Are You Enjoying?
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- Create Date：2021-04-23 11:51:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mira Sethi
- ISBN：1524732877
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Summary
An exhilarating debut by a young writer from Pakistan: provocative， funny， disarmingly original stories that upend traditional notions of identity and family， and peer into the vulnerable workings of the human heart。
From the high-stakes worlds of television and politics to the intimate corridors of home--including the bedroom--these wryly observed， deeply revealing stories look at life in Pakistan with humor， compassion， psychological acuity， and emotional immediacy。 Childhood best friends agree to marry in order to keep their sexuality a secret。 A young woman with an anxiety disorder discovers the numbing pleasures of an illicit love affair。 A radicalized student's preparations for his sister's wedding involve beating up the groom。 An actress is forced to grow up fast on the set of her first major tv show， where the real intrigue takes place off-screen。 Every story bears witness to the all-too-universal desire to be loved， and what happens when this longing gets pushed to its limits。 Are You Enjoying？ is a free-spirited， confident， indelible introduction to a galvanizing new talent。
From the high-stakes worlds of television and politics to the intimate corridors of home--including the bedroom--these wryly observed， deeply revealing stories look at life in Pakistan with humor， compassion， psychological acuity， and emotional immediacy。 Childhood best friends agree to marry in order to keep their sexuality a secret。 A young woman with an anxiety disorder discovers the numbing pleasures of an illicit love affair。 A radicalized student's preparations for his sister's wedding involve beating up the groom。 An actress is forced to grow up fast on the set of her first major tv show， where the real intrigue takes place off-screen。 Every story bears witness to the all-too-universal desire to be loved， and what happens when this longing gets pushed to its limits。 Are You Enjoying？ is a free-spirited， confident， indelible introduction to a galvanizing new talent。
Reviews
Umar Tosheeb
，
These short stories are interesting to read because they depict different real-life characters in modern Pakistan。 They include people from both urban and rural settings; from entertainment and news industries; middle and elite classes; straight and gay characters。 A lot of fiction in English coming out of Pakistan is tailored toward Western audiences， and themes dominated by terrorism。 What I loved about this book is that stories are about Pakistan， with characters displaying joys and challenge These short stories are interesting to read because they depict different real-life characters in modern Pakistan。 They include people from both urban and rural settings; from entertainment and news industries; middle and elite classes; straight and gay characters。 A lot of fiction in English coming out of Pakistan is tailored toward Western audiences， and themes dominated by terrorism。 What I loved about this book is that stories are about Pakistan， with characters displaying joys and challenges of how Pakistanis would be as a society。 。。。more
Elizabeth ✨
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“She knew she scrutinized her own gestures， but she’d begun to gaze not with the kindness of real introspection， but with the punitive inquiry of the present: a woman trailed always by her own shrieking effigy of herself。”ARE YOU ENJOYING？ explores the lives of people， from the mildly famous to the unknown， trying to figure out where they fit， in their homes， relationships， jobs， and society in Pakistan。 Sethi is a Pakistani-American actor & writer， and her astute observation of inner worlds and “She knew she scrutinized her own gestures， but she’d begun to gaze not with the kindness of real introspection， but with the punitive inquiry of the present: a woman trailed always by her own shrieking effigy of herself。”ARE YOU ENJOYING？ explores the lives of people， from the mildly famous to the unknown， trying to figure out where they fit， in their homes， relationships， jobs， and society in Pakistan。 Sethi is a Pakistani-American actor & writer， and her astute observation of inner worlds and how culture/politics are playing out in interpersonal relationships makes this an engaging & thought-provoking collection。 A sampling of storylines: a Pakistani television personality pursues a imbalanced romance with an American embassy worker; a young actress learns what’s required of her to succeed; a queer woman marries a queer man to appease their parents and hide their sexualities; the imperious and astute wife of a politician runs for political office herself。I found Sethi’s writing evocative， insightful， and lovely。 She’s funny， too。 These stories provide a glimpse to the private lives & minds of the characters in a way I really （as the title inquires） enjoyed。 There’s poignant exploration of tensions in Pakistani society， the influence of western neoimperialism， power， sexuality， & more。 I did think the stories lacked something - deeper meaning？ Fuller plot？ Compelling character arc？ Some of the stories worked for me more than others - I especially liked “Tomboy” （no surprise I liked the gay one） and “Mini Apple”。 As you move through the book the stories become slightly intertwined， which added depth & increased my emotional engagement。 The dialogue is a bit clunky in a few spots， but I think some of that is because Sethi is trying to convey how her characters have different access to education and languages - she’s recording her own audiobook & I’d be really interested to hear her inflection。Overall: intriguing stories， excellent writing， positive reading experience， & something was missing for me。 I’m curious to see how this lands for other folks。 Thanks Knopf for the ARC！ This collection is out 4/20。Content warnings: misogyny， violence， homophobia， public humiliation， anti-fat bias， suicidal ideation， anxiety/panic attack， infidelity 。。。more
Megan Tristao
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Fairly solid collection of seven stories set in Pakistan。 I think "A Life of Its Own—Part One" was my favorite of the collection， followed by "Tomboy。" Unfortunately， I don't know that any of the stories will stay with me for particularly long， as really good short stories tend to do。 （I should also note that I've read some banging story collections recently， so maybe I simply caught this one at the wrong time。）Thanks to Netgalley for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review。 Fairly solid collection of seven stories set in Pakistan。 I think "A Life of Its Own—Part One" was my favorite of the collection， followed by "Tomboy。" Unfortunately， I don't know that any of the stories will stay with me for particularly long， as really good short stories tend to do。 （I should also note that I've read some banging story collections recently， so maybe I simply caught this one at the wrong time。）Thanks to Netgalley for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Rupi Kaur
，
Beautifully delicious short stories that take place in Pakistan。 The stories are emotional and gutting- yet balanced with humour。 The diction and adjectives is what really surprised me。 Mira doesn't try to sugarcoat with fluffy metaphors or make things beautiful。 She shows us the truth。 She shows us how ugly we are in the privacy of our own homes， when no one is looking。 This was perhaps my favourite part of this book。 I really couldn't pick which story was my favourite- because each story had s Beautifully delicious short stories that take place in Pakistan。 The stories are emotional and gutting- yet balanced with humour。 The diction and adjectives is what really surprised me。 Mira doesn't try to sugarcoat with fluffy metaphors or make things beautiful。 She shows us the truth。 She shows us how ugly we are in the privacy of our own homes， when no one is looking。 This was perhaps my favourite part of this book。 I really couldn't pick which story was my favourite- because each story had such strong characters I truly felt for。 。。。more
Bob Hughes
，
I found the portrayal of opposites in this book interesting- tradition vs modernity， East vs West， young and old， and the characters are all trying to navigate the various opportunities and pitfalls that lie between those contradictions。I found the book really quite funny in many parts， with a lot of the humour coming either from the unexpectedness of the language （harsh and bitter swear words alongside the traditional language of politeness） or just the warm mockery of some of the characters wh I found the portrayal of opposites in this book interesting- tradition vs modernity， East vs West， young and old， and the characters are all trying to navigate the various opportunities and pitfalls that lie between those contradictions。I found the book really quite funny in many parts， with a lot of the humour coming either from the unexpectedness of the language （harsh and bitter swear words alongside the traditional language of politeness） or just the warm mockery of some of the characters who make silly decisions and seem to be at the mercy of their whims in a modern-day Pakistan that is full of temptations and distractions。 However， despite the many parts of this book that I enjoyed， it occasionally felt a bit fragmented to me， with characters seemingly disappearing and returning without much explanation， and so it occasionally felt contrastingly as if there were both too many characters and too few at the same time。 3。5 stars。Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
TEELOCK Mithilesh
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An abashed look at sexuality and desire， power and social mobility—and the humour and heartache in what it means to transgress in a Muslim society today—this debut short story collection from Pakistani writer and actor Mira Sethi offers a disarmingly comic perspective on everyday life in Pakistan。
Shana
，
***Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review***As most other story collections， this one contains a few duds and a few gems。 Some of the stories intersect， but switch perspectives from one person to another so that it's possible to see them as separate。 They provide a glimpse into contemporary Pakistan， and while I enjoyed that aspect， the stories themselves didn't quite capture me。 ***Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review***As most other story collections， this one contains a few duds and a few gems。 Some of the stories intersect， but switch perspectives from one person to another so that it's possible to see them as separate。 They provide a glimpse into contemporary Pakistan， and while I enjoyed that aspect， the stories themselves didn't quite capture me。 。。。more
AnnaLuce
，
/ / / Read more reviews on my blog / / /Are You Enjoying？ reads very much like a debut。 While I appreciated the themes Mira Sethi explored in these seven stories， the writing definitely detracted from my overall reading experiences。 As collections of short stories go this is a rather forgettable and conventional one。The setting （Pakistan） and ideas behind each story had potential， for example， in the first one， 'Mini Apple'， a TV presenter has a 'dalliance' with an American woman， who works at / / / Read more reviews on my blog / / /Are You Enjoying？ reads very much like a debut。 While I appreciated the themes Mira Sethi explored in these seven stories， the writing definitely detracted from my overall reading experiences。 As collections of short stories go this is a rather forgettable and conventional one。The setting （Pakistan） and ideas behind each story had potential， for example， in the first one， 'Mini Apple'， a TV presenter has a 'dalliance' with an American woman， who works at the American embassy。 While their dynamic had that certain something， the storyline doesn't do much with it。 The second one has very strong #metoo vibes as we follow an aspiring actress who has just landed a good role and catches the attention of the film's tyrannical director。 In another story Sethi writes of a young student who finds purpose after he joins an extremist group。 Many of these stories examine topical and interesting topics but Sethi's execution left much to be desired。 The last story in particular， which happens to be the one this collection is titled after， struck me as being a rather lacklustre and superficial take on a toxic relationship。Much of the phrases （“if you look closely， most women have restless eyes”） and imagery in these stories was clichéd （“he spat on the ground: a spray of blood soured in the dust”）。 The dialogue was clunky so much so that it made the characters seem unrealistic。 We have a young man who works in the film industry say that after he uploaded a photo of himself without a shirt “lots of 'like' came。 Then I was relaxed。” and “So many comments coming on my page”。 Something about the way he phrased this didn't really 'flow' （I am aware that others can and will think differently）。 In another story we get the director characters telling an actress that he “groom” her （surely he would use another word）。 And then later one we get a story in which a man says the following thing: “Your butt， it's not a Kardashian yoga ball。 It's just a cute bubble”。。。。what the feck is that even supposed to mean？ I also abhorred most of the author's descriptions， which struck me as either 'trying' or nonsensical: “Sex with Asher was liquid， hard， dissolving” ， “The gray in Asher's hair became a mischievous afterthought， like a snaggletooth on a beautiful woman” ， “my face flushes red， flushes blue” （what is she， an ambulance？） ， “her legs were smooth， as if rubbed with light”， “mopping kabab crumbs from his mouth with the coarse pink tissue wrapped around a bottle of Pepsi” （this unnecessary detail detracted from the actual scene）， a “whistle” bounces from someone's nose， “a brief dip in her wrist sprang into a mound of arm” （wtf？）， and last but not least， “her collarbones were so deep they could rock a baby to sleep” （I assume here the collarbones are actually prominent given that the woman in discussion was skinny。。。。）。Anyhow， just because this didn't work for me does not mean you should not give it a try。 I recommend you check out some more positive reviews before making up you mind。ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kylie Summers
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An interesting and poignant look into contemporary Pakistani society。 The stories are engaging， and have a sense of depth which makes them more memorable。 My favorite story is Breezy Blessings， which tells the story of a young， naive girl， trying to make it as a TV actress， who gets a rude awakening。All in all， a thought provoking collection of stories which makes me want to visit the country and get a taste of a different culture。 Thank you to the author， the publisher， and NetGalley for provid An interesting and poignant look into contemporary Pakistani society。 The stories are engaging， and have a sense of depth which makes them more memorable。 My favorite story is Breezy Blessings， which tells the story of a young， naive girl， trying to make it as a TV actress， who gets a rude awakening。All in all， a thought provoking collection of stories which makes me want to visit the country and get a taste of a different culture。 Thank you to the author， the publisher， and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy for an honest review。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Are You Enjoying?
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Are You Enjoying?&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Are You Enjoying?&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0