Two generations of a Muslim Indian family reckon with the boundaries between choice and fate—and with what it means to pursue the American dream.

Barzakh Café welcomes Hafeez Lakhani for an evening celebrating his debut novel, Abundance.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of contemporary Miami, Abundance is a moving and deeply human novel about family, faith, ambition, and the difficult choices that shape our lives. With prose that captures both the energy of Miami and the everyday realities of running a Dunkin’ franchise, Lakhani offers an intimate portrait of an American family caught between what they can change and what they must learn to accept.

More about Abundance

In suburban Miami, sixty-year-old Sakeena, who co-owns a Dunkin’ franchise with her husband Ramzan, has been given nine months to live unless she agrees to an organ transplant.

Thirty years earlier, at Ramzan’s urging, Sakeena left her beloved Rawalpindi, India, and built a life in the United States. Over the decades, she has gradually set aside her faith in naseeb, the Muslim understanding of destiny, even going so far as to undergo fertility treatments. Now, faced with the prospect of medical intervention once again, she refuses to compromise. Sakeena believes she should live—and die—as fate intended.

As her condition worsens, Ramzan turns to their grown children, hoping their return might persuade their mother to reconsider. But both children are deeply entangled in lives of their own.

Their eldest daughter, Fareen, is consumed by a pivotal business deal that could secure a long-awaited and highly lucrative promotion. Their youngest, Adnan, is living abroad and unable to return to the United States because of his own questionable business dealings, a pattern that began in adolescence.

With their mother’s life hanging in the balance, the siblings are forced to confront the consequences of their own choices and take extraordinary measures to bring their family back together. Along the way, Abundance explores the enduring tension between ambition and fate, asking how much of our lives we truly control—and how much we are ultimately called to accept.

HAFEEZ LAKHANI

Hafeez Lakhani was born in Hyderabad, India, and raised in suburban South Florida. His fiction and essays have appeared in Crazyhorse, Exposition Review, Salt Hill Journal, Tikkun, The Cortland Review, and The Southern Review, among other publications. He has received fellowships from PEN America and the Center for Fiction, has been recognized twice with a Notable Essay in Best American Essays, and has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize.

Barzakh Café also offers a curated selection of small plates and drinks. Guests are encouraged to arrive early, ease into the evening, and enjoy something from the kitchen or bar before the program begins. Happy Hour All Year.

Abundance - An Evening with Hafeez Lakhani

Abundance - An Evening with Hafeez Lakhani