Five books by UAE authors that are worth a read

Burnt Sugar

Author- Avni Doshi
Availability- amazon
Price- AED 89

In her youth, Tara was wild. She abandoned her loveless marriage to join an ashram, endured a brief stint as a beggar (mostly to spite her affluent parents), and spent years chasing after a dishevelled, homeless ‘artist’ – all with her young child in tow. Now she is forgetting things, mixing up her maid’s wages and leaving the gas on all night, and her grown-up daughter is faced with the task of caring for a woman who never cared for her. This is a love story and a story about betrayal. But not between lovers – between mother and daughter. Sharp as a blade and laced with caustic wit, Burnt Sugar unpicks the slippery, choking cord of memory and myth that binds two women together, making and unmaking them endlessly.

Rock Your Ugly

Author- Waleed shah
Cost- AED- 150
Availability- The Dreamwork Collective Bookstore

Body positivity is a movement that’s not going anywhere and rightly so. The topic of toxic beauty standards is breaking through, and Waleed Shah puts everyday people at the front of the discussion in his debut photography book, Rock Your Ugly. It is a raw, unfiltered look into the lives of everyday people willing to bare all and reclaim those parts of themselves they have struggled to embrace. UAE-based photographer Waleed Shah captures a moment in the lives of these men and women with accompanying stories that zoom in on their insecurities and what they usually hide behind smiles and Instagram filters. Rock Your Ugly is a middle finger to toxic beauty standards and a reclamation of power through this one simple truth: we all have things we don’t like about ourselves…

but why hide it, when we can rock it?

Big Little Steps

Author- Mathilde Loujayne
Cost- USD 21
Availability- Amazon.ae

Since her conversion to Islam at the age of eighteen, Mathilde has crossed paths with women from all walks of life on a common spiritual journey: to discover Islam from a feminine perspective. Fueled by the desire to find the right words to explain to her mother why she  loujaynechose to embrace Islam, this guide was born. Through Mathilde’s personal experiences – grief, high school, moving abroad, work, marriage and motherhood – she addresses women’s common concerns as they take the big, little steps towards finding a balanced lifestyle and a glowing heart in Islam. This book will have a special appeal for adults looking for a book that is cultural and adventurous with an empathic tone.

Borderless Friendship

Name of author- Anshul Purohit
Availability:  Amazon and Ukiyoto
Price- Ukiyoto (Paperback version) – USD 18
            Ukiyoto (Flipbook version) – USD 2
            Ukiyoto (Hardback version) – USD 20
            Amazon (Paperback version) – USD 18

Two friends from India and Pakistan, belonging to diverse cultural and financial backgrounds had a chance encounter as students in a reputed university in Dubai. Initially at odds with each other due to their contrasting personalities, they gradually warm up and establish a strong camaraderie. Despite their lifestyle; national and socio-economic background, they maintained a strong friendship over the years.However, the recent turn of events before the marriage opened a can of worms in their ideological differences that stemmed from a past incident that had almost brought friction to their friendship, thus jeopardising it. History was repeating itself and in both cases, the preference to please others superseded the desire to sustain an old friendship. Are a number of years of togetherness only considered as a yardstick for measuring the closeness of friendship? Do people really know their friends whom they have known for years? Are we taking those friends for granted who have stood for us without any questions? These are the questions they failed to answer.

This three volume series, while exploring bonding between two friends, gives a glimpse to the readers about the contemporary conflicts they face during their long relationship and tests their strength in the face of adverse moments and opposing groups.

Note-  Volume 2 and 3 will be available by mid /end of May 2021.

Big Splash Circus

Author-  Karina Choudhrie
Availability- Amazon.ae
Price- AED 30

The colourful book follows the hero, Lantern Fish, on a journey of self-discovery, learning and acceptance. By the end of the beautifully illustrated 48-page book, we are taught that everyone has their own unique talents and that we are all special.