When We Were Sisters: A Novel

"This first novel by Fatimah Asghar – one of the finest poets in the South Asian American diaspora – tells the story of three orphaned immigrant sisters and is narrated in the lyrical voice of the youngest, Kausar. Asghar pulls no punches: In addition to dealing with grief over their parents’ deaths and neglect by their guardian, the girls also navigate cultural dissonance, sexuality, Muslim Americanness, physical and sexual abuse, racism and more. Rendered in fragments and collages, Asghar’s narrative is an ever-shifting kaleidoscope, revealing how each sister works to find her individual place in a hostile, indifferent world. A heartbreaking and elegantly told story."