Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed is set in Obama era San Francisco during the last weeks of Seema’s pregnancy, narrated by her unborn son. Growing up in a Muslim Indian family in Chennai, her father disowned her when he found out she was a lesbian. Now many years later, living in San Francisco with her girlfriend, she is reunited with her mother who is dying of cancer and her sister who has become a very strict Muslim and doesn’t approve of Seema’s life choices.

This book is beautifully written, full of the poetry of Keats and passages from the Quran. It moves from San Francisco, to India, to Irvine CA and back following the charged political time when so many were hopeful about an Obama presidency, but also disheartened by his lack of support for gay marriage. We get to know Seema, her friends, her family, her lovers and it deals with themes of acceptance, forgiveness and love. Although I found many passages quite beautiful the book was ultimately so sad and tragic it left me feeling more hopeless than hopeful. This was clearly the authors intention from the outset, but I wish it could have gone another way. Overall I found it a bit preachy and unsatisfying.