Book Review: The Wish Maker

The Wish Maker
By Ali Sethi
Riverhead Books
Publication Date: June 11, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59448-875-7

A good review draws you into a book, right? Well, when I heard that Khaled Hosseini recommended The Wish Maker, obviously I had to check it out. (If you don't know by now, Hosseini is one of my favorite writers. He could write a one word book and I'd love it.)  In the end, he was very right to recommend it - if you liked any of his books, you'll enjoy this. 

The Wish Maker is a coming of age story set in Lahore, Pakistan during the 1990's. In the heart of the story, it follows Zaki Shirazi and his cousin Samar Api-watching them grow up and, through dreams, actions and wishing, become the people they are. It's a story of the city throughout the years - how it itself grows through democracy and a loss of military rule. The book shows the influence of outside cultures, Bollywood and TV. It's about family - three generations - and the struggles they go through. 

The story starts in present time, at Samar Api's wedding, yet quickly brings the reader back to the past, to watch the kids grow up. In Zaki's house, Daadi, the grandmother, is the defining voice. He lives with her, his mother, and Samar, the daughter of the grandmother's sister) who was left to be raised there by her parents (the story behind that unravels as the book gets deeper). Zaki's mother is an outspoken woman who fights for unified rights and, although dangerous at times, Zaki never objects. Other outside characters come in and out of the tale, cousins and aunts, but the bond between Samar by Zaki is the strongest element. The author, in a recent interview, states, in regards to the main characters, that "as they grow older their lives take them in different directions. That divergence between the story of a boy and the story of a girl who have different but similar journeys is at the heart of the book. "

What was most interesting about this book was how powerful the female voice was. Although narrated by Zaki,  the stories of his mother and grandmother are central elements. The female impact is very important in the story. (I really liked Daddi - her matriarch stance, although old fashioned at times, was incredibly well done.) The author knowingly created a female dominated story: "I wanted to write a story in which the perspective of a woman, certainly for a boy growing up in a male-dominated society, was revealed as an act of the imagination. And the act of imagining had to end in the granting of greater freedom, greater unknowability, to the woman subject."

An important part of the book was the time period in Pakistan. It set the scene - politically and thematically; I always find it incredibly interesting to see what life is like elsewhere in present time outside of news reports. The time period there showed life just as democracy and optimism returned, regardless of nuclear awareness, and how it effected the main characters. Sethi states "These other changes are reflected in the lives of some of the other characters in the book. So it was a time of social and political change. And it did different things to different people."

I enjoyed The Wish Maker. It was a beautifully written book that brings Pakistan to life - not the war torn one we hear about in the news - the one people live in day to day. I like how it revolved around the idea of family, of coming of age. (Admittedly, I did create a genealogy chart for this to keep track of each character) For a first novel, Sethi created a wonderful piece that was incredibly vivid. 

Admittedly, I did have small issues with this book. Although beautiful, it did get dull at points. The story derailed often and though some side stories were pertinent to the plot, others went nowhere. Some parts were a bit of a struggle to read, however I am glad I got through it. 

I mostly liked the title and what it represented. Sethi explains it by saying "The wish maker is someone who makes a wish but also someone who grants a wish, or enables it in some way. Zaki, our narrator, by allowing the people around him to lead their lives in their own ways, at their own odd paces, is ultimately granting them the right to make their own wishes come true."

All in all, The Wish Maker is a beautiful book that illustrates modern day Pakistan by bringing out incredibly interesting characters. 

Watch an interview with Ali Sethi here.