Author: Etaf Rum
Published: March 5th 2019
Publisher: Harp
Number of Pages: 336
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
From Goodreads
This debut novel by an Arab-American voice,takes us inside the lives of conservative Arab women living in America.
In Brooklyn, eighteen-year-old Deya is starting to meet with suitors. Though she doesn’t want to get married, her grandparents give her no choice. History is repeating itself: Deya’s mother, Isra, also had no choice when she left Palestine as a teenager to marry Adam. Though Deya was raised to believe her parents died in a car accident, a secret note from a mysterious, yet familiar-looking woman makes Deya question everything she was told about her past. As the narrative alternates between the lives of Deya and Isra, she begins to understand the dark, complex secrets behind her community.
My Review
I was really happy to pick up this book from my pile because I have to admit that I have read really few books about Islamic culture, even if it really fascinates me.
From this point of view, A Woman Is No Man is really accurate in describing symbols and habits of an islamic family and above all, it conveys beautifully the struggle of women forced to grow under the weight of the religion's costraints. I especially loved this about most of the characters: the constant war between following their dreams and ambitions and the impossibility to separate from their roots and family; it shows perfectly how the bond between the religion and their followers is so strong as to impede one's decisions, even when they demonstrate as perfectly right.
Farida, personally, was my favourite character, to the point that I really would have loved to have a little more insight into her past. She perfectly characterised the woman born and raised in Palestine, and therefore taught to follow by heart the country's beliefs and lifestyle. " Fareeda knew that no matter what any woman said, culture could not be escaped." Fareeda lives her all life practicing this belief, until what she must sacrifice is too much: her family; in order not to lose them, she must learn to adjust and to compromise with her grandchild's desire to be free. I know that Fareeda was not the protagonist of the book, but I found her choice, in the end, to be the bravest.
Speaking of the other characters, I did not grow fond of the protagonist, Deya, nor of her mother, Isra, even if her story was quite moving. I think that their personalities do not emerge that much, and that what I was hearing was just another story of oppression and injustice. Another thing is Sarah's personality, that manages to come out in full force, even if she shows rapidly in the telling.
I decided to give 3 star to this book, because it lacked of something, for me. The story developed slowly, making you suffer along with Isra for what felt like a terrible imprisonment, and then, all of a sudden, the finale to her story is revealed, but everything kind of ends too rapidly, with no proportion between the center of the narration and the last bits of it. As a result, also Deya's final awareness about herself, her family and her future should have been explored better, since she turns out to embody the new spirit of an adjusted, modern Islam.
Rated
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