BOOKS

The Secret Room

Kaya Press
184 pages, 2017
$19.95 Paperback, ISBN 978-1-885030-18-4

Purchase from: Kaya Press

From the publisher: In Kazim Ali’s wildly inventive novel The Secret Room, written as musical score for a string quartet, he asks: How does one create a life of meaning in the face of loneliness and alienation from one’s own family, culture, or even sense of self? During the space of one single day, the lives of four people converge and diverge in ways they themselves may not even measure.

Sonia Chang, a violinist prepares for a concert. Rizwan Syed, a yoga teacher who gives so much to others, makes one last panicked attempt at reconciliation with his own family. Jody Merchant tries to balance a difficult and stressful work-life with a dream she abandoned long ago. Pratap Patel trudges through his life trying to ignore the pain he still feels at old losses.

Just like the real musical quality of a string quartet, these four characters weave in and out of one another’s experiences in a raw, fluid song that mimics the hidden lives that live within us all.