Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love

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A perfect Millennial love story ... with its acidic dialogue and languid sex scenes. A charming and clever romance, a perfect summer read’ – Irish Times Every aspect of her body or personality was up for inspection: too big, too small, too available, too hidden, too much, not enough.” Well told stories with well realised characters . . . Qureshi, like [Jhumpa] Lahiri, is a companionable and considered writer, and this is a collection you can read enjoyably, rain or shine. -- Shahidha Bari ― Guardian thoughts on “Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love by Huma Qureshi: A quietly accomplished collection” Well told stories with well realised characters . . . Qureshi, like [Jhumpa] Lahiri, is a companionable and considered writer, and this is a collection you can read enjoyably, rain or shine. - Guardian

In this rich collection of stories, Huma Qureshi shows us the truth, mess and beauty of humans trying - and often failing - to understand each other. Just like love itself, her stories are full of honesty and mystery, pain and hope, and the memories we think we've forgotten, but that still steer our hearts. I'm still thinking about them. And Huma Qureshi is a writer I know I'll be reading for years and years and years. -- Natasha Lunn, author of Conversations on Love I’m sure many others will be able to appreciate them in a way that I was unable to. As things stand I will approach the author’s future work with caution. In the second tale, Summer, a mother-daughter argument over cultural influences and differences in viewpoint takes on complexity and has a depressing conclusion. It had the potential to be promising, but it ended so frantically that I had difficulties comprehending it.

Whether it be the tension between mother-daughter relationships, the secrets kept hidden between partners, the betrayals and misunderstandings between friends, and even the conflicts one faces within oneself on a day-to-day basis— this book so accurately, and painfully, portrays it all. Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love is a collection full of secrets and yearnings, the gaps and silences found so often in misunderstandings and miscommunications. These stories work to fill those gaps, creating found families and belonging, and showing the sides of ourselves others rarely see . . . Qureshi's writing conveys the emotions her characters cannot . . . Each story is tightly written and closely edited, ending at the perfect moment . . . Exploring different relationships - mother and daughter, friendships, young love, spouses - Qureshi pulls apart the emotions surrounding each one, making even the darker narratives relatable and evocative. -- Terri-Jane Dow * Mslexia *

Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love is a collection full of secrets and yearnings, the gaps and silences found so often in misunderstandings and miscommunications. These stories work to fill those gaps, creating found families and belonging, and showing the sides of ourselves others rarely see . . . Qureshi's writing conveys the emotions her characters cannot . . . Each story is tightly written and closely edited, ending at the perfect moment . . . Exploring different relationships - mother and daughter, friendships, young love, spouses - Qureshi pulls apart the emotions surrounding each one, making even the darker narratives relatable and evocative. - Mslexia These are stories of fierce clarity and tenderness - I loved them' LUCY CALDWELL, author of Intimacies Qureshi's stories keenly identify the everyday tragedies of feeling profoundly unknown or unheard, of holding secrets and misunderstandings . . . These tales vividly capture the experience of feeling constrained by family expectations, but also of not quite fitting the norms of British culture either . . . Qureshi takes the reader plausibly inside the inner recesses of characters' hearts and minds. Premonition beautifully recalls the intensity of a first crush, developed via a private symphony of glances, before a bewildering first kiss leads to disaster. And she captures how such incidents can, in adulthood, seem insignificant and still life-defining . . . there are so many striking images to relish. -- Holly Williams * Observer * Qureshi's stories keenly identify the everyday tragedies of feeling profoundly unknown or unheard, of holding secrets and misunderstandings . . . These tales vividly capture the experience of feeling constrained by family expectations, but also of not quite fitting the norms of British culture either . . . Qureshi takes the reader plausibly inside the inner recess of characters' hearts and minds. Premonition beautifully recalls the intensity of a first crush, developed via "a private symphony of glances", before a bewildering first kiss leads to disaster. And she captures how such incidents can, in adulthood, seem insignificant and still life-defining . . . there are so many striking images to relish. - Observer A daughter asks her mother to shut up, only to shut her up for good; an exhausted wife walks away from the husband who doesn't understand her; on holiday, lovers no longer make sense to each other away from home.Made up of 10 stories, each drawing you into a vivid world full of emotive writing, beautiful yet subtle insights into a culture that may be new to you - exploring what cultural differences may be/feel like to those who find themselves at those inevitable we crossroads. Motherhood, love, marriage, friendship, lust, adolescence, loss are just a few themes explored. Huma Qureshi writes like a psychotherapist, considering, analysing, explaining, seeking outconflicts, evasions, and discomforts . . . The form suits her: she succeeds in a short space in describing her settings and defining her characters . . . there are notes of optimism that sound from true love; and, as always, amor vincit omnia. - Spectator

On holiday, we betray otherwise carefully concealed anxieties. Perhaps it is the fatigue of travel that sparks irritability, or the discombobulation of new places that somehow more sharply illuminates faults that are usually overlooked. Whatever the case, it’s also true that short story collections, when the tales are neat and portable like Qureshi’s, are good company on travels. Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love feels like an excellent holiday book – making it a slightly odd release for autumn. A series of beautifully written short stories examining the pent-up frustrations and the everyday betrayals that even our closest relationships can cause. -- Stylist Qureshi’s stories feature a cast of – mostly – youngish women of Pakistani heritage, often struggling with overbearing, judgmental and oppressive mothers, blindly insensitive male partners, or both. These tales vividly capture the experience of feeling constrained by family expectations, but also of not quite fitting the norms of British culture either. Qureshi writes with courage and in these extraordinary stories capture the shame and loneliness of non-belonging and the challenge of self-acceptance. I gave 2 stars, as the stories themselves were easy to read and written well, also there were some parts where I was able relate to, the first story, where the weekend parties with family friends were described, was my childhood and teen years!

The first fiction collection from Harper’s Bazaar’s Short Story Prize winner Huma Qureshi pairs interwoven themes of family and homesickness with a confessional tone

Waterlogged explores the predicament of every woman who, upon entering the union of marriage and motherhood, feels lost and struggles to regain her identity while feeling pinched by her husband's emotional indifference. First, I must say that I would never have heard of the brilliant writer, Huma Qureshi, without reading a wonderful review of this collection of short stories by my goodreads’ friend, Paromjit. Her review inspired me to read this book, so thank you, Paromjit. Because I am not tech savvy, I have no idea how to properly thank her, so I will encourage my fellow readers to read this book. What annoyed me a bit though is how it seems most of the stories had a [Pakistani] Muslim woman with white man trope. This is an exceptional collection of short stories from Huma Qureshi, a lyrical and beautiful writer, who explores the territory of our most intimate relationships, and the theme of what is left unsaid within them. These wide ranging stories cover cultural and generational tensions, interracial relationships, marriages, family, motherhood, differing mother-daughter dynamics, class, gender, friendships and so much more that marks the ordinariness of the everyday lives that the author elevates to the extraordinary with her razor sharp observations and astute insights. There are the lies, secrets, despair, love, loneliness, loss, grief and silence that many readers will relate to, particularly as there is a universality that crosses cultural boundaries when it comes to the nature of human relationships, repeating themselves in their many forms throughout our history.

To expand, I’m thinking about this more…It’s v hard as an Asian woman to not want stories by an Asian woman writer to do all the work of representation. Even as a woman reading cis women of any colour, I struggle against that need. It’s desperately unfair and not a responsibility of the writer to write about anything other than what interests them, in a way that interests them.However, I do recognise that these stories may be written semi autobiographical hence are authentic to the author and her experiences and feelings, so these stories will be relatable to some people, I just didn't enjoy them. A unique tale that interweaves crime fiction with intimate tales of morality and search for individual freedom. A series of beautifully written short stories examining the pent-up frustrations and the everyday betrayals that even our closest relationships can cause. -- Francesca Brown, Stylist Christmas 2021 Gift Guide Huma Qureshi has the perfect title for her short story collection. Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love strikingly encapsulates a major theme of the book: the inability to communicate honestly with the most important people in your life. Qureshi’s stories keenly identify the everyday tragedies of feeling profoundly unknown or unheard, of holding secrets and misunderstandings.