Isolated Incident, Mariam Pirbhai

Mawenzi House, 2022

I recommend this underrated gem for its portrayal of Muslim characters in Canada. Through its clear, engaging, and accessible prose, it fills the gap of South Asian fiction writers of Pakistani origin in CanLit. The novel, like Pirbhai’s debut short story collection, Outside People (Inanna 2017), works to organically undo the myth of the monolithic Muslim identity in Canada.

—Sanchari Sur, Mississauga