Amina Akhtar’s Almost Surely Dead: A Review
© Mindy’s Book Studio
Amina Akhtar’s third novel, a thriller, Almost Surely Dead, is a non-stop ride of terror. Dunia Ahmed is haunted, hunted, and targeted by unknown assailants. She must figure out why she’s a target before someone succeeds in killing her. Thrillers work best when your protagonist does not understand what is going on coupled with not knowing who they can trust. Amina Akhtar’s novel forces the reader to experience Dunia’s ordeal by identifying with her.
Akhtar’s narrative is anything but straightforward. Elements of thrillers, mysteries, and true crime stories are woven into the novel. We experience Dunia’s first-person narrative as she endures multiple assaults and increasing paranoia about everything in her life. We learn about Dunia’s childhood and the trauma surrounding her life at five years old, in what can only be described as a nearly complete hostile environment with a mother who is anything but motherly. Finally, a podcast about Dunia’s case and disappearance allows us a different perspective.
The sensational nature of the podcast causes the reader to question Dunia’s narrative. It adds to the mounting pieces of evidence in Dunia’s life leading up to the cause of her disappearance. While the podcast simply adds another narrative layer, that layer is full of what one might argue, prejudicial information through the manipulation of the podcaster’s agenda. There is FIND DUNIA merchandise. The interviews with Dunia’s friends and family are used for the best shock value and ultimately, the reader must try, just like Dunia to find out who is telling the truth and what is happening in the course of the narrative.
The in-depth Los Angeles Times article about the book and the story about its selection for actor-writer-producer Mindy Kaling’s publishing venture: Mindy’s Book Studio, Kaling’s imprint at Amazon, reveals Akhtar’s past working in the Fashion World for Elle, and her earlier life in New York City, where Almost Surely Dead is set. Sibani Ram describes the shocking impact of Akhtar’s story from the first page, “…the genre-fluid novel opens with the attempted murder of its protagonist, pharmacist Dunia Ahmed. Part supernatural thriller, part social commentary, part family saga, it’s also a refashioning of the stereotypical first-generation assimilation narrative, with the help of some magic and insights into Sufism.”
While the narrative takes place in New York City, we experience life as Dunia, someone who is from an immigrant family. The world of Pakistan and the ancient beliefs of Sufi culture are interspersed throughout the story. One important aspect of this book is the experience of a South Asian woman who has not followed the traditional path of marriage and children. As Dunia’s story unfolds, we see that her non-traditional choices helped shape some of her troubling experiences in her life through no fault of her own. Between her mother’s thwarted expectations of Dunia going to medical school, and Dunia’s rejection of an overbearing, emotionally abusive boyfriend, we see that the struggle for parental and societal acceptance of one’s choices is real. Any woman from any culture who has made even one non-traditional choice, bucking the patriarchal system, can both sympathize and empathize with Dunia. You will come away slightly exhausted but intellectually and culturally richer from the experience.
Many thanks to MB Communications for providing a review copy of the book.