Synopsis
A novel about being yourself in a world of family feuds and betrayal.
Daddy's girl, Soraya Butt has everything: the gorgeous live-in boy, the dream apartment, the enticing job offer. Her world is thrown upside-down when her father turns up on her doorstep and discovers her with her dream boy in a state of undress. He disowns her.
'He is not even a Muslim.'
When the family business threatens to go belly up without her intervention, Soraya is caught on the horns of a dilemma: should she come to the rescue or leave her dad to be ruined by the business melt-down?
This novel could be classed as chick lit, but with a difference - the cultural background is so very different - based on Manchester's 'Curry Mile' and revolving around the Asian community.
Soraya and her father have not spoken for over two years when she returns to Manchester after finding out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. The story looks at their relationship - Soyara is headstrong and stubborn, and so is her father who she is more like than she would admit.
I have no idea if the story is authentic as I've no experience of living within an Asian community - but it is very well drawn. The family in the middle, the businesses, the battle to keep the title of Curry King. There are some really funny moments and some quite sad ones too - the fall-out of a proposed arranged marriage and the conflict between old friends who argue over business.
An enjoyable read and an insight into the world of the Asian Curry world.