When The Fireflies Dance by Aisha Hassan

Every now and then a book reminds you how fortunate your life is. This is one of those stories.

Set in Pakistan, this is the story of Lalloo. Lalloo’s family live in what is known as a Bhatti. It’s a brickyard where illegally bonded families live and are made to produce thousands of bricks a day, in order to pay off loans, which accrue faster than it will ever be possible for them to repay. The practice of bonded labour was made illegal in Pakistan in 1992, but millions of people still live their lives in miserable conditions. Children miss out on an education and grow up never knowing freedom.

Lalloo’s older brother challenged the legality of the situation the family lived in and ended up being murdered for it (we discover the story of how this happened as the book progresses). Lalloo’s father decides that in order to give his second son a chance at life, he will remove him from the family. At age seven, Lalloo is ‘given’ to a mechanic to work for him in return for sleeping on a cold concrete floor. Lalloo learns to repair car engines and eventually becomes skilled as a mechanic.

As Lalloo grows up, he too is determined to free his family from the Bhatti, especially as his father is suffering from ill health. His sister has the chance of escape through getting married, but this requires a dowry that Lalloo’s parents cannot afford. Lalloo sets about to try and borrow the money so that his sister’s marriage can take place. Now working for a wealthy family as a driver, he sees first hand the huge disparity between rich and poor. The rich family’s daughter Jasmine also has secrets and Lalloo befriends her. He learns that nobody can be trusted, no matter how much money they have.

Lalloo has two friends who he turns to, but his love for a young trainee medical student, Fatima, will be doomed to fail.

Lalloo eventually finds a way to get the money he needs to help his family to escape, but there are many risks to be taken in order to carry out his plan. Sacrifices will need to be made.

This story is shockingly sad, yet there are moments of hope and determination that shine through. The absolutely horrendous situation with the Bhatti is something that is so unjust it beggars belief that it still happens today. Perhaps stories like this will draw attention to the plight of so many unfortunate Pakistani people.

Reviewer: Rachel White

Simon & Schuster