Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - Hope Ablaze

my new absolute favourite book. a must read, especially for south asian muslims in diaspora. i loved the poetry, the bit of history, and the community.

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jennswan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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slowburnsrus's review against another edition

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thelibraryskeeper's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

As someone not familiar with the language used in this book, a glossary would have been very helpful in making the book more accessible. I wanted to understand the terms used and found myself flipping to the end of the book to see if there was definitions. When there wasn't I was looking a lot of things up. I understand this is my own lack of exposure and I learned a lot!

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bookishde's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I have mixed feelings about this book. The author has a beautiful writing style and a way with describing scenes and characters so that I felt like I was there too (and boy, did this book make me feel hungry at times! I wish I could try Amma's food).

That said, for a book that puts poetry at the centre stage, I felt that the poetry was the weakest link. For example, there was no differentiation between Nida's and her Amma's poetry voice. I would have liked to see something unique and identifable to each character, so that you could clearly twll who penned each piece. Similarly, the blue string, curse, and flashback scenes seemed unnecessary, and rather than add a layer of intrigue, actually drew me out of the book.

I do want to flag this - it was disappointing to mention that a character has ADHD, but has overcome this through willpower alone. Why even mention this?

I'd like to listen to the audiobook for this, and see how the poetry comes across out loud.

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lettuce_read's review against another edition

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4.0

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caseythereader's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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