revealing insight into the changing role of women who become increasing influenced by a Western Culture and refused to submit to the traditional roles their native society placed on them.
If want an interesting read that is informative and thought provoking as well as satisfying and enjoyable then try this book - you won't be disappointed.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
The book follows their lives as they leave the Punjab to study, find partners, get married and raise families. Despite their intelligence and awareness of how they were all manipulated by their mother, it is apparent that her influence was all pervasive. Throughout their lives it seems they can never escape the need to be seen to be doing the right thing. Even as they return as adults to bury their parents, it is clear that they cannot bury the past and are still programmed to be the good children their mother desired.
I really enjoyed this book and quickly found I was taking sides with the children and hoped that as they grew they would escape their mothers clutches and become their own person. Each child followed a different path with varying degrees of success and it was interesting to follow their progress. Following them from 1940 to the present day also provided an interesting insight into the social mores and prejudices that was part and parcel of growing up as an immigrant. It was also a revealing insight into the changing role of women who become increasing influenced by a Western Culture and refused to submit to the traditional roles their native society placed on them.
If want an interesting read that is informative and thought provoking as well as satisfying and enjoyable then try this book - you won't be disappointed.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
July 18, 2014
This wonderfully absorbing family saga tells the story of four siblings – Sully, Jakie and their sisters Mae and Lana – growing up with their manipulative and controlling wicked witch of a mother in Lahore, and learning to forge lives for themselves away from her influence. Set in Pakistan, the US and England, the novel covers decades as the four explore what it means to be “good”, something their mother insisted always that they had to be. The author delves into the issues ofobedience and disobedience and how far we are willing to do what we are told, referencing at the beginning the infamous Milgram experiments. This is a long novel, but never drags and no episode feels superfluous. The characterisation is complex and convincing. The way each of them builds a life is described in detail and always feels authentic. Their relationship with their mother hangs like a pall over the whole book, and the scenes with her are frighteningly real. I enjoyed this marvellously engrossing novel from beginning to end, and closed it feeling that I really knew these people. This is the first Roopa Farooki novel I have read, and I will certainly be exploring more of her writing. I can’t praise this one highly enough and recommend it wholeheartedly.
September 7, 2014
I found this book riveting to read. I was really impressed with the authors depiction of the conflicting emotions the characters were able to express. Living up to their mother's standards is an impossible task, but at the same time I could appreciate the level of ambition that might have been necessary to succeed as doctors despite the reflected glory that was embraced by the mother to further her own social standing and satiate her own selfish desires. This book also reinforces my own perceptions of how complicated family structures and positions within the family can be. I will go on to read other books by this author, she has a real gift.
September 12, 2016
Words can't express how much I really love this book, wow Farooki's writing is so powerful that it was difficult for me to go to sleep at night and couldn't help but think what is going to happen next. This book is highly recommended for anyone!
August 7, 2014
A thoroughly absorbing family saga with a message - take responsibility for your own life and destiny, don't blame your parents
October 18, 2015
I liked it, but it dragged in places.
May 15, 2023
I'm a little disappointed having to give two stars to this beautiful piece of work. I could give it five if I was judging solely based on beauty of the language. Having read Roopa Farooki's Bitter Sweets and enjoying it, I was quite confused emotionally by how unenthralling this book is. All the characters gave me surface level connection despite all the emotional turmoil they experienced growing up in a strict household in which I could relate with quite closely having come from the same culture and background albeit in a different country. I wanted to give up on it at several points but pushed through until I was halfway. I have no desire to continue which is a bit sad. However, I did contemplate the possibility that she's trying to portray how the rich Pakistani's life is so boring and self-centered, and their problems even after moving to the UK or the US is very normal and still boring because really there's just the Pakistani son who is a doctor but is gay, and the other Pakistani son who married a Hindu Indian girl. The two girls who stayed behind were opposites of each other where the eldest girl who is angrier and more resentful of their lifestyle was married to an old doctor who ended up cheating on her with a younger girl after several years of marriage and a daughter causing her to move to another city and start her own business in a time where working girls are considered low-class; and the youngest girl who is portrayed as wise beyond her years who also married, have kids, moved to another city but is quietly content. They grew up during partition but they weren't touched by the political situation very much so there was no real indication of challenges. Seriously, boring. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone interested in Pakistani life and culture as there seems to be no lessons to be gained.
April 15, 2021
Solid 4.5! This book has been out for a while, why nobody else is talking about it???
This is an amazing so well-crafted story of four siblings who were raised by an unconventional mean mother in Lahore, Pakistan.
“She grieves for the living; those who are falling apart, their pieces shattering on the ground, scattering with the wind. For those who do not believe, or belong. For those who have lived with the opposites of love, with hate and loneliness. The blood bursting from their open wounds like poppies springing from broken ground.”
The story follows these four siblings, Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana since they were kids until they become grown-ups with families of their own and with their own lives, which spread on different parts of the world.
The narrative moves us back and forth constantly letting us see why each one of them is the way it is and what triggered their personality traits and faults. The characterization was awesome, these siblings couldn't be more different one from the other and knowing how differently each one of them dealt with life was amazing. My favorite POV was probably Sully's, as the older brother he's the one with more things to work out and by the end, you do see a big difference in him—in all of them, really but his growth is the most noticeable.
“I'm afraid of myself. Afraid of being happy.”
The books moves us not only through Lahore but also through the US and England and there's a big nice set of characters besides our protagonists which have their own part in the overall story.
It's an amazing family saga full of love, friendship, partnership, wit and awesome writing. Highly recommend this book!
This is an amazing so well-crafted story of four siblings who were raised by an unconventional mean mother in Lahore, Pakistan.
“She grieves for the living; those who are falling apart, their pieces shattering on the ground, scattering with the wind. For those who do not believe, or belong. For those who have lived with the opposites of love, with hate and loneliness. The blood bursting from their open wounds like poppies springing from broken ground.”
The story follows these four siblings, Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana since they were kids until they become grown-ups with families of their own and with their own lives, which spread on different parts of the world.
The narrative moves us back and forth constantly letting us see why each one of them is the way it is and what triggered their personality traits and faults. The characterization was awesome, these siblings couldn't be more different one from the other and knowing how differently each one of them dealt with life was amazing. My favorite POV was probably Sully's, as the older brother he's the one with more things to work out and by the end, you do see a big difference in him—in all of them, really but his growth is the most noticeable.
“I'm afraid of myself. Afraid of being happy.”
The books moves us not only through Lahore but also through the US and England and there's a big nice set of characters besides our protagonists which have their own part in the overall story.
It's an amazing family saga full of love, friendship, partnership, wit and awesome writing. Highly recommend this book!
June 10, 2021
According to my kindle, I had read this before. I had no recollection at all so I decided to read it again.
It did not disappoint.
A wonderful book about a Pakistani family told across 2 generations. The 4 children are all brought up by their fierce and difficult mother to try to be good. Yet they are never good enough for her.
the chapters each focus on one of the children, both in the present and the past, and their lives unfurl before you. they are interwoven, but not in an unbelievable way. You get a real sense of each as an individual and how they grow and blossom into themselves, yet how they are all inextricably linked to each other and their mother in particular.
I am really glad I read this again - I started to remember quite a bit as I re-read it, but also gained a whole lot more from the experience.
definitely recommend
It did not disappoint.
A wonderful book about a Pakistani family told across 2 generations. The 4 children are all brought up by their fierce and difficult mother to try to be good. Yet they are never good enough for her.
the chapters each focus on one of the children, both in the present and the past, and their lives unfurl before you. they are interwoven, but not in an unbelievable way. You get a real sense of each as an individual and how they grow and blossom into themselves, yet how they are all inextricably linked to each other and their mother in particular.
I am really glad I read this again - I started to remember quite a bit as I re-read it, but also gained a whole lot more from the experience.
definitely recommend
March 17, 2019
Such a beautiful story! Deep characters, the plot flows flawlessly and laced with emotions. The writing style is so powerful that sometimes I feel strong emotion when reading and I need to take a break for a while.
It was a lovely story about family, siblings, and how even a dysfunctional family will stick together at the end. That everyone in the family has their own role and no matter how much someone tries to mold you into something else or how much you try to escape your role, you will come back to it some day.
I especially enjoy the dynamic between the four siblings and how their character development grows from childhood to adolescent to adulthood to senior. It feels so real and easily relatable.
It was a lovely story about family, siblings, and how even a dysfunctional family will stick together at the end. That everyone in the family has their own role and no matter how much someone tries to mold you into something else or how much you try to escape your role, you will come back to it some day.
I especially enjoy the dynamic between the four siblings and how their character development grows from childhood to adolescent to adulthood to senior. It feels so real and easily relatable.
September 15, 2021
A book the sweeps through the years and studies the relationships of siblings, every aspect of their lives is dissected and analysed with wonderful descriptions that bring the characters alive.
It never ceases to amaze how children from one family, who have all been brought up in the same household, differ so much in character and this book shows this beautifully. The characters are drawn so intimately that you can almost second guess their feelings and next steps. It is the wonder of the human condition and how the human being as a parent is maybe one of the most interesting species.
A good solid book exploring a different culture beautifully and wonderfully evoking the angst, love, fun and hurt of that culture as the children grow and develop. At the same time, it shows we are all the same in the way we as individuals deal with life and that differences in culture do not change that.
May 5, 2017
This was a book club read and something I wouldn't necessarily have picked up as I'm in a non-fiction phase at the moment. However I really enjoyed this and it was a biggie for me (484 pages). The book is all about love. Fraternal, maternal, controlling, dark, adoptive, pure and passionate - among others. The book centres around the four children's lives and how their mother has influenced them with her cold and manipulative parenting. The author gave us just enough to wonder whether the mother was to be pitied, and then whether she was just a cold hard sociopath. The book felt really well written and thought out. Themes and motifs cropped up cleverly throughout.
Read
August 8, 2019Dnf'd at 130-something pages, so I won't be rating this. I've had it on my bedside table for months and I never want to reach for it, my eyes gloss over it completely. It's not that it's bad, I just felt bored with it, to be honest. I'm in a bit of slump anyway, and I can't afford to waste my time forcing myself to read something that just isn't gripping me.
This is a good contender for something I might come back to in the future when I'm in a better mood, but let's be real, I probably won't be doing that. I'm still intrigued by the author so I might search for some of her other works next time I'm at the library.
This is a good contender for something I might come back to in the future when I'm in a better mood, but let's be real, I probably won't be doing that. I'm still intrigued by the author so I might search for some of her other works next time I'm at the library.
Read
January 7, 2020 I accidentally stumbled on this book in the library and i must say..... i am inlove with Roopa Farooki's writings. The significant characterization of the characters, and how all their journeys are followed...its just amazing.The way each and every character grows, Roopa doesnt reveal everything bu t enough to fill the gabs and still enjoy the book. I love how love is portrayed, it just surreal. My personal favourite; Jackie, and i love mostly how his love with Frank is displayed. Even though we give love our all, we can still lose it. I cried and rejoiced with the characters. It was just amazing.... I love 'the good children'
February 20, 2017
Roopa Farooki’s ‘The Good Children’ focuses on the lives of the Suddeq family in Lahore, the Punjab.
From birth, the Suddeq children – Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana – are pushed into set roles determined by their gender and by social expectations. The boys will study, go abroad for education and return as successful doctors. The girls will be dutiful daughters, marry well and help to keep the family in the highest social standing.
But their mother’s determination to force them into these ideals of ‘good children’ forces a wedge between her and her children. All four grow up to rebel and push the boundaries in their own way – Sully marries outside of his religion and Jakie falls in love with a white Irishman, while the girls leave their husbands and raise their children with Western values.
Despite scattering to all corners of the globe to escape their mother’s grasp over their lives, their childhood in the Punjab profoundly affects all four of the children. As they build their lives in new surroundings and carve their own path away from family and cultural expectations, they all struggle to some extent with feelings of enduring guilt or resentment. Many years later, they are drawn back to their childhood home and forced to come to terms with their upbringing and the choices they’ve made since.
Sullly in particular takes a lot longer than his siblings to come to terms with his childhood, and it’s only through the support and insight of his brother and sisters that both he and us as readers can finally come to a sort of resolution.
Their mother is portrayed almost exclusively badly throughout the book. The imagery that surrounds her is intense. She’s often described as a spider, a witch, reaching out to control those around her with claws or talons despite outwardly appearing beautiful and youthful. She comes across as manipulative and jealous – and when it comes to her children, she is repeatedly disappointed as they continue to ‘disgrace, dishonour and disobey’ the family.
I would have loved to hear more from the girls. At the beginning of the novel, Sully and Jakie spend a lot of time worrying that they have abandoned their sisters to the pressures and expectations placed on them as women in the Punjab, and it’s acknowledged that they aren’t afforded the same educational and career opportunities as if they had been born men.
However, we only have a few chapters from Mae and Lana’s perspective, so our opinions of Mae and Lana are for the most part formed by Sully and Jakie’s views. They aren’t really given the page space to develop a voice of their own, and I would have loved to have a bit more of an insight into what was going through their minds. This is especially true for Lana. She’s described by her brothers as eternally sweet, patient and kind, and it’s clear that she’s also clever and forthright enough to know exactly what she wants and how to get it. However, it felt like she needed a bit of an edge to really make her stand out as a character.
The same goes for their mother, who in contrast is portrayed more like a caricature than a real person. It’s only later on in the book that we get a hint of a real personality and the fears and motivations that might be driving her actions.
Overall though, this was a really interesting, thought-provoking family saga that’s well worth a read. It gives a truly fascinating insight into cultural expectations and how these can shift between different generations. The author also tackles some pretty major issues – from domestic violence to racism and homophobia – in a way that’s sensitive, insightful and that blends seamlessly into the wider story.
From birth, the Suddeq children – Sully, Jakie, Mae and Lana – are pushed into set roles determined by their gender and by social expectations. The boys will study, go abroad for education and return as successful doctors. The girls will be dutiful daughters, marry well and help to keep the family in the highest social standing.
But their mother’s determination to force them into these ideals of ‘good children’ forces a wedge between her and her children. All four grow up to rebel and push the boundaries in their own way – Sully marries outside of his religion and Jakie falls in love with a white Irishman, while the girls leave their husbands and raise their children with Western values.
Despite scattering to all corners of the globe to escape their mother’s grasp over their lives, their childhood in the Punjab profoundly affects all four of the children. As they build their lives in new surroundings and carve their own path away from family and cultural expectations, they all struggle to some extent with feelings of enduring guilt or resentment. Many years later, they are drawn back to their childhood home and forced to come to terms with their upbringing and the choices they’ve made since.
Sullly in particular takes a lot longer than his siblings to come to terms with his childhood, and it’s only through the support and insight of his brother and sisters that both he and us as readers can finally come to a sort of resolution.
Their mother is portrayed almost exclusively badly throughout the book. The imagery that surrounds her is intense. She’s often described as a spider, a witch, reaching out to control those around her with claws or talons despite outwardly appearing beautiful and youthful. She comes across as manipulative and jealous – and when it comes to her children, she is repeatedly disappointed as they continue to ‘disgrace, dishonour and disobey’ the family.
I would have loved to hear more from the girls. At the beginning of the novel, Sully and Jakie spend a lot of time worrying that they have abandoned their sisters to the pressures and expectations placed on them as women in the Punjab, and it’s acknowledged that they aren’t afforded the same educational and career opportunities as if they had been born men.
However, we only have a few chapters from Mae and Lana’s perspective, so our opinions of Mae and Lana are for the most part formed by Sully and Jakie’s views. They aren’t really given the page space to develop a voice of their own, and I would have loved to have a bit more of an insight into what was going through their minds. This is especially true for Lana. She’s described by her brothers as eternally sweet, patient and kind, and it’s clear that she’s also clever and forthright enough to know exactly what she wants and how to get it. However, it felt like she needed a bit of an edge to really make her stand out as a character.
The same goes for their mother, who in contrast is portrayed more like a caricature than a real person. It’s only later on in the book that we get a hint of a real personality and the fears and motivations that might be driving her actions.
Overall though, this was a really interesting, thought-provoking family saga that’s well worth a read. It gives a truly fascinating insight into cultural expectations and how these can shift between different generations. The author also tackles some pretty major issues – from domestic violence to racism and homophobia – in a way that’s sensitive, insightful and that blends seamlessly into the wider story.
January 3, 2018
I really enjoyed this book, it was original and stood out. The characters were both likeable and problematic and whilst I found areas of it difficult to read, the premise of the story was easy to follow and it was really heartwarming. It definitely evoked an emotional reaction and I fully intend on keeping it to re-read.
January 29, 2018
A narrative that follows the lives of four children, born to a middle-class Muslim family before Partition. On the plus side the author does not hesitate to explore major social and cultural changes of the last eight decades, and its impact on the lives of the four protagonists, however, disappointingly for this reader at least, not deeply enough.
April 30, 2018
What I love from this book: the characters. Sulaman, Jakie, Mae, and Lana. I love watching them grow up.
What I love less from this book: the writing style. It takes paragraphs to make a simple point. There are few ones that I love, don't get me wrong, but I think it's just too much.
I still love Sulaman, Jakie, Mae, and Lana, though.
What I love less from this book: the writing style. It takes paragraphs to make a simple point. There are few ones that I love, don't get me wrong, but I think it's just too much.
I still love Sulaman, Jakie, Mae, and Lana, though.
October 24, 2019
This started promisingly but it ended up being a really hard slog. I felt disconnected from the characters with the huge time shift after the initial part of the book. For such a long book there were also characters I felt I didn't know that well by the end (especially Lana) and the ending was underwhelming. Disappointing. 3 stars.
May 21, 2021
I loved it. Even though, I am Indian, I can still relate a lot to the things the children were told by their parents and how they were treated. But be warned, as this book is not a feel-good light story in any way. other than that, if you are looking for a well-written, serious and realistic story, this book is for you.
February 18, 2022
I really enjoyed this. It travelled through a lot of time, moving back and forwards within each chapter. It was a moving account of one family, the siblings and their relationships to each other, their parents and the world. I found it a fascinating glimpse into a world I have very little experience or understanding of. Well worth a read.
September 20, 2023
It started so well. A page turner … and then I got bored and then about halfway through I was reading a paragraph and putting the book down for a week. I tried. I really tried to finish this book but I had to return it to the library. It was as dull as dishwater. I hate giving up but I couldn’t help myself. Haha my review here is as exciting as the book
October 20, 2023
It took me a while to get into this book, but when I did I loved it. Wonderfully portrayed characters, most of whom I grew to like. The story was well plotted, and the subject matter interesting. It showed just how childhood trauma, and an uncaring parent, affects each of the 'good children' in different ways. I couldn't put it down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2020
Started very promisingly but then dragged on. I skim read a few chapters, lots of repetition and didn't seem to reach any point apart from the mother dying which was inevitable. The characters were hard to believe, especially the lover of one of the sons.
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