Crossroads of Identity

Through Sophia’s fractured childhood, turbulent youth, and tangled relationships, Alina Gufran’s No Place to Call My Own captures the ache of belonging and the strength it takes to find oneself in a world that denies definition

- RAJESH OP SINGH

Young author Alina Gufran’s debut novel, “No Place to Call My Own’ revolves around the complex and twisted life of its central character, Sophia, The novel begins with the love affair between Sophia's mother, who is an Arya Samaj Hindu, and her Muslim father. Their marriage took place under the watch of the father’s family, while the mother’s family refused to attend, which means the marriage was against their family’s wishes. Despite a rebellious love marriage, the couple soon began to have conflicts, and their quarrels often escalated into slurs about each other's religion. The father called the mother a “stingy baniya,’ while the mother didn't hesitate to call the father a “filth-lover” This growing estrangement drove them further apart, but the one who suffered the most was Sophia, also known as Mehak by her mother. The novel's story unfolds with the complexities of this central character, Sophia or Mehak, and the duality of “Namaste and Salam” Alina writes that her parents’ unceremonious separation and a life of oscillating