All the Tomorrows

I love books that are set in India and this one is going to be on the top reads of other novels by Indian writers. Set in Bombay, the novel starts when Jaya, one year into an arranged marriage, discovers that her idealist, undemonstrative husband, Akash, has a lover. Criticised by her parents and feeling uncared for, her torment results in a truly shocking action by Jaya that will hold everyone involved for 20 years because of lies and betrayals. It immediately takes the reader into the heart of a culture, a setting that reflect the thrills and perils of Bombay. You can feel and taste the smells coming off the streets of Bombay. The characters are memorable and are deeply etched in our memory. But Jaya and Akash aren’t the only characters in this wonderful story who capture our hearts. There is Ruhi, the sister, who won’t let Jaya give up on herself and life. There is Firoz, who mentors Jaya’s talented artwork. There is Soraya, who surfaces again later in the story, and to readers’ delight emerges as yet another marvelous example of just how strong women are. The only negative thing for me was the abrupt ending. I felt the author owed the readers a little bit more of a finish, but maybe that is why I don't write books! A 4.5 star.

I initially found this book whilst trying to find a physical copy of “All Tomorrows” and ended up buying this just off of the interesting summary. While I won’t be writing as much as the other reviewers, I will say that this love story is very emotional, and thought out well. Its placement in India serves to give a base for the characters to develop off of, as they struggle with the norms established.The only negative thing that really should be said is the stories abrupt ending, which I personally would I have like to have been more drawn out.A wonderful story that I feel is not read enough, and should receive more public attention.

My son recommended this book to me and then later told me he made a mistake on the title. I was already halfway through the book by then.Nasser has a gift of writing about the 5 senses in a way that makes me feel them. This book was like an actual trip to India, I was walking in the streets, standing in various kitchens smelling good food, feeling my heart hurt or hope with the characters. Really good character development. A nice break from my usual sci fi and science genres.

This book. I can't even begin to describe how powerful and moving this story is. Jaya and Akash are dynamic, fascinating, sometimes madding characters that will keep you turning the page just to see how their wonderful/tragic/beautiful story ends. The writing is so poignant and lyrical that you'll lose yourself in the prose. Seriously, you don't want to miss this book! One of my favorites.

Nillu Nasser leaves no doubt with this novel that her passion for life is one of extraordinary intensity. This novel is ripe with layers and textures combined with a series of twists and plot turns that are thoughtful and non compromising. Her words are exacting, the ability of her characters to come to grips with seemingly impossible situations a fascinating examination of the human psyche. Bravo Nillu.can't wait to see what you have in store for us next.

This is such a wonderful story to dive into. Nasser evokes the rich atmosphere of Bombay with beautiful clarity and spins a captivating story of a love lost (destroyed?) and the struggle to be re-gained. Her characters are written with obvious passion and enormous care which pulls you further and further into their lives. These are characters that will stay with me for a long time. A story that tugs the heartstrings and makes one grateful for what one already holds in life. Highly recommended.

Reviewed via an ARC from the author, for Rosie Amber's Review teamSet in Bombay, the novel starts when Jaya, one year into an arranged marriage, discovers that her idealist, undemonstrative husband, Akash, has a lover. Criticised by her parents and feeling uncared for, her torment results in a truly shocking action, so stomach-turning I wondered if I could actually carry on reading the book. Brave of the writer to include it, and that I reacted so strongly shows that it was well-written; I did continue, anyway.Akash is knocked sideways by Jaya's extreme reaction, and his life takes a swift, sharp turn downwards. In short, this novel is about a falling apart and slow coming together... several of them.The first twenty per cent is about Jaya and Akash's younger years and the immediate fall-out of 'the event', after which we are moved swiftly by being told that 'the years sped by', and suddenly it's twenty years later, when we find out how the characters' lives have fared in the interim, and what happens when they collide once more.Nillu Nasser is a talented writer, without a doubt. One of the reasons I chose this is because I like to read about other cultures, and this book taught me stuff I didn't know, so that's a tick from me. Her storytelling ability held my interest, which is good for another big shiny red tick. On occasion the dialogue felt a little stilted, or a teensy bit Hollywood, and she fell into the debut novelist trap of using dialogue to impart information to the reader rather than keeping it realistic, but I'll cut her some slack with this; it was not constant, and, as I said, it's a debut novel, and a good one (nb, this is not her first published work, but her first published novel). Her characterisation was good; Jaya, her sister Ruhi, and their mother, were real, as were Akash, his friend, Tariq, and his lover, Soraya; Ms Nasser writes them all in clear definitio, and even the secondary characters were completely convincing ~ another big tick!I was, however, less sure about the pacing and structure. With the younger lives of Akash and Jaya taking up only around the first fifth of the book, I was given little time to care that much about what happened to them before suddenly they were older but nothing much had happened to either of them except more of the same. How much more effective it would have been to have cut the line about speeding years, and have a couple of interim chapters showing their lives after five, ten or fifteen years, too. Akash tells Soraya all he has suffered in those years, but I wanted to see it, not just read it in a spoken report. I loathe clichés, not least of all book reviewing ones, and you can't play out every scene or the book would be a thousand pages long, but in this case I needed to be shown, not told. For me (and a review is only ever a personal opinion), a slow build up could have turned this 4* book into a 5* one.As the rest of the story unravels, Ms Nasser continues to write with authenticity, care and senstitivity, and I'd say that if you like emotional family dramas, you'll love this.

What a great read: thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking. At no point does the pace of this novel slow ensuring that, as a reader, I was completely engaged and kept turning those pages quickly - the first two chapters alone had enough substance to make a novel in their own right!The characters were a joy to follow; they were fully developed with their motivations and sensibilities so clear that I was fully able to understand and empathise with each of them in turn, even when supporting one character meant that I perhaps felt disloyal to another (who I liked just as much) - but so well thought-out is each character that I felt unable but to do anything else.Highly recommended!

Good story badly written and repetitive

Challenges the reader to think about love and what it means to be connected to another individual. It explores our capacity to survive unbelievable horrors and strive to be true to our inner voice.

I really enjoyed this first novel from Nillu. It is impeccably written and has a great storyline which makes it a real page turner. There are the ups and downs of any good novel and shares a really interesting backdrop of the culture of India. It gave me a wonderful insight into the country and the people in a real bird's eye view of family life. There are twists and turns from the very start to the last page, so watch out for the unexpected. It is really easy to read, yet is able to stimulate thinking around what's going on and how the well described characters play out. Looking forward to the next one already!

I throughly enjoyed this first novel by Nillu Nasser. The main characters Jaya, Akash and Soraya are explored deeply, we travel with them over the years as they traverse the impact and after shocks of love, betrayal and the sense they try to make of these unfolding events. I found myself feeling shock, sadness and at times disgust at the twists and turns their lives take. It’s a story told with delicate compassion, vivid descriptions and bold humanity. I felt immersed in the sight, sounds and smells of Bombay life and these descriptions coupled with the unfolding story had me gripped throughout. I would throughly recommend this book!