Good Intentions

'One of the most eagerly awaited debuts of 2022' Sunday Times

A heart-wrenching and beautifully told debut novel about love, family obligation and finding your way.

Nur and Yasmina are in love
They've been together for four happy years
But Nur's parents don't know that Yasmina exists

As Nur's family counts down to midnight on New Year's Eve, Nur is watching the clock more closely than most: he has made a pact with himself, and with his girlfriend, Yasmina, that at midnight he will finally tell his Pakistani parents the truth. That he has spent years hiding his personal life from them to preserve his image as the golden child. That he has built a life with a woman he loves and she is Black.

Nur wants to be the good son his parents ask him to be, and the good boyfriend Yasmina needs him to be. But as everything he holds dear is challenged, he is forced to ask, is love really a choice for a second-generation immigrant son like him?

Deftly explori ng family obligation and racial prejudice alongside the flush of first love, Good Intentions is a captivating and powerful modern love story that announces a thrilling new voice in British fiction.

'Sensitive, smooth-toned and absorbingly honest' Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People

'A magnificent and messy love story that broke my heart ... for anyone who has ever known what it is to be conflicted in falling in love' Huma Qureshi, author of How We Met

Rezension:

'One of the most eagerly awaited debuts of 2022... [a] clever novel about vulnerability and victimhood that subtly subverts the reader's expectations' Sunday Times

'Family obligation and racial prejudice sit alongside the flush of first love. Expect to be heartbroken' Elle

'A sensitive, smooth-toned and absorbingly honest novel that makes us question our inner worlds, at a time when this kind of self-examination might be the thing that saves us' Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People

'A tender, authentic and candid love story... A must-read' CultureFly

'I found Good Intentions moving, modern and utterly engaging. What a talent' Rhik Samadder, author of I Never Said I Love You

'Good Intentions is so absorbing, compelling and beautifully written. Its ending brought me close to tears - what an incredibly assured debut. I can't wait to see what Kasim Ali writes next' Beth O'Leary, author of T he Flatshare

'An emotional and intense ride through the highs, lows, and inescapable truths of modern love. A confident start to a stellar career in fiction' Justin Myers, author of The Fake-Up

'A magnificent and messy love story that broke my heart. Bittersweet and tender' Huma Qureshi, author of How We Met

'A stellar, authentic and emotionally engrossing read. Addictive in every sense' Irenosen Okojie, author of Nudibranch

'A beautiful and honest story that I'd defy anyone not to be pulled in by, from a fantastic new talent in contemporary fiction' Sareeta Domingo, author of If I Don't Have You

'A gorgeous, unbelievable debut' Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek

'Compelling, emotionally honest, and unafraid' Lillian Li, author of Number One Chinese Restaurant