#the mismatch

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Abbey Lossing’s illustrated book cover for Sara Jafari’s The Mismatch.

[noellelovesbooks]

Here are 8 books that were released in 2021 that I'm still thinking about.

What 2021 releases are you still on your mind?

I'd say all of these are 18+ reads, for their graphic content [gore/blood, mental health, or sexual content] Make sure to check potential triggers and content warnings [triggerwarningdatabase.com is a great resource💜]

[rantreader]

My blind date for Valentine's Day.

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: The Mismatch by Sara Jafari

I think there is a demand right now for romance novels that offer more than a simple love story. Readers want to think about new ideas, challenge their own prejudices and come away from a novel with a sense of something having changed. I knew that The Mismatch would do exactly that and it was one of the richest experiences I’ve had with a romance novel for a while.

In 1970s Iran, Neda has married the handsome, eligible Hossein and the couple have moved to England for a better life but does the Western world really hold the answers they’re looking for? 40 years later, Soraya has just graduated from university with a good degree in English Literature but that elusive first job is nowhere in sight. She has also started seeing Magnus, an aspiring writer, but Soraya knows that it can’t ever become serious because her Muslim background means she’ll never be allowed to be with him. 

The book gives us both Neda’s story and her youngest daughter Soraya’s story. Jafari expertly demonstrated the distinct similarities and differences between the two women’s experiences and I had great fun drawing the parallels. Neda is committed to gaining her Masters and then a PhD rather than a life at home like many Muslim women of her generation. Although possibly not intentional, it’s perhaps this shunning of expectations that influences Neda’s children to be the individual free-thinkers that they are. 

Soraya’s chapters depict a slow questioning of the religious ideals that she has been raised with. Although she is curious about sex and alcohol, Soraya is still determined to not disappoint her parents. This conflict comes to a head after a horrendous dramatic event that caused me to throw the book across the room and causes Soraya to change tack completely.  

The beginnings of Neda and Hossein’s relationship is so beautiful and it’s clearly a love match. Hossein is respectful, romantic and supportive of Neda’s dreams and watching this man slowly crumble was perhaps the most heartbreaking aspects of the book. I think Hossein’s story is an example of so many Muslim immigrants who come to the UK with the hopes of a better life but instead find that the grass really isn’t greener at all. I can’t excuse a lot of what Hossein's behaviour over the course of the book but his fall is so dramatic and sad that it’s impossible not to shed a few tears when you realise it.

I loved how the book managed to weave in a little Iranian history too. Not long after Neda and Hossein move to England, things in Iran begin to change and it’s not in the direction that they hoped for. Being so far away from their families at this time is a real struggle for them but they know that they’re better off in England, away from the terrors of their home country. I can imagine the realisation that they’ll probably never return to Iran slowly dawning on Neda and Hossein and it’s truly heart-rending.

Soraya’s disappointment and disenchantment with post-uni life will resonate with anyone who has ever been a fresh graduate, particularly those with Arts degrees. Of course, she compares herself to her friends who have successfully found themselves on exciting graduate schemes and internships and wonders why she isn’t having the same luck. I still take every professional rejection personally and I’m not sure that will ever change, so I really related to her on this level. It’s really tough to build a career in a creative field, so rooting for her was a very easy thing to do.

Despite everything that they have in common and despite how much she likes him, as a white English boy, Magnus just isn’t a feasible option for Soraya. Although Soraya was born and raised in England and holds a lot of British values, she is haunted by the fact that eventually she must conform and marry a Muslim boy. It’s almost like this is the one value that she can’t bring herself to fight and so she does everything she can to stop herself falling in love with Magnus. I was constantly conflicted over wanting to encourage her to give in to her fledgling feelings and completely understanding her desire to not disappoint her family. It’s an impossible decision that I know so many young people all over the world have to make.

Soraya has the shadow of the story of her oldest sister Laleh hanging over her and I think this is a big driving factor in her determination to not get serious with Magnus. Laleh was disowned by the family as a teenager because she chose to be with her white British boyfriend. As a result, Soraya has grown up with no contact with her sister and the family act as if she never existed. Soraya is naturally terrified of the same thing happening to her.

The Mismatch is a moving, thought-provoking novel with a wonderfully satisfying ending. I was worried that things would end tragically but it ended on a happy note in more ways than one. Both Soraya and Neda deserved nothing but good things and I finished it with so much hope. It’s a coming-of-age story with fantastically memorable characters and true love in all its forms at its very heart.

The Mismatch by Sara Jafari is available in eBook and audiobook format now and will be published in paperback by Arrow, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on 24th June 2021.

[improbablysleep]

Watch The Mismatch Cover Norwegian Wood by The Beatles