- Title
- The Names He Gave Me
- Author
- Mamoon Chowdry
- Publisher
- Briar Lane Press
- Publication date
- February 3, 2027
- Format currently available
- Kindle pre-order
- ASIN
- B0HD85KCLW
- Genres
- Literary fiction, speculative fiction, family saga
- Setting
- Near-future Massachusetts
One-line description
An American family did everything right. Then their country stopped seeing them.
Short description
Told thirty years later by the daughter who survived, The Names He Gave Me is a near-future literary family saga about belonging, inherited silence, and the ordinary life a country can quietly take away.
Long description
On Briar Lane in suburban Massachusetts, Kaz and Aamina Malik have built the kind of life that feels permanent. They know the neighbors, raise two daughters, and keep the house warm with food, argument and laughter. After an unnamed terrorist attack, the terms of belonging begin to change. Kaz loses work under new vetting rules. Familiar faces become careful. Their eldest daughter does not come home from rehearsal.
Thirty years later, Ariana reconstructs what happened to her British Pakistani Muslim family from memory, documentary evidence and the details no official record kept. Through an unopened envelope, a cold cup of tea, an asparagus bed and four names spoken beneath Jupiter, Mamoon Chowdry’s debut explores the fragility of citizenship and the ordinary moments a family never thinks to preserve.
Approved review excerpts
“A beautifully rendered, deeply humane family saga . . .”
- Kirkus Reviews
“A loving, fully realized portrait of a particular family . . . depicted with great warmth in beautiful prose.”
- Kirkus Reviews
“Chowdry’s characters anchor this fervid narrative with sincerity and vulnerability.”
- The BookLife Prize, overall score 9.25/10
Author biography
Mamoon Chowdry was born and raised in England, the son of immigrants from Pakistan, and moved to the United States in 1999. He has spent his working life inside large technology systems in finance and healthcare. The Names He Gave Me is his debut novel. He lives in Massachusetts.
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Contact
For interviews, review copies, event appearances and rights inquiries, contact mamoon@briarlanepress.com.