Westland Books announces the release of Alina Gufran’s No Place To Call My Own, a powerful story of belonging and identity
Formfees
07/02/2025
Westland Books is pleased to announce the release of No Place to Call My Own, written by debut author Alina Gufran, and published under Westland Books’ imprint, Tranquebar. Released on January 30, 2025, this book weaves a poignant tale of resilience, identity and hope. Travelling between cities, cultures and religions, protagonist Sophia’s journey towards finding herself is also tied to the political upheavals in the country, the perils of growing up as a Muslim woman in a highly radicalised world. Humorous, sarcastic, candid, Alina Gufran’s No Place to Call My Own is a powerful exploration of the messy and chaotic world of relationships, class and religious entanglements, of politics and hashtag revolutions, of what it means to be young in the Twitter/tiktok world and making a place for oneself in a world that is both accessible yet completely closed off.
Talking about her book, debut author Alina Gufran said, “’When I first began writing the novel, my only hope was for it to find its reader in the world. Westland, in particular Sanghamitra’s vision and instinctive understanding of my work, has made that possible in a way I couldn’t have imagined. Fiction has helped me find myself many times over, and I hope this novel can, in some minute way, do the same for the one who reads it.”
About the Book
AN INTIMATE, ARRESTING PORTRAIT OF MILLENNIAL ANGST IN A MERCURIAL, VOLATILE WORLD.
Sophia feels trapped in a society that is quick to undermine her-constantly making assumptions about her religion, her sexuality, her ambition, her worth. She plunges headlong into a hedonistic blur of bad decisions disguised as bravado. Each chapter finds her in a different place, attempting to make sense of the old while confronting the new-but each move trails chaos in its wake. How does one even begin to fit in when apathy becomes a mode of survival? How can one truly belong if one feels estranged from oneself? Sophia’s journey is not just her own but that of any young woman who finds herself caught ‘in between’- unable to back down and refusing to conform-and who doesn’t quite feel rooted to one place or identity.
About the Author
Alina Gufran is a writer and editor, currently based in Delhi. This is her first novel.
