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From childhood, willful, intelligent Saira Qader broke the boundaries between her family's traditions and her desire for independence. A free-spirited and rebellious Muslim-American of Indo-Pakistani descent, she rejected the constricting notions of family, duty, obligation, and fate, choosing instead to become a journalist, the world her home.

Customer Reviews (51)

Best Novel I've Read in 2010
This novel introduced me to a family culture that is -- on the surface -- vastly different than my own Anglo-Judeo-Christian one, but at its core, is eerily similar. The bittersweet themes resonated with me on several levels. I'll remember this book and its artfully-woven characters, and I can't say that of the other 54 novels I've read so far this year. I'm looking forward to Haji's next novel.

Highly recommended
I loved this book and I am not easily impressed or one to gush. As a second generation British Pakistani so much of this book resonated with me. It's rare to find a book where you can relate to the story on such a personal level. I was moved to tears on several occasions. The story line is entertaining and the book is not one you can easily put down. The writing style is beautiful through-out and I would like to thank the author for writing this. It was one of the best reads I have had in a long time and I read a lot of literature by South-Asian authors. Nafisa Haji has topped Mohsin Hamid and perhaps even Khaled Hosseini. Thank you Nafisa Haji, please write more. You were clearly born to do it.

Saira's Story Held Me Captive
Living in California, young Saira Qader is the daughter of traditional and conservative Muslim parents. However, she was brought up in America and tends to think like an American and what American teenager isn't a bit rebellious.

Saira goes to Pakistan without her mother and sister when she is fourteen to attend a family wedding. During the trip she finds out her grandfather isn't dead as she been told. He actually left her grandmother and is living with a second family in England. The marriage between her grandparents had been arranged.

She returns home to a sister who has agreed to an arranged marriage, but after what Saira has seen coupled with her rebellious nature, she knows this isn't the route she wants to take. Instead she wants to go to college just like her American friends and she does, where she participates in several unMuslim like activities, like drugs, drink and sex.

She winds up as a successful journalist, traveling the world with her photographer cousin, whose lifestyle would shock any conservative Muslim. But after the Twin Towers fall her sister is murdered because she was wearing a hijab and this causes Saria to reevaluate her life and her relationship with her family.

Saria's story held me captive. I'm always interested in cultures different than mine, especially when I can learn about them in a well told story and this story is well told. I don't know about all the choices Saria made, but most of them I could well imagining a girl in her position making. I can imagine how hard it would be for a second generation American balancing family and success. Free will, they say God gave it to us, but fate and culture play a strong roll and when you're trying to balance all three, well it's not always possible, but you'll enjoy reading this story and learning how Saria deals with the conflict between her will and her culture.

Roots, Culture and Determination
Saria Qader and her older sister Ameena are second generation Muslim-Americans, but they couldn't be more different. Ameena is the beauty, Saria is the brains. Ameena will mend her will to tradition, Saria will not. The girls are growing up in America, but the traditions and culture of their parents have followed them. Ameena agrees to an arranged marriage with a handsome doctor, but Saria wants to go to college.

When she was fourteen she found out her grandmother's secret. Saria had always believed her grandfather was dead, but it wasn't. He'd left his arranged marriage and took up with another. Not everybody in her family was a slave to tradition. Saria wouldn't be either. And she isn't. She goes to college, becomes an international journalist, but when Ameena is murdered after 9/11 she questions the choices she's made.

In the end the ties that bind are family. But sometimes we have to lose them to discover how important that are. Sometimes we can get them back, sometimes we cannot. How Saria handles the conflict is what make this story so wonderful. It's a story about mothers and daughters, about sisters, about family. About the struggles and trials of second generation Americans who have one foot in America and one foot in a culture they never really knew.

The Writing on My Forehead
"The Writing on My Forehead" explores the issues surrounding growing up in America in a family of a different culture. The main character, Saira Qader, is of Indo-Pakistani descent and writhes against the duties and values imposed onto her by her family. Her wishes are not her own and she's expected to follow the path laid out for her by generations of traditions and obligations.

While Saira has respect for her culture, she also wants to strike out on her own and do things differently. While on a trip to a cousin's wedding in India, Saira realizes that her grandfather, who she was told was dead, is actually alive. Discovering her mother's lie makes Saira even more determined to follow her heart and attend college instead of marrying early per her family's wishes.

Influenced by her grandfather's role in India's independence movement, Saira dreams of a future as a war journalist and arranges to travel with her photographer cousin. She encounters and has to deal with with issues ranging from arranged marriages to adultery and is exposed to the world beyond her family confines.

Haji's talent is apparent in the characters she creates, and Saira's struggles will speak to girls of any background who are trying to balance their own desires with those of their families. Beautifully written, "The Writing on My Forehead" is a worthy addition to any bookshelf. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

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The Author, a Sufi mystic, asserts that Happiness and Misery are equally divided and distributed in the world. He makes Self-cultivation, with due regard to others, the sole and sufficient object of human life.He suggests that the affections, the sympathies, and the "divine gift of Pity" are man-s highest enjoyments. He advocates suspension of judgment, with a proper suspicion of "Facts, the idlest of superstitions." Finally, although destructive to appearance, he is essentially reconstructive. ... Read more

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Haji's greatest wish is realized when he is given a mighty elephant to ride, but then he enters a terrifying period where he is threatened by both animals and humans. ... Read more

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Selections from the fascinating memoirs of this famous Bahai teacher and companion of Bahaullah ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A book of lasting inspiration
This is a wonderful book by one of the most angelic
of souls.I hope it comes back into print soon.

It is a book of lasting inspiration. ... Read more

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Since its publication more than 15 years ago, Heat Conduction Using Green’s Functions has become the consummate heat conduction treatise from the perspective of Green’s functions—and the newly revised Second Edition is poised to take its place. Based on the authors’ own research and classroom experience with the material, this book organizes the solution of heat conduction and diffusion problems through the use of Green’s functions, making these valuable principles more accessible. As in the first edition, this book applies extensive tables of Green’s functions and related integrals, and all chapters have been updated and revised for the second edition, many extensively.

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A complete English translation of the Metaphysics of Sabzavari's "Ghurar al-fara ‘id", a systemic exposition of the traditional Islamic philosophy comprising Logic, Physics, Theology, and Metaphysics. ... Read more

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Off the coast of Chib, three large, black ships silently approach. Commander Cho of the Imperial Military, one of the greatest armies in the world, leads his forces to the peninsula to protect his country should they be foe rather than friend.

To twenty year old Haji, brought along to advise the Commander on the terrain, the prospect of battle is at once both exciting and frightening. But when he and Cho are mysteriously transported to far away Liacori, Haji finds himself beginning an adventure that exceeds all his expectations.

Now, guided by two mountain men with excellent fighting skills but questionable morals, they must race to reach the Chib capitol before the ships. Their dangerous travels will ultimately reveal a tangled net of political intrigue, a quiet yet sinister plot of manipulation and dominance, and the truth behind the strange ships and young Haji's heritage and destiny. ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Haji," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Haji in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Haji when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Haji, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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Biography of Wan Mokhtar, politician from Terengganu, Malaysia. ... Read more

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The book may have numerous typos or missing text. It is not illustrated or indexed. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website. You can also preview the book there.Purchasers are also entitled to a trial membership in the publisher's book club where they can select from more than a million books for free.Original Publisher: International book publishing company Publication date: 1920Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Short Stories; Literary Criticism / Russian ... Read more

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The Arab tribes of Iraq, differing widely as they do in customs and manner of speech, remain in all essentials of thought and conduct a distinctive and unique group. Their land embraces wide deserts, fertile fields, and boundless swamp and a unique form of life and living. Taking the central figure of Haji, Rikkan the writer-traveller tries to show an accurate picture of Arab tribal life as a whole.