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4.59 AVERAGE
4.59 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
I love the character development so so so much
I love the mix of lived experience and stories from the Qur’an and how I didn’t need prior knowledge of those stories
This book has definitely shown me a side of Islam that I wasn’t aware of.
I think I’ll always find it really difficult to understand and relate to stories of religion though, they make me feel cynical
It turned out to be a really heartwarming read
I love the mix of lived experience and stories from the Qur’an and how I didn’t need prior knowledge of those stories
This book has definitely shown me a side of Islam that I wasn’t aware of.
I think I’ll always find it really difficult to understand and relate to stories of religion though, they make me feel cynical
It turned out to be a really heartwarming read
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong contender for my favourite books this year! SUCH skilful writing, and a really gorgeous articulation of queerness
The structure of the book and narrative around characters and people in the Qaran felt so masterful and made me really appreciate how religion can be used as an active tool for self-reflection, in a way I haven't really seen before. The way the author related religious characters to their own experiences so often felt revelatory - "It’s not your race that makes you feel like a jinn. It’s white supremacy.” and finishing their chapter on the expansiveness of Allah with "Like me", seeing queerness as a miracle, and speaking of Muhammad's wahi to share Islam: "And I. I am twenty-one when I come out to myself as queer, when I receive something akin to a wahi of my own."
More on skilful writing, I noticed that the fact the locations given in the author's writing were only ever general ("a country in Southeast Asia") both added to their anonymity but also, I felt, emphasised how the author's story and experiences were not singular or entirely unique.
I loved how the author found meaning in the lived world around them - even the smallest things were the most profound. "Why can’t people see the everyday overlaps of our lives? Difficult work situations and queer shame. The newfound deliciousness of frozen yogurt. Navigating the uncannily similar experiences of Irish Catholic guilt and brown diasporic guilt."
I was also really struck by the author's articulation of the grief and stress that heteronormativity creates around coming out. Their discussion when sharing their queerness with someone else for the first time: "still don’t know what feels true enough to put into words", and later on that "I can’t help feeling heartbroken. That after years of confusion, wanting to die, ignoring my feelings for women until I couldn’t anymore, finally coming out to myself by coming out to Cara and feeling so much relief that I knew I’d experienced a miracle—that even after all of this, my saying the truth out loud is not enough to prove who I am to a world that doesn’t believe me."
"how I feel so politically aligned with womanhood and yet hate inhabiting it"
The structure of the book and narrative around characters and people in the Qaran felt so masterful and made me really appreciate how religion can be used as an active tool for self-reflection, in a way I haven't really seen before. The way the author related religious characters to their own experiences so often felt revelatory - "It’s not your race that makes you feel like a jinn. It’s white supremacy.” and finishing their chapter on the expansiveness of Allah with "Like me", seeing queerness as a miracle, and speaking of Muhammad's wahi to share Islam: "And I. I am twenty-one when I come out to myself as queer, when I receive something akin to a wahi of my own."
More on skilful writing, I noticed that the fact the locations given in the author's writing were only ever general ("a country in Southeast Asia") both added to their anonymity but also, I felt, emphasised how the author's story and experiences were not singular or entirely unique.
I loved how the author found meaning in the lived world around them - even the smallest things were the most profound. "Why can’t people see the everyday overlaps of our lives? Difficult work situations and queer shame. The newfound deliciousness of frozen yogurt. Navigating the uncannily similar experiences of Irish Catholic guilt and brown diasporic guilt."
I was also really struck by the author's articulation of the grief and stress that heteronormativity creates around coming out. Their discussion when sharing their queerness with someone else for the first time: "still don’t know what feels true enough to put into words", and later on that "I can’t help feeling heartbroken. That after years of confusion, wanting to die, ignoring my feelings for women until I couldn’t anymore, finally coming out to myself by coming out to Cara and feeling so much relief that I knew I’d experienced a miracle—that even after all of this, my saying the truth out loud is not enough to prove who I am to a world that doesn’t believe me."
"how I feel so politically aligned with womanhood and yet hate inhabiting it"
hopeful
reflective
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Wow beautiful read. Some of the stories and family dynamics mentioned I found similarities in within my own life. However the authors experiences are also vastly different from mine and that’s the why I loved reading this book. I found this book deeply impactful and profound.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Beautiful story. I loved the layout and how it goes between memoir and stories from the Quran.
emotional
Do I recommend having a parent in the hospital? Absolutely not. Is it phenomenal for knocking out books? Absolutely yes.
In seriousness though this was a great way to pass the time and I really got a lot from it. Despite that Lamya and I come from fundamentally different cultural backgrounds, I saw myself in a surprising number of her anecdotes. They gave me new language for how my interact with my butch identity and for that I can’t think of giving anything less than 5 stars.
In seriousness though this was a great way to pass the time and I really got a lot from it. Despite that Lamya and I come from fundamentally different cultural backgrounds, I saw myself in a surprising number of her anecdotes. They gave me new language for how my interact with my butch identity and for that I can’t think of giving anything less than 5 stars.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced