News

Author Uzma Jalaluddin deploys romance tropes to expand the boundaries of the genre.

After updating Pride and Prejudice with her debut romance, author Uzma Jalaluddin turns to a more modern but no less beloved classic: You’ve Got Mail. Her sophomore novel, Hana Khan Carries On, is a retelling of the beloved Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks rom-com that swaps the film’s duelling bookstores for halal restaurants. The titular Hana helps run Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, a community staple that’s owned and operated by her family. Unfortunately, sales are down, and an upscale halal eatery opening nearby could put them out of business for good. 

But Hana’s heart is not in the restaurant business. She launched her own podcast while interning at a local radio station and recently formed a flirtation with an anonymous caller. Add in a fearsome, scene-stealing aunt and a cousin so compelling he seems destined for his own spinoff novel, and Hana has her hands full.

 

A retelling of the classic Pride and Prejudice, Ayesha At Last is set in modern Toronto’s thriving Muslim community. Ayesha Shamsi is working as a substitute teacher as she pursues her real dream — spoken-word poetry — in the evenings. When she catches the eye of the rich boy across the street, sparks fly. They do not get along. At all. He thinks she’s too opinionated and independent. She thinks he’s too judgmental and rigid. This is a look at real, contemporary Muslim life from a Muslim point of view — eye-opening and wonderful. (KGB)

Jane Austen has more readers than many of the most popular novelists writing today. Which explains why legions of “Pride and Prejudice” fans can’t get enough of Austen’s original story, but also happily gobble up its many retellings. We’ve picked two of the latest versions for our April selection for “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club.”

Uzma Jalaluddin on why she keeps reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.