Good Intentions by Kasim Ali

FOURTH ESTATE, £14.99 (EBOOK, £7.99) REVIEW BY PRUDENCE WADE

There’s plenty of hype around Good Intentions, with Kasim Ali heralded as the new young writer to watch. The action takes place on multiple timelines – present day, where Nur (from a Bangladeshi Muslim family in Birmingham) has just told his parents he’s been seeing a black woman for four years (she’s also Muslim, but race seems to be the big sticking point here) and back in time to Nur’s blossoming relationship with Yasmina, all while he continues to hide her from his parents, scared of how they might react. Ali is a talented writer and it’s extremely readable, but the jumping timelines is a bit of a stranglehold, and prevents much from actually happening.