Thoughts on Nadia Akbar’s debut novel- Goodbye Freddie Mercury


Thoughts on Nadia Akbar’s debut novel- Goodbye Freddie Mercury

“ everybody I've got to go Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth Mama, ooo” – Freddie Mercury

The psychedelic cover will attract you first, then the title, then Lahore & then the story of many lives intertwined in the book.

The book stays with you after a long time it gets over & you think about the characters, thinking about their lives, about Lahore or perhaps how as an Indian reader one finds so many similarities in Lahore and its inhabitants.

In bringing Lahore, its language and the people alive , Nadia Akbar does a commendable job in her debut Novel – Good bye Freddie Mercury.

The book is like a heady cocktail mix which you want to sip it slowly & soak in all the flavors of life, love, friendships, family & of course music.

The story is moved forward with the alternating voices of Nida & Bugsy.

Nida has just started her college in Lahore & bored with her life , orthodox parents , she sometimes escapes with her cousin Ali -a small time drug peddler , to the dangerous yet temporary world of highs &light-headedness of drugs. On one such escapist adventure, Ali takes her to an high end rave party where she meets Omer, who is son of Prime Minister’s right hand man- Iftikhar.  Baffled, surprised & dazzled by sudden attention of Omer on Nida, her journey starts with him from one extravagance to another.

Enter Bugsy, a well-knownRJ ,he is a rock music aficionado, cites example everywhere possible of songs and singers. Bugsy & Nida meet at the same rave party where they strike up conversation & become friends.  There are subtle sparks between both of them throughout the book.

A sudden twist in the story, turns everything upside down in everyone’s lives. Bugsy’s favor for his long-time friend Moby turns dangerous for him, when the powerful rival political leader Mian Tariq confronts him. The sudden twist changes everything & Everyone.

I loved how the subtle sparks fly between Bugsy &Nida and especially their conversation about the music .Its an eye opening chapter for the uninitiated one in rock music.

The political propaganda stands strongly in the background in this novel. If nothing at all, this novel is a heart rendering debut about friendship, love and lives of young people in Lahore.

Nida’s life is mainly shown from a one rave party with her boyfriend Omer to another. Their lives are like the bottomless pit, where they are shown getting high on drugs. At times, Nida perhaps feels the same too, but to escape from her mundane life, she traps into another one. Nadia Akbar brings out profoundly the state of Nida’s mind & the luxurious, indulgent yet empty life of Omer.

The story spirals towards everyone’s lives concretely reaching to a conclusion and at the same not reaching to a conclusion. As a reader, I did have questions about Nida, Bugsy & Omer. But I consoled myself with the thought, that just like in real life we don’t have the answers we need, we live with void & ironically an emptiness fills our lives.

Nadia Akbar writes beautifully as she brings alive  Nida, Bugsy, Moby and other memorable characters. There is a past story to each one of them and as a reader one can’t help but root for them. Nadia Akbar brings alive Lahore with her words, at times I couldn’t help but compare Lahore with any other metropolitan city in India.

The dialogues between the characters and the thoughts conveyed are well written, they don’t seem to be contrived. Nadia Akbar instead of writing a traditional love story, moves far from that territory and ventures into a very realistic world.  Nadia Akbar infuses dry humor
most of the times, when Nida, Bugsy or Omer or any other characters are observing people, places or just about anything.

“According to Omer the sushi is flown in fresh every day from Dubai. He rolled his eyes and gave me the finger when I mentioned that our vegetables are donkeyed in fresh every day from Sargodha.”

“Alfie says a good selfie is the key to eternal self-confidence.”

As for the writing, Nadia Akbar brings out the best metaphors to describe someone or perhaps even the mundane weather.

“Moby’s the type of guy you hang out with on dark rooftops in viscous clouds of buzzed vapour.”

“I remember Moby telling me once that the drawing room is where all family gifts and decorations go to die.”

“Love is a brick in the head.”

There are some questions in the story, which will perhaps never be answered except by the author herself. Its a story which will stay with you after it gets over.

This novel has definitely spiked my interest in Lahore & literature written by other Pakistani authors.

As for now, here is to music, Freddie Mercury and love.

As written by Nida Akbar in the book- “Good bye Mercury”

“Classless, raceless, beyond culture or greed, beyond reproach or repeal,
And they all think he’s white, for Farrokh’ssake !
HE is the realization of all our deepest human dreams, yaar.
To connect, to belong, to be of value in this world.
Brown and buck-toothed and beautiful.
And he;s ours, yaar, he’s ours….”


Name of the book :- Goodbye Freddie Mercury
Genre :- Fiction
Author :- Nadia Akbar
Publisher :- Hamish Hamilton- Penguin Random House India
ISBN- 9780670090365
No.of Pages :- 340
You can buy the book from :- Flipkart | Amazon | Infibeam





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