Review of When We Were Sisters: A Liminal Space Between Brokenness and Identity
By Harsimran Kaur
My first introduction with Fatimah Asghar happened through their poem “If They Should Come For Us”— which explores the intricate theme of borders between humanity—in my sophomore year of high school. I remember reading their lucid writing, the wisdom of it, how the words felt warm on my tongue. As a fifteen-year-old who wrote a lot, I was immediately struck by the fierceness, inimitable quality, and the liquidity of their writing where the sentences seemed like an island of themselves.
Flash forward to three years later, finally a high school graduate, I read When We Were Sisters, a novel that reminded me so much of my past, of the time lost but also of the time gained. It reminded me of the utmost bond between the writer and their writing, of artistic resilience and of the complexities of the human experience. In between the lines, I found myself on a precipice of something. A new space.
In When We Were Sisters—a portrait of grief entwined with the complex familial relationships, Asghar explores such space. They write with an urgency that feels poignant and fulfilling. Their world of orphans is resilient yet moving, powerful yet stunning—the tone as sharp as their characters. It is powerful, gut-wrenching yet so beautiful. They explore sisterhood, trauma, orphanage, and how characters connect with the world through a fractured sense of place. A literary manifesto, their work is cited by them as “one of the most difficult artistic endeavours” they’ve ever undertaken.
In the book, Asghar made me believe in language and how it could reach corners nothing else is capable of reaching. The protagonist of the story, Kauser—an orphaned Muslim South Asian girl—is often belittled by the imaginary wall of words she has built for herself. Her intense bond with her sisters, namely Noreen and Aisha follows her from the brink of childhood to the fence above adulthood. Slowly and gracefully, they follow each other’s cabaret, stuck in a time lapse of dense imagination and language which is important to them in understanding the world. They build a home from a torn foundation and lay the bricks one feet apart. Soon, they realize they’re housed in a labyrinth. Their parents are dead. Their uncle call them “prostitute” when they are seen talking to boys. His tone is ambiguous—almost demanding. But in the midst of this all, Kauser appears as a brave character, hoping to make a difference.
When We Were Sisters … reminded me so much of my past, of the time lost but also of the time gained. It reminded me of the utmost bond between the writer and their writing, of artistic resilience and of the complexities of the human experience. In between the lines, I found myself on a precipice of something. A new space.
As a young person coming of age, I could relate to Kauser a lot. Her growing up and contending with the collision of her private and public life and her decisions touched a periphery in the story that felt thoughtful and subliminal. Whether it is the exploration of sisterhood, trauma, orphanage, longing, or grief, Asghar’s characters spoke out to me. As a person of South Asian origin, I value collective experiences in literature when it comes to storytelling. Kauser both surprised and navigated me throughout the text. She is complex, brimming with emotions. But it comes from a brokenness that seems almost never-ending. Unlike her sisters, she would not shy away from sharing moments of tenderness with her uncle—who otherwise seemed conceited and hostile toward herself and her sisters—because she sees the brokenness behind his dark eyes and threatening face. She visits the lighter parts of him in the sporadic moments like such when he is sitting beside her, sharing what he calls his forgotten past filled with conflict and revolution.
Identity remains one of the key themes in the story. In a 2022 interview, Asghar commented on the issue of representation, saying, “When we are talking about representational burden, in my mind, the ideal goal would be that none of us should have the burden of carrying a representational voice. It’s important to normalise the various ways in which these identities are lived.” While reading this book, I found myself on the precipice on two identities. One dealt with Kauser and her understanding of the world and second with how the reader perceives her. There was a lot that I was still coming to terms with through the worlds of the characters, particularly in understanding the raw aptitude of their internal conflicts. Every time I thought I understood them, the internal world of the story came forth with new complexities to unravel with. It left me wanting for more. Such is the experience of reading this book.
At the end, I was left intrigued by the pressure the atmosphere of the book had created. I was amused but also distorted. I admired the characters for their resilience but also was torn into shreds because of their complexity. Sure, they might not be easy to reckon with, but reading about them made me realize the importance of diverse perspectives in the world of storytelling. Asghar’s world is vivid with lyrical prose that traverses the lines between fiction and autofiction.
While reading this book, I found myself on the precipice on two identities. One dealt with Kauser and her understanding of the world and second with how the reader perceives her.
When We Were Sisters is a remarkable story about sisterhood, trauma, and grief. To turn its pages is like turning the whole ocean apart, finding pieces of itself in the debris. An interwoven tale of broken places, sadness and grief, the novel will make you sad, happy, hopeful—everything, but all at once.
WHEN WE WERE SISTERS
By Fatimah Asghar
352 pp. Penguin Random House. $27.00
Order here.
Harsimran Kaur (she/her) is a teen writer. Her writing appears in Jellyfish Review, Milk Candy Review, Hobart After Dark, CHEAP POP, Okay Donkey Magazine, JMWW, and elsewhere. An alumna of The Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program, her work has been recognized by the New York Times, La Sierra University, Royal Commonwealth Society, International Human Rights Art Festival, Oxford University Press, and the National Flash Fiction Day Contests. Find more about her at harsimranwrites.com.