A Person Is a Prayer by Ammar Kalia was a deeply moving experience that resonated with me on multiple levels. The novel intricately weaves the lives of three generations, tracing their migration from Kenya and India to England over six decades. Kalia’s portrayal of Bedi and Sushma’s arranged marriage, their search for happiness, and the subsequent journeys of their children is both poignant and insightful.

The narrative unfolds over three significant days, each set in a different time period, allowing for a rich exploration of the family’s evolving dynamics. Kalia’s prose is both lyrical and evocative, capturing the nuances of cultural identity, the complexities of familial relationships, and the enduring quest for belonging. The depiction of the siblings’ pilgrimage to the Ganges to immerse their father’s ashes is particularly moving, highlighting the intergenerational ties that bind them.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF - Althought I was eager to read this book, it didn't end up working for me in the end. I'm sure there is an audience out there who will appreciate the story for all that it holds.

A Person is a Prayer is a moving work that encourages dialogue, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the intricate relationship between faith and identity in today’s society. I liked the fact that the piece was set over a short period of time but still managed to make you feel extremely tied into the characters.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Oldcastle Books in exchange for a free and honest review.

This multigenerational book following Bedi and Sushma, and their three children Selena, Rohan and Tara. The book is divided into three parts; part one - 1955, where Bedi and Sushma first meet and share their expectations and hopes, part two - which tackles a tragic incident and part three - which follows the children's return to India to scatter Bedi's ashes. This was quite a layered book, it tackles the immigrant experience whereby they feel like they don't fit in to their new community and yet they are changed, therefore, can no longer fully relate to their ancestral land. I also really enjoyed the discussions of love languages as different cultures show affection in different ways, such as: praise, verbal affirmations, acts of service (cooking, cleaning) etc. The ineffective communication in the family left them with some misunderstandings and in need of healing. Overall, an interesting book on the immigrant experience and the family dynamics.

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love the ‘slice of life’ category. And ‘A Person is a Prayer’ is exactly that. Told over three separate days and spanning six decades, we follow one family as it grows and moves through time. Sushma and Bedi meet and marry in an arranged marriage, still hopeful for their future happiness and shared dreams. Yet, years later, after their adult children – Selena, Tara and Rohan – have flown the nest, they’re still searching for their elusive happiness. Years later, the three children travel to the Ganges to scatter their father’s ashes in the waters, it’s clear that they’ve adopted the same desire for happiness, hope and to find meaning to their lives.

At it heart, ‘A Person is a Prayer’ captures the human experience and seeking meaning amongst it all. I found it to be gorgeously lyrical and moving, especially in examining the immigrant experience and what we leave behind. This is a family saga slowed down and I really enjoyed it: we see the origins of the parents’ shared story, and the individual aftermath of their three children’s. The author achieves brilliant characterisation throughout – all of the characters are well-fleshed out and I genuinely felt an emotional connection to them all. From familial relationships to the one with an adopted country, Kalia weaves a stunning thread of belonging and communication throughout this novel, and creates a story that’ll remain with me for a long time.

Really solid debut from Ammar Kalia.

A Person is a Prayer is a novel about family, grief, expectation and tradition. We follow the Bedi family at three key points in their history (1950s, 1990s, 2010s). We see the events from different POVs within the family. This provided insight into how different family members perceived or remembered things and was particularly interesting feature of the novel. I did feel that some characters were more nuanced and believable than others but appreciate it is difficult to create five contrasting internal monologues.

The novel felt deeply personal and the afterword by the author confirmed this. Overall, an interesting and enjoyable novel for fans of a family saga.

I look forward to reading what Kalia writes next.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the eARC.

I’ve read this book almost a month ago now and I’m still trying to find the right words to do it justice… but I think that they’ve all been used in the novel itself, where not one word feels out of place. Ammar Kalia is a gifted storyteller, able to bring places and people to life in a simple, yet lyrical way.

The novel spans six decades. We meet Shushma and Bedi in India, in 1955, the day of their first meeting. The day they decide to get married, hoping they might be each other’s best bet at happiness… whatever happiness is.

Fast forward to 2019 and their three children, born in the UK, are in India with their respective families to submerge their father's ashes in the Ganges, years after their mother’s passing. We experience this day from each of their points of view as they reflect on identity, belonging and that same elusive happiness that their parents had been chasing.

A deeply moving and thought-provoking read that I highly recommend.

Actually I love the theme about this novel: cross culture and migration. However, the way author write story is not my type, that's why I was skimming the book in the middle of book. At first, it was engaging, but when in th middle I felt bored (?).

But, this novel is great for debut. And the author is promising to write another good novel in the future.

This family saga deals with themes of immigration and grief. I like the way the novel is set out over three different days in time although i was hoping for a stronger ending. Overall a well written, enjoyable read.

A PERSON IS A PRAYER is a glimpse into the life of a family through several generations and told in three parts. I love intergenerational stories, and when I saw this beautiful cover with an intriguing title, I knew I had to read it. The book asks a lot of questions about life, grief, family, identity and love. It's easy to relate to them, and it made the characters more human in a way.

I honestly loved the beginning of the book, it introduced the parents Bedi and Sushma as they met for the first time, and then once they settle in England. And while I was also interested in their kids' lives, to be honest, I found them less engaging...They're not bad at all, on the contrary the author managed to give them a very distinct voice and perception of the situation which was interesting considering they were all going through the same day. Some dialogues and scenes are repeated but from a new perspective, which was nice. Apart from that, I was just less interested in them as narrator.

The ending was a bit abrupt, but it makes sense and I loved the epilogue, it ties everything up nicely. You can tell it's a very personal story for the author, and I loved reading the letter by Ammar Kalia at the end which explains how this book came to life.
To conclude it's an interesting story and I can see why people like it, I wish I loved it more. That said, I'm looking forwards to the next book by Ammar Kalia!

An interesting book detailing the trials and tribulations of immigration. Great descriptive writing and a good debut. I loved the details on the Ganges and could identify with the scene painted. Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC and I await the next book from this new author.

A Person is a Prayer
by Ammar Kalia

A slice of life novel about the Bedi Family told in three episodes, each depicting a seminal day in this family's life.

Part I is the day that Bedi and Sushma, both Indian immigrants living in Nairobi, meet for the first time.

Part II sees them alongside their grown children, having emigrated again, this time to London.

Part III closes the chapter of Bedi's and Sushma's generation and the narrative is handed over to Selena, Rohan and Tara who are visiting India for the ceremonial return of their father's ashes to the Ganges.

I found an immediate connection to the voices in this story. Kalia drew me in with his vividly drawn characters and their plight to thrive in an adopted country. I felt particularly for Sushma's situation, so much that I was actuality convinced this story was written by a woman until later.

Despite the fact that we only interact with this family for 3 single days over the course of 64 years, we learn so much about their dynamics and dramas, their struggles with racism and culture, parenthood and marriages. The interiority works very well, however I was disappointed with the narrative arc which really doesn't go anywhere or converge on any meaningful way.

The writing style is very promising. Each narrator has a very distinctive voice and literary style, and there are many outstanding pieces of prose that made me stop and look to the corner of the ceiling. The Coda crushed me with the reality of lost promise.

Part I and II are getting into 5 star territory. It wouldn't take much to bring Part III there. I would highly recommend reading this unless you require a plot.

Stunning cover.

Publication Date: 30th May 2024
Many thanks to #netgalley and #OldcastleBooks for the ARC

A Person is a Prayer is a moving story of immigration, family, and the things we cannot say. Beginning in India in the 1960s, and ending there sixty years later as one of the family is laid to rest, it charts the fortunes of the immigrant family through three key moments: the parents meeting in India, a family tragedy in Britain, and the funeral back in India. The children are now grown, with children of their own, but struggling with their identities as second-generation immigrants returning to a country they don't feel that they're from. It also charts the challenges of being honest with our families and ourselves.

This was a beautiful book, and in many places the writing really moved me. However, I kept waiting for someone to change - their minds, their choices, anything - and it never happened. It's a real snapshot of a moment in time but I wanted a climax that never came, and so I finished feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.

DNF The writing was not particularly strong and the characters were quite flat, they're motives and feelings spelled out bluntly on the page and the reader given no space to interpret the book. It was one dimensional

an incandescent and lyrical writing style. I wasn't a big fan of the plot as a whole I must say; overused and underwhelming.

Migration, family and grieving. An unusual exploration of family ties across generations and continents.

🇮🇳 REVIEW 🇮🇳

A Person is a Prayer by Ammar Kalia
Publishing Date: 30th May

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

📝 - Bedi and Sushma’s marriage is arranged. When they first meet, they stumble through a faltering conversation about happiness and hope and agree to go in search of these things together. But even after their children Selena, Tara and Rohan are grown up and have their own families, Bedi and Sushma are still searching. Years later, the siblings attempt to navigate life without their parents. As they travel to the Ganges to unite their father’s ashes with the opaque water, it becomes clear that each of them has inherited the same desire to understand what makes a life happy, the same confusion about this question and the same enduring hope.

💭 - I had really high hopes for this one as a family drama spanning generations and countries sounds exactly like my cup of tea, but unfortunately it just didn’t quite hit the mark. The characters were all very unlikeable, and self centred, so I really struggled to connect with them. While I was interested in the story of Bedi and Sushma getting together, I felt that there wasn’t enough about their actual life together, as it skipped from their first meeting straight to having adult children, therefore losing some important context. Unfortunately not for me, but oh well!

#bookreview #boosbookishchallenge2024 #bookrecommendation #india #fiction #literaryfiction #literature #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #readdiverse #readdiversely #readaroundtheworld

The book covers 3 days, one in the 50s, when two young people meet in India, another in the 90s, when we see the couple and their kids (now living in the UK), and, a last one, in the 2010s, when explore an emotional via the perspectives of each of three children of the couple, learning about their lives and desires. The book explores, once again, the immigrant experience across generations, and how the fact of immigration creates even more boundaries between parents and children. It also delves into the tension between perception and reality, created by the reluctance to communicate honestly within families, and across generations.

What I liked about the book is the vividness of characters - each of our protagonists (the two parents, and their three children) elicit sympathy, and are easy to imagine meeting in the street. They all carry emotional baggage, struggle to find anyone to fully share it with, and try to make the best of things, for their own sake as well as that of their family. The book was also well written - while nothing really happens in the book, the writing is so dynamic that it doesn't really feel tiring or boring. Tara's story really stands out in this regard - even on its own it's a towering achievement of the craft of realistic fiction.

There were a few aspects of the book, though, that I liked less. While the book talks about a family that has Indian origins (with the father coming to the UK via Kenya), this aspect feels rather under-developed. This story could have been easily told about any other immigrant family, making the India/Kenya background somewhat superfluous. I also felt that the book was a bit on the dull side - there was no driving force within, and no message that needed telling. It was an interesting glimpse into the lives of this family's members, but that where it ended. Nothing bad in this per se - it just made the book less exciting than it could have been.

Recommend it to folks interested in family dramas, and how communication (or lack thereof) can affect families' happiness. That being said, it's probably a miss - nothing really stands out in this book, and it will disappear into my memory's oblivion within a few days.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me early access to this book in return for an honest review.

3.75 stars

I enjoyed this book - the descriptions were immersive and the writing was really lovely. I loved having the different perspectives of each character, all of them had their own unique voice. I also think it explored familial relationships really well and how these affected each character and their identity. I would have liked more on Sushma, as well as for the ending to have tied things up a little more.

A gorgeous and beautifully written book covering great topics.
A really enjoyable read that's a must for fans of literary fiction and family/generational stories.