Rich writing and rich story. At times it did feel somewhat trite in its message about the balancing of personal and professional, but good characters carried it

In Jamila Shah Is Twenty-Nine and Exhausted, we follow the intense life of Jamila Shah, an immigration solicitor who juggles running her family’s law firm while navigating the UK's hostile immigration system. Constantly on edge, Jamila’s life is a whirlwind of late-night calls from desperate clients and the crushing pressure to meet everyone's expectations, leaving little room for herself.

This assured debut novel introduces us to the diverse staff at Shah & Co Solicitors, each with their own immigration stories, and the clients who face an uphill battle for stability and normalcy. The book masterfully critiques the absurdities and cruelties of the immigration system while keeping a strong emotional core.

A vibrant and stunning novel that explores the intersection of professional dedication and personal sacrifice in a world that demands so much.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Rich and filled with vibrant characters, this book was filled with human compassion and government failings. I enjoyed the many different lives that were explored throughout.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

This book follows our main character who is struggling under the various weights of family expectations, the cruel immigration system, and the feeling of never doing or being enough, her own life taking a back seat.

This book takes aim at the cruelties of a system that asks people to jump through hoops but never quite have the stability to know where they might land, and I felt this was the book's real strength- an ability to lay out this absurdity and cruelty but never lose its heart.]

A stunning and vibrant novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Determination by Tawseef Khan is a timely novel for the current social climate and government policy relating to immigration law, the effect it has on immigrants and those working in the field

Jamila is an immigration lawyer working for her fathers firm. The incessant pressure from her father to follow in his footseteps and the battles and challenges surrounding the cases she has to work inevitably take their toll

Compelling narrative and a highly relevant and engaging read


Thank you to NetGalley, Footnote Press and Tawseef Khan for this ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This book was an interesting one. I liked the plot. I know about the issues that immigrants face in the UK, but I've never paid attention to real and specific stories. I love how the author shared about different people with different issues and the layers of complexity involved in uprooting yourself from home and planting yourself in a country that doesn't really want you there.

Jamila, the main protagonist is a solicitor who has just taken over her father's law firm. We watch her struggle with the burden of being from an immigrant/ cultural background, the expectations of that and the expectations of work. She starts off being really overwhelmed with her job, duty to her family, not having a life, sacrificing her relationship and friendships just to serve the clients at the law firm. Clients who don't always appreciate the sacrifice (and for good reason, they're often overwhelmed with their own precarious situations).

As the story progresses, she learns to draw better boundaries, makes new friends with some of her clients and colleagues, navigates really difficult situations and even gets in a relationship. We see her go from rolling with the tides to deciding what she wants out of life, as she continues to fiercely advocate for her clients.

I think this book really captured the human experience in an interesting way. It was a bit of a slow read, and there were a few gaps here and there that made things feel abrupt, but overall it's a nice slow read. 3 stars for this one.

I truly didn't expect this book to steal my heart. If you're thinking about reading it... Do it! It's so important, especially in a world where we're all mostly burned-out millennials trying to please parents, bosses, friends etc

Great book - very powerful. This would be a great book club book. We need more stories like this being told in the UK. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

The premise of this book intrigued me. Insights into life and cases of an immigration lawyer dealing with asylum cases. It was insightful but rather limited. The story of Jamilla and her law firm was interesting but at times felt wearying. The incompetence of government departments rang true.

Determination follows Jamila, an immigration lawyer in Manchester who's taken over her father's practice. A timely and important debut this book feels important more now than ever in today's political climate.
Jamila struggles to balance the demands of her job with her personal life. Often woken up in the middle of the night from frantic phone calls from people who are close to deportation or querying how strong their case is so they can keep their families together, She's often exhausted, unable to switch off, yet she also longs for friendship and companionship as well as fulfilling her family commitments.

In this novel, we meet a range of characters and families that are all going through the immigration process. Some are asylum seekers, and some need legal status in the UK. Reading about the complexities of the immigration process and how hostile it can be was so emotive. I wish we had a little longer with each character as to me this was the heart of the book, and it sometimes it felt a little bit rushed, but as the author is an immigration lawyer himself you can tell how well researched Determination is. It's incredibly well written and compassionate whilst also illuminating the often unfair and harsh immigration process.

I also felt deeply for Jamila. She's such a well developed character in this book and, for me, the absolute star of the show. Her passion and commitment to her work, even in the face of adversity, is commendable. I was so happy when she met Irfan. It was lovely finally seeing her meet someone and her having that part of her life fulfilled.

Overall, this was an enlightening, often emotional novel, and I would definitely recommend it. It's informative and eye-opening and is definitely one that will stay with me for a long time.

As a British-Pakistani hailing from Manchester, this book kept me invested. The different cases were hard-hitting and relevant in today's political climate.

Following in her father's footsteps, Jamila is an immigration lawyer. Her job is demanding and so are her father's expectations about carrying on the law firm. Jamila evidently suffers from burnout. Mental health isn't a thing in the Asian culture - in fact, mental health is frowned upon. Jamila eventually learns to prioritize herself and her needs above the needs of her colleagues and clients.

The individual cases were interesting. Some were left open-ended and I would have liked to have seen some closure.

A complex novel on the things that not only keep us hemmed in but also keep us going

Reading this deceptively propulsive novel, I was reminded of Robert Gottlieb's advice to Rona Jaffe, to look back in horror and write; not that I think that Khan is writing in nostalgic horror, but Determination is most definitely about a time in recent British history (if ten years ago counts as historical) when something horrific was being perpetrated in full view of the British public. Khan's unsparing prose on both the humanity and the inhumanities of the British refugee and asylum system should make you bristle at the unfairness of the so-called system, at the lack of empathy and the utter tirelessness of the bureaucracy and of the sympathetic lawyers battling that bureaucracy.

The fight, of course, takes its toll on Jamila, the protagonist, who is fighting not only 'the man' but also the man of the family, her own father, who set up the firm and brooks no argument against its continuing existence and its continuation under Jamila. Just as Jamila has to carve out little victories for her clients in the hope of the greatest victory of all, she has to do the same thing for herself throughout the course of the novel, pitching both her clients' trials and tribulations against her own needs and desires. Talk about taking your whole self to work.

This is not an easy novel by any means. At first, Jamila is a woman who doesn't know what she wants and tries to fight what's before her; but as a fully realised figure, she is spiky and warm in equal measure, and you want her to find her own version of happiness, even if the dilemma is who she has to let down in order to succeed on her own terms. I don't envy her the choice.

Khan's book is an eye-opener into a world that I only vaguely had any inkling about; but his novelistic skill is to fill it with rounded characters thrust into crucibles and seeing them through to the other side. Happy endings don't always come with rainbows and unicorns.

Four and half stars - rounded up to five!

I was intrigued by the premise of a book set in the offices of an immigration lawyer in Manchester. The second generation to run the company, Jamila Shah is exhausted but keeps on working, her ramshackle office and appearance testament to the thankless task she has. We meet her staff and clients, switching viewpoints to read their stories, returning to Jamila as she tries to carve out some kind of life and even date a bit. The details of the increased Hostile Environment and the struggles of the clients to get a determination on their case (hence the title) is fascinating, the writing unfortunately letting the book down slightly, with some clunky metaphors and a not hugely believable female central character. Khan is a qualified immigration solicitor with a doctorate on the British asylum system, and I personally would have preferred a non-fiction collective biography or memoir rather than a novelisation that didn't always work. Worth reading for the portrayal of the situation in the UK, though.

This book was for me, in theory, a recipe for success, touching on a very current and important topic with an unashamed and thought-provoking approach.

But it didn’t work as much as I wish it did.

I like what it’s trying to do very much - it paints a picture of how unrelenting, stressful and fast-paced Jamila’s life is, how imperfect and human her clients are and how cruel and unforgiving the British government is when it comes to issues of immigration. But as a result, you get a book packed with too much and not enough all at once, that touches on many things without much depth, and that feels a little rushed and incomplete.
I understand that this is unavoidable when you are (and for good reason!) trying to make the point that the immigrant characters in the book should be allowed to be just as imperfect and dislikeable as the rest of us, but the result lacks compassion and lacks empathetic characterisation, which was sorely needed to anchor the story and grip me as a reader.

Tl;dr - I LOVED what the book had to say but I didn’t necessarily connect with the way it said it.

In this debut novel Tawseef Khan draws on his experience of growing up in a family of immigration lawyers and his current activist immigration solicitor role.

Set in 2012, but just as relevant today, Jamila Shah runs the solicitor business created, nurtured and handed on to her by her father (who is finding it hard to let go). She feels a huge weight of expectation from her father and family. Her clients, ignorant of the law and immigration procedures, but fearful for their futures, expect Jamila to be available day and night. With little time for herself, let alone relationships, Jamila’s mental health deteriorates. Close to burn out, she considers walking away.

This chaotic existence is reflected in the slightly frenetic interweaving of storylines about Jamila’s cases, the personal challenges and cultural differences experienced by her staff, and Jamila’s personal life, for which she determinedly creates more room later in the story. I did find the switching of narratives mildly jarring, but I still enjoyed the book.

With his extensive knowledge of the subject, Khan vividly describes the complexities, jeopardy and bureaucracy of the UK immigration system overseen by a government whose default position on immigration was/is to create a ‘hostile environment’. And the unpredictability and apparent subjectivity of case determinations is starkly portrayed, causing a pervasive atmosphere of uncertainty and a consequent draining of will and hope from those seeking to secure a stable future.

The story is not all about process, however. It’s also about finding your place in the world, geographically and socially, about trying and needing to fit in. And when your sole focus is to selflessly act on behalf of others, displaying endless empathy and compassion, it’s also about making time for yourself. (Carers of loved ones will readily understand this message).

This book feels like something of a cause celebre, and I wonder what we will read next from Tawseef Khan.

Thanks to Footnote Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of the book. Determination is published in the UK on 13th June.

I enjoyed this book, but felt it was more a series of interconnected vignettes which came together at the very end. There were lots of different POVs, from the main character, Jamila, an Immigration Lawyer, to the people she was helping and her employees. Now I've read it, it's interesting to reflect on the viewpoints we don't get, such as Hassan and her father - who are integral characters to her story, which I thought was a really good choice, as their perspectives are the most difficult for Jamila to reconcile.

The book tells the story of Jamila, an immigration lawyer working in Manchester, and struggling to balance the demands of her job (helping asylum seekers and others, who need or want legal status in the UK) with her personal life. The book is made up of interwoven sub-plots, each shedding light on a different aspect of the calamity that is the UK immigration and asylum process. The meta-plot is Jumila's story - her struggle to balance the competing demands on her time, her search of companionship and friendship, and her efforts to define herself as distinct and independent, respecting her tradition and background while realising her aspirations as a modern woman living in the UK.

The book is important and sheds light on the dramas that the immigration statistics is made up of. It is an indictment of the system, but also gives hope, highlighting that this same system, while mercurial, does sometimes work, and that people, individuals, can be kind, helpful, and supportive. Each story is dramatic in its own way, and, at its core, written almost as a journalistic account. It is revealing, illuminating, and emotive, all at the same time. It is telling that the author is himself an immigration lawyer.

The writing is also quite good - I was gripped by it, and it almost felt like watching a good film or series. The pacing and energy were there, and the characters were well realised, especially Jamila, who was by far the star of the show, and someone you struggled not to feel deeply for.

I struggled with the book a bit, however. The stories making up the subplots all felt half baked. As if the author tried to stuff as much as possible into this book. It felt like an amalgamation of various plot lines that were forced together to convey a message, rather than tell a cohesive and compelling story. Nothing wrong in this, but many of these subplots could have been their own independent short-stories or novellas. In some ways, it felt like this book would have been told as a series of short stories - the first, that of Jamila herself, and the rest, giving each protagonist their due, by telling their story appropriately. There was something rushed and undercooked about the whole experience.

I'd recommend to anyone interested in the work of immigration in the UK (and perhaps beyond?), and the stories of those seeking asylum and the kafkaesque nightmare Western countries often force upon them. It's not a great novel though, but it's still worth reading.

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

disclaimer: the below opinions are based on a small portion of this book so if you are looking for a more comprehensive review of <i>Determination</i>, i recommend you check out reviews from readers who have actually finished it.


not only does her neck grow "taller" when her father praises (one would expect something along the lines of 'she stood a little taller', or that the praise made her 'straighten her shoulders' etc...). a few pages later we get a scene featuring a man whose "winged ears twitched."
on the whole, the writing is very unconvincing. the opening scene struck me as particularly clunky, and there are several corny descriptions, both detailing our mc's actions and her inner thoughts/emotions. that is not to say that Khan is a bad writer or this a bad book. i believe that a more thorough editing process would have improved Khan's storytelling or, at the very least, made her writing smoother and more fluid.

Thank you to NetGalley and Footnote Press for the ARC of this book.

This is a wonderfully compelling story about people, their hopes, fears, and desperation to remain in a country that can be hostile. It is a character-driven novel that is smart, honest, and joyful, with compelling characters.

We are introduced to the unwavering dedication of the staff of Shah & Co. solicitors and the constant stream of clients seeking help. Jamila Shah, daughter of the recently retired owner, works tirelessly with her clients to navigate the challenging process of staying in a country that often feels unwelcoming. Her personal life is a constant struggle, with little time for herself, family, friends, or a partner. Jamila is exhausted, and the narrative builds towards a moment when something must change.

The story switches between Jamila, her clients and the staff, providing a rich portrait of culture and normalcy. A compassionate and empathic novel about the UK immigration system, with determination and hope the thread throughout.

Overall, this was a wonderful debut novel. The author has written a tender and evocative story.

The author of this debut novel (he has during the eight year process of writing this novel written and published non-fiction book about Western miconceptions about Muslims) is a qualified immigration solicitor and this book, about an immigration solicitor, combines two of his academic qualifications – a doctoral degree on the fairness of the British asylum system and a MA in Creative Writing at the UEA.

The central character of the novel, which opens in Manchester in late 2012, is Jamila Shah, twenty nine years old and single, her live is dominated by her work running the family immigration solicitor business that her father (who still acts as something of a mentor) founded.

The book is concerned with a number of the cases that she takes on – with details both of the lives and circumstances of her clients (some of whom become third party point of view characters) and particularly the minutiae of UK immigration law particularly as interpreted by the Home Office (the book is set during Theresa May’s tenure and includes – with a slight shift of month and City – the “Go Home” billboard vans), enforced by the immigration authorities and interpreted by unsympathetic courts. The cases here are different from the current “boats” situation as they typically seem to be about clients who first arrive in the UK from their home countries, live in England for some time and then and subsequently claim asylum or citizenship, with the cases then hinging around the grounds for that claim as well as details of their lives in their home country and since they moved to the UK.

So, for example the first two clients we encounter in detail are: a Sri Lankan Tamil who was tortured by the Sri Lankan army as a wrongly suspected LTTE member but who the Home Office believe is no longer a risk after the end of the civil war (a copy of a Home Office letter setting out this rather flawed logic is included in the novel); a Pakistan lady who the authorities believe is faking her lesbianism to be able to claim asylum on grounds of persecution if she returns.

But we also see Jamila’s life – increasingly finding that the demands of her jobs (which spills over into weekends and holidays) and her clients (often frustrated and angry with her as they see her as the face of the hidden system denying them their rights) are affecting her health and making friendships and relationships impossible.

And while her married sister agrees – her parents are horrified at the idea that she will not dedicate herself to the business her father built (the stresses and work pressures including at holidays and weekends he experienced having impacted on Jamila and her sister’s childhood – but seen by her parents as providing for their futures).

After something of a breakdown at the end of the first section of the book Jamila makes a deliberate decision to put boundaries around her work and delegate some of it to her staff, and rather cleverly the author mirrors this in the text with those staff members (one of who has immigration status issues of his own) taking a more central third party point of view role, particularly at the start of the second part of the story.

The story then moves back more towards Jamila – we see her making tentative steps to end the neglect of her closest friends (one of whom it has to be said seems more of a cipher to represent anti-immigration views – albeit these are given little authorial sympathy) and form a tentative relationship – I must admit I was not sufficiently invested in Jamila as a character (perhaps the sporadic untranslated Urdu in the novel forming part of the reason for my barrier) to be as interested in these passages as those about her immigration practice (with a tabloid sting in which she is caught up proving more interesting).

I was not always as convinced as in that first Tamil case, by the other cases that Jamila takes on: by what she advocates on behalf of her clients and by the unreasonability of the Home Office position (what an Author’s Note calls “the hostile environment” and the “broader culture of disbelief and disdain that informs Home Office decision making”). At times the approach seems to be that anyone should be allowed to come to the UK, to settle and become citizens – and for Jamila this is largely based around the idea that borders/ability to decide who lives where are fundamentally flawed concepts. This idea was of course brilliantly explored in imaginative terms in Mohsin Hamid’s “Exit West” – but for a book rooted very much in present reality it seems to ignore that they do exist and are the basis of nation states – also that its far from clear to me that the Home Office’s practices are more disbelieving than the electorate of the country (whether I or the author agrees with them).

Both Jamila’s friend in her reaction, and the tabloid sting could have been mechanisms to explore this but the novel seemed to introduce them more as arguments/approaches to be dismissed.

Overall, this was certainly an interesting read although I would have preferred if the book had kept more closely to its core subject matter – like her Father I preferred it when Jamila’s life was dominated by her clients and the vagaries of the home office.