George Mastras: Fidali’s Way

Hi

This review is about Fidali’s Way by George Mastras.
A friend from work gave it to me to read, so thank you Joke!
The colors on this cover are beautiful and inviting though the image is a cliché and this style of covers has been done before for like almost every novel about South Asia.
As if there’s nothing else worth a photo there...
This copy has 445 pages.

"Disillusioned with American life, Nicholas Sunder has spent months backpacking through South Asia, most recently in the company of a beautiful French woman he met in India. When the woman is found brutally murdered in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan, Nick is arrested and tortured by the Pakistani police, who are convinced he is the killer. Amazingly, Nick escapes their custody and heads off on foot through the steep mountains of Kashmir, the highest war zone on earth. Now a fugitive without papers, money, or a country that will welcome him, Nick is reduced to his most elemental human identity in an unforgiving mountainous landscape where his very survival is unlikely." Nick's fortune turns when he encounters an eccentric Kashmiri smuggler and his mysterious companion, Fidali. An enormous, nearly silent man, Fidali not only knows a hidden way through the mountains but makes a deep impression upon Nick through his sacrifices for others. In time, after barely surviving great violence, Nick reaches an idyllic mountain village in Indian-occupied Kashmir, where he is drawn to Aysha, a remarkable woman unlike any he has ever met, who operates a medical clinic in the remote region. It is there he will confront the divide between Islam and the West and be forced to ponder how he has reached such a place - forced to consider, in other words, Fidali's way.”

I will be short.

Fidali's Way begins as a thriller; dangerous, full of suspense and fast. I loved this part.
Sadly, it went quite a bit downhill.
It becomes sentimental.  Sharp and gripping parts are interrupted by very clichéd characters and storylines.
The story is very predictable. No shocking turn of events or out-of-the-blue changes in this novel. It’s a novel worth a dime a dozen.
It is however easy to read and relaxing. Perfect for a holiday or an afternoon in a sunny garden.

I’m very sorry Joke, I didn’t really enjoy this novel. Just a bit too easy breezy for me.

Happy reading.
Helena

 A cozy blanket, my favourite scarf, warm milk with honey and cinnamon, my glasses and a relaxing novel. I'm definitely ill.