Stolen Moments of Joy by Hamour Baika is an LGBT contemporary fiction novel that unfolds against the backdrop of police brutality in Baltimore and weaves themes of racism, physical and sexual abuse, and survival with a triumphant delicateness.
Abdul moved to the US from Afghanistan when he was a teenager. Now twenty-four, he lives in Baltimore and is in a relationship with Cliff, who degrades him verbally and physically abuses him. Abdul carries wounds from his past and puts up with Cliff because he feels he doesn’t deserve anyone better (or he can sometimes convince himself that Cliff is the perfect boyfriend). But then, one day, while working at his job in a hotel, Abdul meets Tyrique, a handsome journalist from out of town. Abul’s affair with Tyrique is gentle and loving, contrasting Cliff’s bad behavior. But what might have been a positive jumping-off point into safety for Abdul turns into another loss when Tyrique leaves Baltimore.
Deepening dissatisfaction with Cliff pushes Abdul from one tryst to another, inducing guilt and shame. Cliff regularly calls Abul “stupid” and orders him around like a slave in front of his friends. Abdul hates this but carries on. One wonders how a handsome young man can stay in such a terrible relationship where he has to placate his lover and meet the demands of his overgrown ego constantly. But then the reader gets a clearer picture, chapter by chapter, of the world in which Abdul grew up. Baika introduces us to bacha bazi, an illegal practice where boys are made to dress as women, dance for men, and then are sexually abused by the highest bidder. Witnessing this atrocity is one of the many trauma-inflicting experiences young Abdul had to endure. And while he is no longer in danger in Afghanistan, he must come to terms with the ongoing abuse he has allowed himself to take from Cliff.
Stolen Moments of Joy is a story of loss and redemption. Baika’s strength is creating a character like Abdul, who makes us long for his well-being, cringe at his choices, all the while rooting for him to make his life better. However, there were times when Baika pulled the reader from the story into granular detail about physical movements, setting, and exposition. Baika’s stylish prose is enough when painted lightly. Yet there were passages where it felt he dragged the brush too thickly over the canvas. The dialogue structure was evident and advanced the plot, but it felt forced and artificial in places. Many of the characters seemed to speak with the same “voice.”
Overall, Baika’s story moves and brings essential issues like abuse in LGBTQ+ relationships and sexual abuse to the foreground. For those reasons alone, I would recommend Stolen Moments of Joy, for, in every art form, there is the power to produce change.
