Top Note Heart Note Base Note (A Novel)

A bracing, mordantly funny portrait of a young Pakistani woman who must confront dark truths about her marriage and her country

When Lina married Daniyal after a whirlwind courtship, a door opened to what she thought would be a freer way of life: a passionate and equal partnership with a husband to help ground her daydreaming. But when the two move back to Pakistan at her request, an uneasy dynamic takes hold. Lina is trying to relaunch her acting career on the set of a dysfunctional tv drama. She must triangulate the hilariously snarky advice of the make-up artist with the hard-won wisdom of the senior actress, and fight to be taken seriously. Meanwhile Daniyal descends into resentment and drug use—desperate for any thrill that will mask his disaffection—and Lina feels trapped inside their evenings at one Karachi rooftop party after the next. 

Then, a YouTube mullah invites Lina onto his podcast to debate with him. It is at once an opportunity and a minefield. Lina is determined to stand up for her beliefs yet will not give up on rebuilding a life in Pakistan, still the home she remembers. As Lina’s outspokenness places her—and her family—in increasing danger, her marriage tumbles ever closer to collapse.

In a voice as nimble as it is fearless, Mira Sethi delivers a wry, potent novel about a woman reclaiming her power.