Or… The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye is perfect for a screen adaptation? Fast-paced, angled with a slice of non-linear storytelling, this fiction read is a great travel companion for that breezy train or plane read. It’s also a story that can be imagined through the lens, perhaps, even better?
The Story
When 3 women’s lives intersect in Portugal, Abena, Fatima and Kate bring along a little more than the suitcases they packed their life belongings in. There’s Fatima with her unresolved childhood scars and a complicated mother-daughter relationship, Abena with a pair of twins from Ghana, and Kate, the American diplomat who works in the foreign service at the Embassy with a secret she’s working hard to hide.
One could shape The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye as an expat read perhaps, as the story delves into the dynamics of living in a foreign country, albeit with a sensitive take on local customs and food choices. But in all fairness, one shouldn’t restrict the story to that genre. The novel also peels back layers into childhood trauma, cultural identity, couple dynamics and also working women, as part of a growing race of partners whose husbands might be their partners in work outside the home, or at home, as “trailing spouses” too. Though I’m not particularly fond of the term, I’d rather call them supporting, or even primary partners, (men or women), as without them, one wonders how a family could thrive in a new environment.
Respect is a small word for this species and Mariam has done justice to their role. She’s also flipped the role, as she imagines, cleverly, that more women than men might be reading The Guilty Can’t say Goodbye, and there is a vicarious kind of pleasure in imagining your husband working from home – it is possible ladies, you just gotta manifest it right. Of course, in a world outside South Asia, this is more common, but who’s to say, novels like The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye, penned by a Pakistani author might be food for thought! (Or corrupting the next generation of home makers?) I can hear an aunty shaking her head in obvious disapproval, perhaps like Fatima’s mom in the book. But you have to read that one for yourself, no spoilers here!
Then again, there is a mystery-thriller angle to the read. One that keeps you turning pages to find out what is the secret these 3 women are hiding from their past?
3 Distinct Plots Strung Together By A Common Thread
I like that the narrative kept the reader invested in all the plots yet has a common thread running through them. Each character is intensely aware of where they come from: Mariam attempting to rid herself from her Karachi memories, yet wanting to hold on to her Pakistani roots, a part of her identity resides in the language, the foods and the mother she needs to come to terms with, Abena, a mix of UK and Ghana and Kate, her Singaporean memories and American roots clinging hard to her daily challenges.
As the story moves back and forth in time between the pages, one might find the recurrent flashbacks distracting and a bit too much to keep pace since the novel juggles 3 different stories, all with a past and present. Yet, for the reader whose curiosity has been sparked enough, will want to know what happened to Fatima in Pakistan, why is she dreading her mother’s visit to Portugal, what is Kate hiding and why can’t Abena visit Ghana – the throwbacks in the storytelling help fill in the gaps.
The novel makes for a mildly lazy read in the first half, when the writer delves into the thoughts of characters, their fears, and the newly-formed relationship between them and their new city. From an expat’s point of view, references to school international festivals, language lessons and food, oh the food from the home countries of our heroines as well as local cafes in Portugal, adds “flavours’ to the reading experience.
Details on architectural and historical significance of Portugal was an interesting way to set the backdrop to the drama that was to follow.
Add to that, a lesson in the historical significance of certain spaces in and around Lisbon and the alien yet intriguing words and phrases from a new language, from an expat’s point of view made this book an ideal read for many of us sprinkled across the globe, giving us reasons to connect and understand the place we now call home. It is something many expat readers would relate to, when they seek to find their feet in a new place, walking the thin line between yearning for their past home and trying to fit into the current one without seeming disrespectful to the locals.
More Than Just An Expat Read
But that’s not all. The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye also addresses the generational gap and communication overlaps between a mother and daughter through the story of Fatima and her mother, a childless couple’s challenges through Abena’s story, especially when they come from traditional family or community backgrounds, as well as unresolved relationship issues through Kate’s story, and how it affects children. The narrative even dwells on couple’s therapy – an option that might not always result in the outcome we expected.
So it doesn’t matter if you’re not the expat version reader for The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye. There is a foodie take to the novel as the appearance of local food from the characters’ home countries adds color and relatability for readers. When Fatima’s mom cooks khitchri – a rice dish with yellow lentils, cumin seeds and local spices, one can almost take in the fragrance of the spice hit; warm, unassuming khitchri served with a generous helping of chutney or achar with a dollop of yogurt on the side can transform into a glorious meal, despite its humble beginnings.
If one is a reader who likes to soak in the atmosphere, then the crawl pace of the narrative at times will not deter you from appreciating the detailed descriptions. But it has to be said that the final few chapters flew by in the blink of an eye as the story picked up dramatically towards the end on suspense, thrill and pace, heading for the big reveal. In retrospect though, and in defence of the thrill-seeking reader in me, the novel could have done away with a few, very detailed descriptions that could have been avoided to make the story as unput- downable as it was towards the end.
A Happily Ever After, Or Something Missing?
Characters could have been better fleshed-out with more layers to them. Michael, Kate’s better half, failed to impress. If anything, we would have liked to see a house husband who didn’t do the unthinkable – because it sort of, loses the purpose of fielding him as a modern day example. But maybe, that wasn’t the story? Fatima’s anger often came off as a tad childish and Stefan seemed to be strangely unaware of his wife’s complex background, including a harrowing experience that one might think he could have been privy to, seeing he was Fatima’s husband and one who was extremely supportive. But maybe we expect perfection in relationships? However, I would have liked Fatima to have already engaged in some form of therapy to fight her past demons, seeing she had degrees of self awareness much beyond the ordinary person, yet struggling to reach mental peace. Finally, Ali’s end appeared very James Bond-like. Almost as if it was essential that the story be wrapped into neat little boxes, with not a thread hanging out of place.
Fatima’s mom, a primary and intense personality, was painted in colours that needed more shades. She seemed a more impressive character than what was revealed about her and could have aroused more sympathy from the readers. It was essential perhaps, to tell the story from her point of view as well?
The story in itself makes for a great travel read, however, one is left with the feeling that one needed to know more about Michael’s story, Fatima’s mother’s story and Ali’s story as well. His end, like I said earlier seemed to be wrapped up in a super rushed manner.
Which is why I say that… The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye would make for a great screen adaptation. The audio visual experience onscreen can fill in the blind-spots perfectly and the action can be amplified with bits of well-timed suspense moments thrown in for the adrenalin rush!
Give it a read while we anticipate a book to screen version – good things happen, you never know!
If you’ve ever stepped into an expat’s shoes, or brought up third-culture kids, or struggled with being typecast as an identity from `A’ particular country, while you hold the richness of so many more cultures inside you, you might relate even more. The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye is available on Kindle or order it online. For Pakistani readers, the book is also available at Liberty Book Stores in Pakistan.
About The Author
An author, writer, speaker, researcher and economist, Mariam Ottimofiore jokingly calls herself an ‘expat since birth’. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, she took her first steps in Manama, Bahrain, and attended her first school in New York City, in the United States. By the time she was ten years old, her global childhood meant that she had grown up in three countries, in two languages and was constantly correcting the pronunciation of her name.
When she was 19 years old, Mariam left her home in Karachi with a blue suitcase and a one-way ticket to Boston’s Logan Airport. She has since lived in ten countries as both a Third Culture Kid (TCK) and an expat adult: The Kingdom of Bahrain, the United States (NY, MA, TX), Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana and Portugal.
Ten countries and four continents later, Mariam’s life on the move is messy. A 40-foot container, an expat husband from another corner of the world and three children born in three different countries, 3,000 miles apart with three nationalities have added complexity, challenges and many joys to living a multicultural, multilingual and multi-mobile life.
Mariam currently lives in Cascais, Portugal, with her half-German, half-Italian husband and her German Pakistani-Italian kids, who were born in Singapore, Dubai and Lisbon. Passionate about languages and cultures, Mariam speaks fluent Urdu, English, Hindi and German, along with some Italian, Danish, Arabic, Twi and Portuguese on the side.
Mariam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in the US and specialized in Economic Development at the University of Sussex in the UK. Her corporate career saw her work in different roles, from investment banking in the US to an Economist in oil trading in Denmark. She made a huge career change to a full-time writer in 2012, when she moved to Singapore as an expat partner, five months pregnant and unemployed.
But it took Mariam yet another international move to Dubai in 2015 to start her blog ‘And Then We Moved To’; a way to support other expat individuals and families facing constant transition. Mariam is also the author of This Messy Mobile Life. Her debut novel The Guilty Can’t Say Goodbye is out now. Mariam has featured in various media over the past 15 years including Oprah Winfrey’s Network (OWN) Super Soul Sunday.
Find Mariam here
Website: https://www.mariamnavaidottimofiore.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariam.navaid.ottimofiore/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MariamNavaidO/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpagemariamnavaidottimofiore/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/104772670-mariam-ottimofiore
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mariam-N-Ottimofiore/author/
