Our book group choice for July 2009 is Something to Tell You by Hanif Kureishi. Jamal is middle-aged, though reluctant to admit it. He has an ex-wife, a son he adores, a thriving career as a psychoanalyst and vast reserves of unsatisfied desire.
Jamal Karim is a successful psychoanalyst in his mid-40s. He is married with two children, and he lives in a comfortable house in West London. On the surface, Jamal has everything he could ever want. But he is haunted by a secret, a dark and violent act that he committed in his youth.
The secret has been eating away at Jamal for years. He has tried to bury it, but it always comes back to haunt him. He is afraid that if he tells anyone, they will judge him and reject him. So he keeps it to himself, and it slowly destroys him from the inside out.
One day, Jamal’s past comes back to him in a way that he can no longer ignore. He is contacted by Ajita, his first love, who he hasn’t seen in decades. Ajita is now a successful artist, and she is in London for a show. She wants to meet Jamal, and he agrees.
The meeting with Ajita forces Jamal to confront his past. He remembers the night that he committed the act of violence, and he realizes that he has never truly forgiven himself. He also realizes that he has never truly let go of Ajita.
Jamal and Ajita spend time together, and they begin to fall in love again. But their relationship is complicated by their past. Jamal is still haunted by his secret, and Ajita is still angry with him for what he did.
As Jamal and Ajita try to work through their past, they also have to deal with the present. Jamal’s wife is suspicious of Ajita, and his children are confused by the situation. Jamal is also struggling with his career, and he is facing a crisis of faith.
Through it all, Jamal is trying to find a way to forgive himself and to move on with his life. He knows that he can’t change the past, but he can learn from it. He can also learn to love and to be loved again.
In addition to the main plot, Something to Tell You also explores a number of other themes, including:
- The nature of memory and forgetting
- The power of love and forgiveness
- The search for identity
- The challenges of being a second-generation immigrant
- The complexities of family relationships
The novel is told in the first person from Jamal’s point of view. This gives the reader a unique insight into his thoughts and feelings. Kureishi’s writing is insightful and compassionate, and he does a masterful job of portraying Jamal’s journey of self-discovery.
Something to Tell You Discussion Questions
- What was your initial reaction to the book? Did it hook you immediately, or take some time to get into?
- What was your favorite quote/passage?
- What made the setting unique or important? Could the story have taken place anywhere?
- Did you pick out any key themes throughout the book?
- Which character did you relate to the most, and what was it about them that you connected with?
- Did the book change your opinion or perspective about anything? Do you feel different now than you did before you read it?
- How did you feel about the ending? What did you like, what did you not like, and what do you wish had been different?
- To whom would you recommend the book?