Leila Aboulela

After the untimely death of her husband, Sammar sent her infant boy back to her family in Sudan and stayed in Aberdeen, Scotland, trying to knit her life back together while grieving and working as a translator. One of the professors she often works with is Rae, an Islamic scholar who understand her religion and the way she thinks. It is almost inevitable that the two of them will try to find a way towards each other. Except that for Sammar, Islam is her life - she is born to be a wife and show more she is Muslim first and anything else after that. Rae on the other hand studies and understands it - but does not believe and does not want to convert (and have a lot of valid reasons besides the fact that he simply does not believe).

That could have been the setup for a wonderful slow burn of a novel. Using the two different settings for the two parts of the novel (the cold Aberdeen and the sunny Sudan) add even more to the feeling of separation. Sammar and Rae do not seem to have anything in common and yet, their connection is there - even when they both deny it. Except that Sammar is unwilling to change and consider anything but what she thinks is right - even if that means never seeing Rae again.

And herein lies the problem. Had the roles been reversed, with the man insisting on his faith and his way and the woman being expected to submit to it and change, the novel would have probably never been published. Writing the novel this way, with Sammar essentially filling that cliched male role of past romance novels, diminishes the power of the novel considerably. It could have been an exploration of faith and religion (not even remotely the same except in Sammar's thinking) and of finding a way to bridge the differences between cultures. Instead it ended up a reversed romance cliche more than anything.

The writing is good and there are a lot of well-written and well-thought sequences in the book. It probably draws on the author's life in places and these insights into her thinking do make up for the strained main story. I just wish she had not tried to mold it so close to the standard stories (with the genders reversed). show less

Three Muslim women set out on a journey to the Highlands, to visit the grave of a 1930s pilgrim. They are members of an Arabic Speaking Muslim Women's Group in the Scottish city where they live, and Salma is disappointed that only Moni and Iman from their much larger group have come along.

Evelyn Cobbold was a real life Scottish aristocrat who spent much of her childhood in North Africa and travelled through Libya with a female friend in 2011, before officially converting to Islam in 2015 show more and taking the name Zainab. She was the first Muslim woman born in Britain to participate in the Haaj pilgrimage to Mecca.

This novel, however, is the story of a smaller scale and very personal journey for the three women involved, as they leave behind family ties for a few days (including a week at a hotel). All three have time to reflect on relationships and choices, as the story unfolds through their conversations, private thoughts and flashbacks. They revisit their past decisions and consider what the future might be.

Controversially, the story takes a rather fairytale direction with a kind of Muslim magical realism, including a talking hoopoe.

This is Leila Aboulela's fifth novel and the third I have read, and it feels very different from Lyrics Alley (set mostly in Sudan) and The Kindness of Enemies (with the story moving between different time periods and places). I am not sure I expected this novel when I started reading but I found it really interesting and beautifully written. show less

It took me a while to get into the story, but once I did I was able to completely immerse myself in it. This is a feast for literature connoisseurs!

The story takes place in 19th century Sudan. Akuany and her little brother Bol have been orphaned in a village raid and taken in by their late father’s friend, a young merchant Yaseen. First living with Yaseen’s sister, later enslaved, Akuany has to adjust to her frequently changing circumstances. At the same time a self proclaimed Mahdi show more prepares to claim power, and people around Akuany end up on different sides of the conflict.

When Akuany gets older her relationship with Yaseen evolves. The Mahdi revolution keeps tearing them apart, yet they are drawn to each other and stay close against all odds.

The writing is absolutely magical; it is descriptive yet not entirely direct. We learn about the atrocities of war but they are presented in a way that is not overly explicit or dramatic.

There are a few POVs and the narrative is switching between the first, third and even second person. The characters represent various combinations of national and religious background, political views and involvement in the conflict. It is a brilliant way to describe the events from different angles and show how they impact the lives of everyone affected.

It is not a light and easy read but I am glad and grateful that I picked it up. Highly recommended to all historical fiction lovers!

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

Najwa is a privileged teenager in Sudan, where her father works for the President and her mother has a good job. Najwa and her twin brother, Omar, are pampered. They both attend university, but neither gives it their full attention. Everything changes when a coup deposes the president and they seek exile in London. Twenty years later, Najwa is on her own, wearing the hijab, participating in women's meetings at the mosque, and working as a maid for a wealthy twenty-something woman and her show more younger brother. How did this transformation occur?

The novel jumps back and forth between the 1980s and the early 2000s. Islamic faith is the central theme of the novel – fundamental but not radical Islam. Najwa lost her nationality as a result of the coup that changed her country, and she gradually began to view herself as Muslim rather than Sudanese. Najwa's story is told in first person, and it is fascinating to view the world from her eyes. The only aspect of the book that doesn't ring quite true is Najwa's attraction to her employer's 19-year-old brother based on their shared faith. He behaved like a 19-year-old – sometimes an adult, sometimes an adolescent. It's hard to imagine a 40-year-old woman falling in love with a 19-year-old. I think it would be a good topic to discuss in a book group – what did she see in him?

I particularly enjoyed the book's London setting. I lived in London during the earlier part of the book's time frame and I could picture all the places Najwa went. I often passed the mosque in Regent's Park and it was interesting to accompany Najwa inside a place I've only seen from outside.

I'm not sure why such a reflective book was a page-turner for me, but it's a book I didn't want to put down once I started it. With its focus on the tensions between faith, family, friendships, and lifestyle, it's similar to a lot of the Christian fiction I've read, and better written than most of it. show less