Noomi Wadia is ashamed of her mother, Asha, whose alcoholism is viewed in their small, upper-crust community in India as a stain on her whole family. But Noomi thinks she has finally put her tumultuous adolescence behind her when she meets Veer, whose marriage proposal finally improves her social standing and redeems her reputation. Veer doesn’t seem to care that Noomi chafes against the stifling traditions of her conservative in-laws. But Noomi is stumbling into her mother’s footsteps, drinking more and more to cope with her anxiety and chauvinistic hypocrisy, creating ruinous consequences. As Noomi fights her own self-destructive impulses, she must learn to understand the underlying causes of her family trauma and unpack her damaged relationship with her mother. It is her only chance to prevent the cycle from repeating to the next generation. In her astounding debut, Naheed Phiroze Patel brings Noomi and her world alive with arresting prose and characters that are complex, layered, yet achingly real. Patel’s writing, observant and haunting, is reminiscent of Avni Doshi’s Booker-shortlisted BURNT SUGAR, mixed with the tone of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s FLEABAG.
Mirror made of rain
by
naheed phiroze patel
A PERSONAL, EMPATHETIC VIEW ON MOTHERS WHO SOCIETY HAS DEEMED ‘FAILURES’”
— NPR
“A DARK, MOODY, BROODING NOVEL THAT EXPLORES THE FISSURES OF FAMILY WITH DELICACY AND CONVICTION”
“DRAWING AN ANGRY, SELF-DESTRUCTIVE FEMALE NARRATOR IS A PARTICULARLY FEARLESS, TABOO-BREAKING MOVE FOR A DIASPORIC AUTHOR.”
“A STUNNING NOVEL OF GROWTH, RECONCILIATION, AND THE POWER OF LEARNING TO SEE OURSELVES THROUGH OUR OWN EYES.”
— BUZZFEED
“PATEL’S GUT-WRENCHING DEBUT OFFERS A LOOKING GLASS INTO THE LUXURIOUS HOMES OF INDIAN HIGH SOCIETY...”
“A GRACEFUL DESCRIPTIVE STYLE”
“AN IMMERSIVE DEBUT”
"PATEL GOES INTO THE HEART OF THE WAYS IN WHICH TRAUMA CAN OFTEN SHAPE AND SURPRISE US."
"THE BEAUTY OF PATEL'S PROSE RESIDES IN [...] HOW SMALL DETAILS RESONATE WITH READERS REMOVED FROM INDIA, BUT STILL ANGERED BY THE CULTURAL AND SOCIAL FOCUS ON FEMALE PURITY, GOODNESS AND POLITENESS OVER OTHER INDICATORS OF WELL BEING."
"[PATEL] EXPLORES THEMES SURROUNDING SELF-DESTRUCTION, RELATIONSHIPS, LOVE AND MENTAL ILLNESS, IMBUING THEM WITH SHARP DETAIL."
"PATEL WRITES ONE OF THE FIRST FEMALE INDIAN PROTAGONISTS TO RECKON WITH ALCOHOLISM. SHE DOES NOT FLIP GENDER ON ITS HEAD SO MUCH AS SEND IT TUMBLING."
“[PATEL] IS A WRITER WITH A KEENLY DISCRIMINATING AND DISTANCING EYE WHEN IT COMES TO GENDER BIAS IN THE UPPER ECHELEONS OF SOCIETY AND THE VIOLENCE TRANSMITTED BY THE MOST INNOCUOUS SEEMING ACTS”
“PATEL’S ATTEMPTS AT PORTRAYING THE INDIAN UPPER MIDDLE CLASS ARE ASTUTE, AND [THE NOVEL] DEPICTS THE TYRANNY OF PATRIARCHAL STRUCTURES SO DEEPLY INGRAINED ACROSS CLASS AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.”
"THE WRITING IS SHARP, BEAUTIFUL, VERY EVOCATIVE. THE CHARACTERS POP OFF THE PAGE AND ARE INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE. NOOMI IS SO ACHINGLY HUMAN AND ALIVE.”
— BRANDON TAYLOR, AUTHOR OF REAL LIFE AND FILTHY ANIMALS
"MIRROR MADE OF RAIN IS LUMINOUS — A BLISTERING AND UNFLINCHING COMMENTARY ON FAMILY, LOVE, PAIN, ADDICTION AND DESTRUCTION. WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE NAHEED PHIROZE PATEL WRITING."
— DIKSHA BASU, AUTHOR OF THE WINDFALL AND DESTINATION WEDDING
“THE WRITING IS SMART, PLAYFUL, BROAD IN ITS FRAME OF REFERENCE, POLITICAL WITHOUT BEING PEDANTIC. THE PARTIES ARE HORRIFYING AND ENDLESSLY FASCINATING. PATEL IS AN INCREDIBLY TALENTED WRITER.”
— VICTOR LAVALLE, AUTHOR OF THE CHANGELING
“I FELL IN LOVE WITH NOOMI AND ROOTED FOR HER ALL THE WAY THROUGH."
— SUSAN BERNOFSKY AUTHOR OF CLAIRVOYANT OF THE SMALL: THE LIFE OF ROBERT WALSER
"A PIERCING, GLITTERING REFLECTION ON FAMILIAL TRAUMA AND ADDICTION, PATEL'S WRITING IS SHARP AS THE SHARDS OF A SMASHED MIRROR.”
—DOIREANN NÍ GHRÍOFA, AUTHOR OF A GHOST IN THE THROAT
“FULL OF VIBRANT OBSERVATIONAL DETAILS AND HUMOR. THE CAST OF MAIN CHARACTERS PATEL HAS PULLED TOGETHER IS MADDENINGLY TRUE TO LIFE."
—ELISSA SCHAPPELL, AUTHOR OF BLUEPRINTS FOR BUILDING BETTER GIRLS
Naheed Phiroze Patel is a graduate of the MFA program at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where her studies were supported by fellowship awards for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years. Her writing has appeared in the New England Review, The Guardian, Wasafiri, Lit Hub, Poets & Writers, Off Assignment, Chicago Review of Books, BOMB Magazine, Public Books, The Rumpus, Scroll.in, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, "Mirror Made of Rain" was published by Unnamed Press in the US in May 2022 and HarperCollins India in South Asia, and was praised by NPR as “a personal, empathetic view on mothers who society has deemed failures.’” A rave review in The Los Angeles Review of Books says, “Despite its disturbing theme of abusive relationships, the writing positively shines, offering a poised multigenerational story about growing up, loss, escapism, and migration.” The book was an NPR Book of the Day and appeared on lists by The Millions, LitHub, Debutiful, Buzzfeed, Ms. Magazine and elsewhere.
About
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'Mirror Made of Rain' looks at how patterns of self-destruction are inherited.
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A debut novel about resisting patriarchal tradition in high-society India.
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Naheed Phiroze Patel's novel "Mirror Made of Rain" explores female rage as a righteous response to patriarchal oppression.
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