“The house is heaving with people humming with gossip and Quran,” writes Salha Al Busaidy, describing the atmosphere before a funeral. It is a scene that encapsulates the relationship between culture and faith, which she explores throughout her debut novel, The End of Summer.
The story follows 22-year-old Summer, who has recently died. Her soul lingers near her body, witnessing her family’s reaction to her death, while recalling the moments and relationships that shaped her life; trying to figure out how it came to such an abrupt end.
Summer is a flawed and complex character who is not only grappling with depression, substance abuse and an identity crisis, but who is also burdened by a dark secret.
Her mixed Zanzibari-Omani background reflects Al Busaidy’s own heritage. “Representation matters; I wasn’t seeing people like me, and it’s no surprise — the Zanzibari-Omani mix is not common,” she tells The National.
“I felt that this mix, with the immigrant status of our parents and the dual upbringing of my generation was a source of confusion for us. I realised quickly that this duality was not exclusive to us, nor was the idea of huge, ridiculous families.”
Having lived in the UAE for 18 years, Al Busaidy, who is also a singer, dancer and yoga teacher, moved to Zanzibar last year. She conceptualised her novel in 2019, began writing it amid the Covid-19 pandemic and completed the manuscript seven months later. The book was published on September 23 by The Dreamwork Collective and while it may be fiction, it's laden with social commentary on culture, family, faith and feminism.
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As Summer experiences a “conveyer belt of memories”, from her childhood to the final night of her life, readers become intimately acquainted with her grandparents’ love story, her closeness with her younger sister and her parents’ tumultuous relationship — and the impact these have on Summer.
At one point, Summer recalls a quote that she once wrote as her Facebook status: “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”
Al Busaidy says: “Summer may not be an exemplary role model, but I hope that people can see that we are a product of our childhood, upbringing, the adults around us."
While the subject matter is deep, Al Busaidy injects humour into dark places. Her use of colloquial, often colourful, language also helps readers form a connection with the text, and with Summer.
She explores how older generations enjoyed various indulgences before turning to a “wave of religious zeal” that they then imposed on their children, but Summer separates this from the fundamentals of her faith. “I love being a Muslim. I love my religion in its purest form,” she says.
Faith is a theme explored frequently in the novel, as Summer is forced to confront her own ideas of spirituality. Lessons from the Quran are woven into her spiralling thoughts as her soul follows her body to its ultimate resting place.
“I had so much to say about being a cross-culture kid, about growing up unheard, seeing hypocrisy in culture, in religious practices, in social norms,” explains Al Busaidy, who includes a tirade about female modesty early on in the book, as well as the qualities men often look for in a wife.
This disconnect spills out in The End of Summer when one climactic conversation unfolds between three generations of women in Summer’s family who finally uncover her secret and react in ways that reflect their own ages, biases and beliefs about women’s roles in family and society.
“I mention several times the way I believe patriarchy has changed the pure teachings of all faiths to benefit men,” says Al Busaidy. This even applies to some parts of the wider Muslim world, she adds — an observation that resonates with the ongoing protests in Iran, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country's morality police for wearing "unsuitable attire".
“Women are respected and given rights in Islam; but then we see atrocities committed against us in its name every day. Honour killings, enforcing or preventing the wearing of hijab, beatings, double standards." She adds: "We must not stay silent."
As she reflects on her life and death, Summer cycles through her family dynamics, her beliefs and her struggles. Out of all, however, perhaps what stands out the most is a simple quote: “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
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Director: Alfonso Cuaron
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
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Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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