"This sparkling, fresh debut follows three generations of a family caught up in the web of their own deceit. When scholarly Rashid weds beautiful Henna, he is surprised on their wedding night to learn she's not an accomplished seventeen-year-old but rather a lazy, illiterate fourteen-year-old who opted for marriage over education. He waits several years to consummate the union, then Henna gives birth to Shona, who quickly learns her parents' language of deception. Shona elopes with handsome Parvez and moves to London. At the same time, Rashid finds himself traveling to the same city on business, and when he meets Verity, a shy English woman in her late thirties, he sees a chance for the happiness that he's never found with Henna—even if it means weaving an intricate tangle of lies. Rashid, Henna, and Shona continue to deceive each other and their families for the next two decades, until Shona faces a midlife crisis that makes her question whether deceit really is the best policy. Farooki's vibrant characters leap off the page and straight into the imagination in this clever and intricate novel." -Booklist (starred review)
Roopa Farooki was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and brought up in London. She graduated from New College, Oxford in 1995 and worked in advertising before writing fiction full time. Roopa now lives in North London and South West France with her husband and son.
