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A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents by Mary-Alice Daniel
Drawn by its stunning title & cover, I requested an arc for A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing. For some reason or other I ended up neglecting to read it but at long last decided to give it a try, and I’m really glad that I did get round to it. Written with clarity and…
1990s, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents, Adult, America, belonging, biography, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, elementary school, england, family, female authors, generational trauma, girlhood, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, history, identity, Islam, language, Mary-Alice Daniel, MEMOIR, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Nigeria, nigerian american author, Nonfiction, otherness, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, school setting, snapshots, social issues, story within a story -
American Fever by Dur e Aziz Amna
“[W]e talked incessantly about the gap between here and there. With each articulated difference, we flattened ourselves and let American define us. We were only ever what it was not.” My initial reaction upon finishing American Fever was something in the realm of ‘underwhelmed’. Yet, as weeks passed by my opinion changed. Maybe it’s because…
1st pov, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, ambivalent mood, America, American Fever, belonging, cold tone, coming of age, cultural dissonance, Dur e Aziz Amna, ennui, female authors, friendships, girlhood, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, illness, Islam, loneliness, Longing, Muslim rep, NEW YORK, Oregon, otherness, Pakistan, Pakistani author, published in 2022, read in 2022, Religion, SLICE OF LIFE, SMALL TOWN, the female malaise, YOUNG ADULT -
Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami
Drawing from her own experiences as a Moroccan immigrant living in the States, in Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America Laila Lalami presents us with an impassioned and thoughtful social commentary. With piercing clarity, she touches upon Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, and sexism. She reflects on the many flaws and conditions of citizenship, specifically American citizenship,…
1st pov, 2000s, 2010s, 4 STARS, America, American dream, belonging, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, Conditional Citizens, Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America, cultural dissonance, ESSAYS, female authors, history, identity, Islam, Laila Lalami, MEMOIR, migration/immigration, Moroccan American author, morocco, Nonfiction, politics, published in 2020, RACE, read in 2022, reading, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues -
Blood Feast: The Complete Short Stories of Malika Moustadraf by Malika Moustadraf
Blood Fest collects all of Malika Moustadraf’s short fiction. Set in contemporary-ish Morocco these stories explore fraught gender and family dynamics, highlighting the insidious nature of misogyny. Within these short stories, women are forced to marry men they don’t love, they are abused or mistreated by male relatives and struggle to retain freedom and independence…
2000s, 3 STARS, Adult, Blood Feast, Blood Feast: The Complete Short Stories of Malika Moustadraf, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, female authors, Islam, lgbtq+ side, Malika Moustadraf, moroccan author, morocco, My reviews, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, reading, sex, SEXUALITY, short stories, social issues, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Honor by Thrity Umrigar
Previously to reading Thrity Umrigar’s Honor I’d read another novel with the same title and subject matter. Both books make for harrowing reads, however, whereas I found Elif Shafak’s more thoughtful tone to be more appropriate to the subject fitting, here, well, Umrigar’s undermines her social commentary by throwing into the mix a rushed romantic…
2.5 STARS, Adult, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), distressing reads, female authors, graphic content, hinduism, Honor, honor killings, India, indian american author, insta love, Islam, journalism, MELODRAMA, MURDER, My reviews, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Religion, revenge, ROMANCE, Thrity Umrigar, trauma, violence, violence against women -
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
“She and Mona and I. The three of us: the Sinner, the Believer, the Confused.” Since I fell in love with Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love back in 2016, I have made my way through her oeuvre, even her more ‘obscure’ titles such as the overlooked gem that is The Saint of Incipient Insanities.…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, campus, CHILDHOOD, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, ELIF SHAFAK, england, family, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, growing up, GUILT, introspective, Islam, jealousy, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, oxford, politics, published in 2016, read in 2021, Religion, teachers, Turkey, turkish author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love -
We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
We Are All Birds of Uganda is a debut novel that inspired rather conflicting feelings in me. At first, I enjoyed Hafsa Zayyan’s ability to render her protagonist’s environment. I was not surprised to discover that Zayyan is like her protagonist Sameer a lawyer based in London. Zayyan captures the stressful atmosphere of Sameer’s office,…
2 STARS, Adult, British author, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), england, family, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, Hafsa Zayyan, insta love, intergenerational, Islam, LONDON, male friendships, politics, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, Religion, social issues, travel, Uganda, We Are All Birds of Uganda, work culture -
Are You Enjoying? by Mira Sethi
Are You Enjoying? reads very much like a debut. While I appreciated the themes Mira Sethi explored in these seven stories, the writing definitely detracted from my overall reading experiences. As collections of short stories go this is a rather forgettable and conventional one. The setting (Pakistan) and ideas behind each story had potential, for…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, affairs, Are You Enjoying?, collection of short stories, Contemporary, family, female authors, film industry, Islam, Mira Sethi, netgalley, Pakistan, Pakistani, Pakistani author, published in 2021, read in 2020, Religion, short stories, social issues, toxic relationships, weak prose -
How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi — book review
DISCLAIMER: having just come across a 5-star review that says negative reviews should not remark on how this book doesn’t really explore Amir’s faith and/or heritage I felt the need to better articulate my thoughts about this book:1) I’m not saying this book doesn’t have great Muslim rep because I found it unbelievable that a…
2 STARS, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, arc, Arvin Ahmadi, coming of age, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, family, gay, horrible friends, How It All Blew, Islam, Italy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, netgalley, published in 2020, read in 2020, Religion, Rome, travel, weak prose, YOUNG ADULT -
A Pure Heart: A Novel by Rajia Hassib — book review
A Pure Heart’s portrayal of sisterhood is tepid at best. The needlessly expository narration, the clichéd character dynamics, and the meandering storyline didn’t really grab me at all. This novel reminded me a lot of The Other Americans and many other titles that seemed aimed at an American audience…so we have these two sisters who…
2.5 STARS, 3rd pov, A Pure Heart, Adult, America, American, archaeology, Cairo, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, egypt, Egyptian American author, family, female authors, identity, Islam, LITERARY FICTION, museums, published in 2019, Rajia Hassib, READ IN 2019, Religion, SISTERS, social issues, violence
luce [is reading] 