Good Intentions

Good Intentions by Kasim Ali

Reviewed by Omma
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Thank you @4thestatebooks for this copy!

So having read the reviews by my fellow candid girls, I was expecting to hate Nur and I really didn’t.

*Spoilers*
On the whole, I felt quite bad for him. I think the title of the book really encapsulates how he felt and went about things. He wasn’t a fuckboy, he didn’t treat Yasmina badly, he didn’t cheat on her or gaslight her. If anything, he tried to prepare her for how conservative and traditional his Pakistani family was.

I personally wasn’t a huge fan of Yasmina. I don’t think she was in sync with Nur or attuned to his feelings and was just busy with life as a PhD student. For someone who had never dated, she told her parents pretty early on about Nur and they were lovely and great about it all. To have the expectation that his should have done the same was unrealistic and she gave him no grace.

When things all come to a head at the end, the ending felt abrupt but maybe that was for shock factor. It’s understandable why it ends as it does but also makes me think, well what was the point of it all then?

Kasim has written a really thought-provoking book which makes for the perfect book club discussion because it has really divided us a group. His characters felt authentic and well developed. I loved how he described Nur’s Pakistani family life, it felt so great to read about it and be able to relate.

I found the back and forth distracting at times because there’s a big lead up to what’s going to happen with them as couple and I found myself wanting to skim the mundane stuff. But overall brilliant writing and some really important topics addressed and I’m really looking forward to backing Nur