A moving memoir by a survivor of anti-Muslim violence in contemporary India that delicately weaves political and family histories in a tribute to Indias vibrant multiethnic society and the resilience of its women and minorities, especially in the face of growing religious extremism nA warning, thrown to the world, and a stunning debut-Chowdhary is a much-needed new voice.-Alexander Chee n nIn 2002, Zara Chowdhary was sixteen years old and living with her family in Ahmedabad, one of Indias fastest-growing metropolises, when a gruesome anti-Muslim pogrom upended her world. Instead of taking her school exams, she was put under a three-month lockdown with thousands of others, fearing for their community and their lives. The chief minister in the state at the time, Narendra Modi, accused of fomenting anti-Muslim violence, would become prime minister of India and lead a government committed to eroding the rights of Indias 220 million Muslims. n nIn The Lucky Ones, Chowdhary weaves the past and the present of her multigenerational Muslim family, juxtaposing the horrific violence of rising fascistic forces on the streets with the more mundane violence of patriarchal Indian joint families at the dinner table. Through the stories of sisters, daughters, and mothers raising each other, Chowdhary shows how women hold this world together with their ability to forgive, find laughter, and offer grace even as the world they know, and their place in it, is falling apart. n nWith lyrical clarity and intimacy, The Lucky Ones is a poetic remembrance of how a countrys promise of a multiethnic secular democracy can so easily dissolve and descend into extremism. Chowdharys story is a protest against the erasure of Indias Muslims, a testimony of a lost girlhood, and a testament to her family and countrys entwined lives.n