Night Of Power

A timely story about a Muslim immigrant family grappling with the weight of their unrealized dreams and desires

As the heir to a successful business empire in Uganda, Mansoor Visram had everything a man could want: money, power, influence, a beautiful wife, and a baby son. But when Idi Amin's regime begins its crackdown on its South Asian population, Mansoor and his family are forced to flee, leaving behind everything. As refugees, they arrive in Canada, settling in Calgary, but the strain of what the family has been through begins to show. Years later, Mansoor's son, Ashif, is a rising star in a multinational firm. He has spent years distancing himself from his overbearing father but finds himself continuously drawn back to the past he left behind. Mansoor's wife Layla struggles with how broken their family is--Ashif rarely comes home to visit and Mansoor's frustrations have almost ruined their marriage. Now, Mansoor claims he has a plan for a dry cleaning franchise that will raise the Visrams back into their old position of prominence. But after so many failed attempts to succeed, one more pipe dream may be too many for the family to bear.

Night of Power examines the psychological and emotional burdens placed on a family of refugees. What they leave behind and what they hope to gain in the future are all carefully weighed in Anar Ali's beautifully crafted prose that reflects the dream-like quality of past triumphs and the vivid realism of today.