The Strangling Fig

‘Both epic in its sweep and haunting in its intimacy, Musa weaves a profound tapestry of resilience, inheritance, and hope’ Riz Ahmed

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An extraordinary and beautiful novel about how understanding our past can pave the way for a hopeful future.

Hyderabad, 1946

Ashraf is asleep in her mother’s bed when her father is murdered on the eve of Partition. She may as well have lost her mother that day too, and her fight to connect with her mother will follow her to America, seeping into who she is as a daughter, a lover, a mother, a wife, and be felt through the next generation of women.

California, 2002

Seher is sixteen years old when she first sees her grandmother’s ghost. Feeling lost and abandoned by her own mother, Seher clings to Ashraf’s ghost, and it becomes the guiding presence she has always craved. But as Seher starts to move forward with her life, it becomes clear that Ashraf’s support comes at a cost.

Elegantly woven and beautifully crafted, The Strangling Fig weaves together the lives and histories of women who are bound by blood and spirit. With a lyrical narrative that dances between memory and reality, it explores the delicate balance between love and loss, inviting readers to reflect on the legacies we inherit and the ghosts that shape our identities.

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Praise for The Strangling Fig

‘A sweeping, deeply moving, and propulsive debut that stunned me into silence and awe … Musa is a brilliant writer who pierces a wise truth: that a wound, once witnessed and traced to its origin, has the profound ability to heal and transform’ Fatima Mirza, A Place for Us

‘An elegant and beautifully crafted debut that signals the arrival of a major new voice in fiction’ Sonia Faleiro, The Good Girls

‘Vivid, imaginative, and magical … An engrossing, thought provoking and heart breaking read’ Natalie Gregory, Mother Ghost Mango Seed