Seven — Farzana Doctor

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 TRILLIUM AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE 2021 EVERGREEN AWARD • AN INDIGO BEST BOOK OF 2020 • A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST INDEPENDENT READ FOR FALL 2020 • AN APPLE BOOKS BEST BOOK OF 2020 • A CBC BOOKS BEST CANADIAN FICTION BOOK OF 2020 • A NOW MAGAZINE TOP TEN BOOK OF 2020

"Be prepared for this novel to stay with you for a long time, especially its ending." -- GLOBE AND MAIL
"[An] extraordinary book... packed with discovery and jarring emotional arcs." -- TORONTO STAR
"Penetrating and subtle ... [An] immersive, absorbing portrait." -- EDEN ROBINSON
"Explores with courage and storytelling finesse the harsh truths within the ideals of kinship and community." -- DAVID CHARIANDY
"An urgent and passionate read." -- VIVEK SHRAYA
"Visceral and emotional... a courageous feat." -- QUILL & QUIRE (starred review)

A brave, soulfully written feminist novel about inheritance and resistance that tests the balance between kinship and the fight against customs that harm us.

When Sharifa accompanies her husband on a marriage-saving trip to India in 2016, she thinks that she's going to research her great-great-grandfather, a wealthy business leader and philanthropist. What captures her imagination is not his rags-to-riches story, but the mystery of his four wives, missing from the family lore. She ends up excavating much more than she had imagined.

Sharifa's trip coincides with a time of unrest within her insular and conservative religious community, and there is no escaping its politics. A group of feminists is speaking out against khatna, an age-old ritual they insist is female genital cutting. Sharifa's two favourite cousins are on opposite sides of the debate and she seeks a middle ground. As the issue heats up, Sharifa discovers an unexpected truth and is forced to take a position.