I almost missed out on reading The Diamond Necklace, by Turab Dedanwala. The word “Necklace” was misspelled as “Necklac” on the book summary; seemed like a bad sign.

But I decided to take a chance on the book. I’m really glad I did. I got completely caught up in the story and lives of the characters and enjoyed “visiting” them in Mumbai. Now I feel almost like I know a Muslim family and understand more of this culture than I did before. When I downloaded the .pdf of the book the cover image had the correct spelling.

It’s important to know that the book is Dedanwala’s first novel and that it was written as a gift to his wife. It is written in English, but on the first page, the reader immediately realizes that it was not written by a native English speaker. At first, I found the odd syntax and unusual wording a distraction, but by chapter two, I was hooked. It began to feel like I was listening in on a family and the foreign-sounding phrases added to the experience.

The Diamond Necklace follows two childhood friends, Iqbal and Tabassum. Their deep friendship is unusual because Iqbal is a boy and Tabassum is a girl. Their care and trust for each other survives many crises, including Tabassum’s forced marriage to a man she hates and fears, her early widowhood, and Iqbal’s marriage to her friend, Hasina. Tabassum, who has struggled with traditions she finds stifling is at last free to pursue her desire to become a doctor. Families evolve and traditions change with time. The joy and the pain of this are beautifully portrayed in this story.

Dedanwala presents the reader with a large cast of family and friends. He skillfully builds knowledge of each character so that I understood why they responded to each other the way they did. Most importantly, I found myself loving these people and hoping that each one could find a path of peace and happiness. The ending was satisfying but surprisingly nuanced and thoughtful. This story goes deeper than “boy finally gets girl.” Far deeper.

As I finished the book, I was glad that I gave it a chance. It left me with better understanding of Muslim family life and a conviction that people everywhere are very much the same regardless of the surface differences of culture.