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magidow's review
This book is a coming-of-age story of a girl from the state of Washington who goes to live in Qatar and studies at the American University in Egypt. Her mother's from Washington, and her father's from Qatar. It's nice to know about for a few reasons. First, it offers a rare understanding of how someone in the author's situation has a mixed identity (nationality, language, culture). Second, it provides a common-but-timeless account of growing up through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, complete with all the messiness, uncertainty, and anxiety that usually accompany the experience. Third, it represents perhaps the sole example of a book in English, set largely in the Arab world, that can cater to science fiction fans. If you can appreciate references to Atreides in Frank Herbert's Dune, UFOs, Star Wars and Trekkies, and so on, then you will be sure to appreciate the author's distinctive perspective, mixing Arabic culture and Sci Fi fandom for a unique growing up experience.
qqjj's review
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Islamophobia, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Dementia, Confinement, Classism, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
heathssm's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
angrangy's review
5.0
Diese Memoiren habe ich sehr gerne gelesen. Natürlich sprachlich etwas ausgeschmückt und poetisiert, hat mich diese Coming-of-Age Story der quatarisch-amerikanischen Künstlerin direkt mitgezogen. Trennungskind, working class, zwei Kulturen, wie sie unterschiedlicher nicht hätten sein können - Al-Maria beschreibt die Struggles einer Kindheit und Jugend, ständig auf der Suche nach der eigenen kulturellen Identität und seinem Platz in der Welt.
caitlin21521's review
3.0
I really enjoyed reading about the romance subterfuge in the Gulf, and the cultural differences.
elenasquareeyes's review
4.0
A funny and wry coming-of-age memoir about growing up in between American and Gulf Arab cultures as Al-Maria shares the struggles of being raised by an American mother and Bedouin father while shuttling between homes in the Pacific Northwest and the Middle East.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth begins with the story of Al-Maria’s parents. Of how her father came to America and how they met, fell in love and were happy for a while. Then in goes to Al-Maria’s childhood and the start of feeling like she belonged in two places and none at all. Growing up she and her young sister spent years with her mother and grandmother in her home on a small farm, then they moved with their mother to Doha to live in a large apartment their father had though they rarely saw him, instead spending time with all the women on their dad’s side of the family; aunts and cousins.
Al-Maria in part doesn’t seem to know who she is because she moves between America and the Middle East at major milestones in her life. As a young teen in America, she tries to express herself but the things she’s interested in (fashion and music) disappoint and sometimes anger her mother. When she goes back to the Middle East as a teen she discovers new restrictions on her life, especially once she starts her period and she’s no longer allowed to go to certain parts of the house where the men are.
Al-Maria grows up in the 80s and 90s and she’s at university in Egypt when 9/11 happens. Her university is an international school with a whole mixture of Americans, Europeans, and Arabs from different countries, so after the attacks you feel the repercussions on all these people in a different way that white Western people did.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth is really interesting because it seems like Al-Maria not only has a culture clash but a personality clash with her parents, her mother especially. It’s like she’s expected to know how to act in both societies but there are things she’s never taught and neither side of the family rarely think they should – she’s just expected to know things. Her not knowing where she belongs, how she feels like an alien when people can’t easily classify “what” she is based on her looks or her level of English or Arabic, comes out in anger, confusion and just general teenage angst.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth doesn’t offer any simple or easy answers to Al-Maria’s turmoil. Her childhood and upbringing weren’t easy and while as an outside perspective you can think of what you’d have done differently in her position, or even in her parent’s position, these were the choices she made. Sometimes they were reckless or thoughtless while sometimes they were a conscious decision.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth is told with a wry sense of humour. There are things that happen in Al-Maria’s life that are sad or shocking but they are told with a degree of distance to them. It’s is as because she doesn’t feel connected to either part of her heritage, it’s difficult for the reader to connect with what she experienced.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth begins with the story of Al-Maria’s parents. Of how her father came to America and how they met, fell in love and were happy for a while. Then in goes to Al-Maria’s childhood and the start of feeling like she belonged in two places and none at all. Growing up she and her young sister spent years with her mother and grandmother in her home on a small farm, then they moved with their mother to Doha to live in a large apartment their father had though they rarely saw him, instead spending time with all the women on their dad’s side of the family; aunts and cousins.
Al-Maria in part doesn’t seem to know who she is because she moves between America and the Middle East at major milestones in her life. As a young teen in America, she tries to express herself but the things she’s interested in (fashion and music) disappoint and sometimes anger her mother. When she goes back to the Middle East as a teen she discovers new restrictions on her life, especially once she starts her period and she’s no longer allowed to go to certain parts of the house where the men are.
Al-Maria grows up in the 80s and 90s and she’s at university in Egypt when 9/11 happens. Her university is an international school with a whole mixture of Americans, Europeans, and Arabs from different countries, so after the attacks you feel the repercussions on all these people in a different way that white Western people did.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth is really interesting because it seems like Al-Maria not only has a culture clash but a personality clash with her parents, her mother especially. It’s like she’s expected to know how to act in both societies but there are things she’s never taught and neither side of the family rarely think they should – she’s just expected to know things. Her not knowing where she belongs, how she feels like an alien when people can’t easily classify “what” she is based on her looks or her level of English or Arabic, comes out in anger, confusion and just general teenage angst.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth doesn’t offer any simple or easy answers to Al-Maria’s turmoil. Her childhood and upbringing weren’t easy and while as an outside perspective you can think of what you’d have done differently in her position, or even in her parent’s position, these were the choices she made. Sometimes they were reckless or thoughtless while sometimes they were a conscious decision.
The Girl Who Fell to Earth is told with a wry sense of humour. There are things that happen in Al-Maria’s life that are sad or shocking but they are told with a degree of distance to them. It’s is as because she doesn’t feel connected to either part of her heritage, it’s difficult for the reader to connect with what she experienced.
mmbay's review
3.0
Enjoyed reading about the cultural conflict between American and Arab, but thought the ending fell a little flat
jlmb's review
3.0
I really loved the first part of this memoir but towards the end it all fizzled out. I got the impression that Sophia/Safya had absolutely no idea how to end the book. That's a problem with memoirs written by young people, especially as young as she is (born in 1983). You are still living your life and so once you get beyond writing about your childhood, you are confronted with writing about your adult life - which you are currently living and thus it is hard to get perspective. She probably should have ended the memoir with her graduation from high school.
I never understood her parents relationship, which made it difficult for me as the reader to sympathize with either of her parents situations. Just why did they get together? What did they talk about? What were their hopes and desires for their marriage? And her father's journey from a Bedouin childhood in the desert to living in rural Washington state was just nuts. How on earth did he get from A to Z? The author was so vague about so many details. Maybe because she doesn't know them? He was in the Qatar army but then wasn't anymore??? He got a scholarship to study in the USA but never did and there was no follow through??? Where did he get his money? How did he get a job when he returned to Qatar? Why did he really return to Qatar? Why did he marry again? What is going on?! And her mother - there is one vague comment about her being about 10 years older than Sophia's dad. What was her story? Why get with this guy? Why her obsession with kidnapping and child molestation? Why get a degree in computer science and then take a job in a dentist's office? I don't believe Sophia's explanation that her mom wanted to make sure they got braces. Uh, if she took the job at Boeing then she would have had insurance and more money and the kids could still get braces. Just one of the many weird details that made no sense.
Her story of her first year in college in Cairo was weird too. Where was she getting her money? Just one throwaway sentence about a mysterious benefactor. Huh? And why didn't she apply to more colleges? Cairo sounds like an absolute pit of hell. Why go there? Her brief mentions about the rampant misogyny she encountered was nuts. But why just brief mentions? I mean, if I were dragged out of a car and groped by a group of men, I'd write more than one sentence about it. And her affair with the American Si? Again, I had no idea what was going on or why she was acting the way she did. And the final chapter about going and living with the goat herder in the countryside - wtf is that all about?
This memoir is interesting but ultimately brings up more questions than it answers.
I never understood her parents relationship, which made it difficult for me as the reader to sympathize with either of her parents situations. Just why did they get together? What did they talk about? What were their hopes and desires for their marriage? And her father's journey from a Bedouin childhood in the desert to living in rural Washington state was just nuts. How on earth did he get from A to Z? The author was so vague about so many details. Maybe because she doesn't know them? He was in the Qatar army but then wasn't anymore??? He got a scholarship to study in the USA but never did and there was no follow through??? Where did he get his money? How did he get a job when he returned to Qatar? Why did he really return to Qatar? Why did he marry again? What is going on?! And her mother - there is one vague comment about her being about 10 years older than Sophia's dad. What was her story? Why get with this guy? Why her obsession with kidnapping and child molestation? Why get a degree in computer science and then take a job in a dentist's office? I don't believe Sophia's explanation that her mom wanted to make sure they got braces. Uh, if she took the job at Boeing then she would have had insurance and more money and the kids could still get braces. Just one of the many weird details that made no sense.
Her story of her first year in college in Cairo was weird too. Where was she getting her money? Just one throwaway sentence about a mysterious benefactor. Huh? And why didn't she apply to more colleges? Cairo sounds like an absolute pit of hell. Why go there? Her brief mentions about the rampant misogyny she encountered was nuts. But why just brief mentions? I mean, if I were dragged out of a car and groped by a group of men, I'd write more than one sentence about it. And her affair with the American Si? Again, I had no idea what was going on or why she was acting the way she did. And the final chapter about going and living with the goat herder in the countryside - wtf is that all about?
This memoir is interesting but ultimately brings up more questions than it answers.
clarajane's review
3.0
I don’t mean to invalidate the author’s experience in any way with this review, but this book just didn’t do it for me, because of the way it’s executed. I went into this memoir with a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity, expecting a coming of age story of someone lost between two culturally-different worlds. As a young woman I related with many passages regarding finding one’s identity during adolescence and especially in relation to one’s own family. Having her mother and father in two different countries, the author finds herself a bit conflicted about feeling responsible for having to please both while exploring her own identity, coming of age, and sexuality. I think it took me some time to finish this one mainly because I found the writing to be a bit overwrought for the content and this made my thoughts stray and the text just repetitively lost me along the way. I was also expecting more cultural elements, and a deeper analysis of the cultural and religious differences regarding growing up in the United States and in Qatar, and in the end, I didn’t feel like I got that from the author. Would still recommend, it really is a unique story.