It's basically the story of two people and was told from both their points of view.

Ismail, a man who was divorced twenty years before and went into a self imposed exile from real relationships because he believed he didn't deserve one. Because about two years before or so he'd left his young baby girl in her car seat and she had died.

And then there's Celia, a widow (who also lost her mother soon after losing her husband) who was bankrupted by her husband's debt after he died because of his gambling. Something she didn't know he'd been doing. She lives across the street a bit from Ismail (hence the six metres)

And then there was Fatima. Honestly with the awards that this book won and the PR and even the book cover's synopsis I would have loved to see more of her, but none the less. she's a nineteen year old on the cusp of adulthood who's having real trouble with her family at home. That's what this book is about in the end. Family in all its iterations.

I liked it for the most part. It was really depressing, especially at the beginning, but still I was pulled into the book anyways. Mostly because of the amazing characters and relationships. Fiction isn't real life and sometimes fiction comes across as too perfect. There are 'problems' and 'antagonists', but there's no messiness. But here in this novel the people and especially the relationships were real and human and stumbling and wicked, wicked mess. ( )

Six Metres of Pavement tells the story of Ismail Boxwala, who continues to struggle with the role he played in his daughter's accidental death two decades ago. He drinks too much, and is largely isolated from his community. Slowly, he regains happiness through two women: Fatima, a young woman shunned by her family because of her sexual orientation, and Celia, a widow who moves in with her daughter across the street. This is a story about friendship and chosen families.

At times, it verges on "chick lit", but the solid writing and strong characters carry it past that label. The author is able to bring us inside the characters' hearts and minds in a subtle, but profound, way. ( )

I bought and started reading Farzana Doctor’s second novel Six Metres of Pavement with specific and high expectations: not only has it just been shortlisted for the 2012 Toronto Book award, it was named one of Now Magazine’s top ten books of 2011 and won in the category of lesbian fiction at the most recent Lambda Literary awards. Six Metres of Pavement also won a 2011 Rainbow award. That’s a lot of praise, especially for only a second-time novelist. This kind of positive feedback creates high expectations that can sometimes be hard to live up to. Do I think the novel deserves the praise it’s been garnering? Absolutely. It’s a very moving novel that is ultimately about the power of chosen families, which is something that’s particularly poignant for queers. Do I think this novel was the right choice for a lesbian fiction category, particularly for the Lambda? No...

See the rest of my review on my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/a-review-of-farzana-d... ( )

Gentle,warm,Torontonian.