A story of innocence, longing, trauma, and determination

Hameeda's Tryst with Destiny is the debut novel by Gautam Shah. Set in 1980s Afghanistan, this coming of age tale tells the story of Hameeda, a sixteen-year-old Pathan girl who against all odds discovers romantic love. Despite society working against her, she manages to pursue that love, with the help of her grandfather Abdul Rahman Gafar Khan who in his youth in the 1940’s Bombay had pursued his own romantic interest against similar but lesser odds.

In a direct and forceful literary style, the author brings to life Hameeda’s and the grandfather’s everyday observations and interactions, with all the little nuances of life, and blending personal and political turmoil, takes us on a journey through a world where innocence, young love, longing, kindness, hate, violence, and evil coexist in an unsteady equilibrium that is foreboding and frightening. In an intricate embroidery of events, present and past, the book will at once fascinate and engage as the reader dives in and out of the emotions and anxieties of the granddaughter and the grandfather as they navigate their way through their small universe that is being smothered by a cruel society. It is a compelling and fast-moving narrative of will, patience, and perseverance.