Book Review: “A Beautiful Lie”
Publisher Description
“Everybody lies. We all do it. Many years ago I told one lie that has taken on a life of its own.” In India in 1947 the country is coming apart―and so is thirteen-year-old Bilal’s life. He is determined to protect his dying father from the news of Partition, news that he knows will break his father's heart. With spirit and determination, and with the help of his good friends, Bilal builds an elaborate deception, even printing false pages of the local newspaper to hide the signs of national unrest. All Bilal wants is for his father to die in peace. But that means Bilal has a very complicated relationship with the truth. This extraordinarily rich debut novel brings to life a key moment in history and touches on the importance of tolerance, love and family.
My Review
Educational Value ★★★★★
The educational factor is solid for this book! The time period (1947) and setting (Gujarat, India) paint a picture of what life was like when India was partitioned into West Pakistan and East Pakistan due to religious conflict among Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Christian populations. 13-year-old Bilal and his close friends, carry the reader through the narrow streets and alleys of India as they wrestle with the conflict and its potential impact on Bilal’s dying father… not to mention their own friendships.
Positive Messages ★★★★★
While the overall book is centered around religious conflict and oppression, there are many positive messages woven throughout the story. Bilal, in an attempt to ensure a peaceful end-of-life for his father, starts to lie about current social events. As one would expect, the lie snowballs from lying by omission and escalates to great lengths toward the end of the book. Chapter after chapter Bilal battles with the moral impact of this choice affecting him both emotionally and physically. He also stands up to a wayward older brother and shows a keen awareness of right vs. wrong in many situations, often encouraging others to make the right choice.
Positive Role Models ★★★★★
There are so many positive role models throughout this book. I particularly admire the way that the author represented Bilal’s mixed group of friends. It reminded me very much of books we’ve read on the Civil War with close-knit families and/or friends being divided over their convictions. Additionally, there were several adult role models and mentors that Bilal respects and relies on for sound advice, including Bilal’s teacher, family doctor, and his own father.
Diverse Representations ★★★★
It’s hard to know how accurately the book portrays the nuances of the people groups in the book; I felt like the characters could’ve been a little more three-dimensional and wished to better understand the conflict. As a reader, we learn that India will be partitioned due to religious differences and we encounter violence and name-calling but the book doesn’t go too deep with it. It is however, age-appropriate (13-18) and might ignite a desire to dig deeper. For context, the author, Irfan Master, is originally from Leicester, England and grew up speaking Urdu, an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in Pakistan and parts of India. His mother was from Pakistan, his father from Gujarat, India and he relied on stories of the conflict told by his grandfather.
Violence / Scariness ★★★
There are a few pockets of violence in the book in the form of rooster cockfights and a mob running around town setting houses and their inhabitants on fire. There are mentions of blood-streaked feathers and people screaming but generally speaking there were few (if any) gory descriptions, leaving most of the events up to the reader’s imagination. It was just enough to paint a picture of the mounting violence and move the story along without dwelling on or sensationalizing the bloodshed.
Profanity ★
All good on the profanity front! To the best of my knowledge I don’t recall any profane language. There are a few instances of name-calling, usually involving animals (i.e. “you dirty rat”) but these are very lightly peppered throughout the book.
Risky Behaviors ★
Religious violence aside, risky behaviors related to sex, romance, nudity, drinking and/or drug use were not present. Bilal’s older brother smoked cigarettes and we get the sense that Bilal is not amused. It’s an attribute that demonstrates his brother’s wayward and rebellious character.
Final Thoughts
This book was scheduled as part of our “Eastern Hemisphere” All-Subjects package while we studied India and the Middle East. While I wouldn’t classify this as a page-turner (it could use a few more chapter cliff-hangers), it was a pretty easy read and I enjoyed the storyline overall. I had to be mindful of the middle-grade audience when I desired more depth from the characters and detail about the conflict but I think a tween/teen audience could easily find themselves empathizing with Bilal’s situation. As an adult reader, I naturally had a hard time creating an emotional connection to the main characters but the epilogue, which fast-forwards 60 years to an adult Bilal, tugged at the heartstrings and wrapped up a very important lingering question about the lie! If your students are studying the Middle East, I’d highly recommend this book for its relatable perspectives on cultural and religious issues.
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