Review: The Runaways
Rating: 2.5 Stars
The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto has made me very conflicted. Even though this was the first book by her that I was reading, I have caught glimpses of her work over the years, and have always thought of her as very articulate and clear of thought. So, when I started reading this book, I was looking forward to reading an exciting and relevant story. Sadly, this was not the case.
The Runaways is the story of three people who have nothing in common, it seems. Anita Rose is the daughter of a masseuse, living in the slums of Karachi; Monty is the son of one of the most influential men in the same city; while Sunny lives in Portsmouth with his widowed father. The lives of these three characters are going to cross in the middle of the Iraqi desert, resulting in tragedy.
The premise and the pace of the story are full of potential. There is nothing wrong with Fatima Bhutto’s imagination and creativity. There is something to be said about having a strong female protagonist, who faces the world fearlessly and is convinced that she is destined for bigger things. The character of a mother who wants to give her kids everything without compromising her principles, is also applaudable. Which brings me to what went wrong, for me at least.
There is so much to unpack here that I don’t even know where to start. I’ll start with the most basic thing, the names and mannerisms of the characters. That was my first clue that this book has been written by someone on the outside looking in. It wouldn’t matter if there was a feeling of empathy, but Bhutto doesn’t seem to like or sympathise with her own characters.
In order to make Anita Rose strong and empowered, Bhutto has turned Sunny and Monty into caricatures. Sunny, the only character whose arc is believable, is an ass; while Monty’s going from being a spoilt rich kid to becoming a Jihadi is difficult to swallow. All stereotypes ever applied to young Pakistani men have been used here at least once. Same with all the females who are not Anita Rose. It is somewhat difficult to believe that in a story of this magnitude, there is not one female who is nice, and not promiscuous!
The character of Anita Rose, on the other hand, defies logic. The way a poor Christian girl lands up in Iraq and becomes influential in a militant group, seems so far-fetched. At least I have never heard of women influencing men among people famous for recruiting brides on the internet!
I have lost count of the books that have been written about Karachi and the people living there without delving deep into the essence of the city. Karachi is a living, breathing metropolis, like hundreds of other big cities, with a character that is uniquely its own. To start off a book by waxing lyrical about the city, and then losing the whole essence of the city during the course of the book is, for me, unfortunate and sad.
Of course there’s also the sleeping around, making out and getting intoxicated that goes on in the whole book. I know I have been vocal about how this seems to have become the central theme of all books revolving around Muslims in general, and Karachi in particular. I’m not oblivious to the fact that it is a reality that needs to be accepted; my beef is with the way that it is portrayed. Two of my most favourite books that are set in Karachi are not pretty books, but they resonate with me because the truth in their words can be felt.
In The Runaways, all I could take away at the end was that men are evil; people who follow Islam indulge in the craziest activities; the elite class is full of jerks; it is impossible to find good people in this world. I wish I had held off reading this book for a little longer!