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sharondblk's review against another edition
I just couldn't get into this book. I don't really know what the problem was, it's well written, and the blurb appealed to me, but I only read a couple of chapters and just didn't care enough to go on. This is very unusual for me. I don't feel that I read enough to give this book a rated, and there was certainly nothing terrible about it that stopped me from reading it.
Netgalley gave me a free copy in exchange for a review, and I guess you'll have to read it and make your own assessment.
Netgalley gave me a free copy in exchange for a review, and I guess you'll have to read it and make your own assessment.
archerkel's review
3.0
This book cover randomly caught my attention when I was browsing and I decided to give it a try.
We follow three friends, Salma, Moni, and Iman, from a Muslim Women's group who are taking a trip to the Scottish Highlands. Each individual has their own personal struggle that overshadows the trip and threatens to disrupt their friendship. This road trip paves the way for a spiritual journey the women weren't expecting.
I appreciated that this book provided a small window into a culture I am less familiar with.
We follow three friends, Salma, Moni, and Iman, from a Muslim Women's group who are taking a trip to the Scottish Highlands. Each individual has their own personal struggle that overshadows the trip and threatens to disrupt their friendship. This road trip paves the way for a spiritual journey the women weren't expecting.
I appreciated that this book provided a small window into a culture I am less familiar with.
zainub_reads's review
3.0
An intriguing story of three Arab women in Scotland who embark on a journey of sorts to visit the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold (The first British woman to perform The Muslim Pilgrimage).
Salma is a headstrong leader, though a qualified doctor from Egypt she ends up working as a masseuse in Scotland leading to growing sense of discontent with the life she’s built for herself.
Iman is a very beautiful young Syrian refugee who has already been widowed once and divorced as well but cannot return to her family in Syria and must make a life for herself all alone in a foreign land.
Moni is of Sudanese heritage, a successful banker before she had Adam, her son born with cerebral palsy.
She becomes his primary caregiver neglecting her marriage and herself unable to find any semblance of a balanced life.
The first half of the story is a nice smooth sailing journey but the second part is where the waters get rough.
What I mean is out of nowhere we have a talking Hoopoe coming to visit Iman in the lodge and narrating stories a la Arabian Nights but the stories are really good and the reader can assume the episodes to be the product of a vivid imagination so all good until the whole story goes full on magical realism that makes the plot feel like a supernatural fantasy which is so not my cup of tea.
The themes of spirituality, introspection and mystic symbolism are strongly represented.
I enjoyed reading the book but would have preferred a different second half.
Salma is a headstrong leader, though a qualified doctor from Egypt she ends up working as a masseuse in Scotland leading to growing sense of discontent with the life she’s built for herself.
Iman is a very beautiful young Syrian refugee who has already been widowed once and divorced as well but cannot return to her family in Syria and must make a life for herself all alone in a foreign land.
Moni is of Sudanese heritage, a successful banker before she had Adam, her son born with cerebral palsy.
She becomes his primary caregiver neglecting her marriage and herself unable to find any semblance of a balanced life.
The first half of the story is a nice smooth sailing journey but the second part is where the waters get rough.
What I mean is out of nowhere we have a talking Hoopoe coming to visit Iman in the lodge and narrating stories a la Arabian Nights but the stories are really good and the reader can assume the episodes to be the product of a vivid imagination so all good until the whole story goes full on magical realism that makes the plot feel like a supernatural fantasy which is so not my cup of tea.
The themes of spirituality, introspection and mystic symbolism are strongly represented.
I enjoyed reading the book but would have preferred a different second half.
charliebnl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was my first time reading Leila’s work, and I have heard so many good things about this book. I will admit that I did not enjoy it as much as I’d hoped.
In this story, we follow three Muslim/Scottish women on a pilgrimage, taking a road trip to the Scottish highlands to visit the gravestone of a Scottish woman who converted to Islam.
In this journey, we get to know the three women, Salma, Moni and Iman. And as is expected of most road trips, the journey starts well but very soon finds the women wanting to return home before reaching the gravesite.
I really enjoyed the narration of this story; it was cathartic to hear her accent narrating their journeys of discovery, but I felt that a lot went over my head, which may have contributed to my experience of the book.
I have since read another book by Leila, so I believe I should return to this and give it another shot using another medium.
Overall, it was a good book about female friendship, motherhood, and identity.
In this story, we follow three Muslim/Scottish women on a pilgrimage, taking a road trip to the Scottish highlands to visit the gravestone of a Scottish woman who converted to Islam.
In this journey, we get to know the three women, Salma, Moni and Iman. And as is expected of most road trips, the journey starts well but very soon finds the women wanting to return home before reaching the gravesite.
I really enjoyed the narration of this story; it was cathartic to hear her accent narrating their journeys of discovery, but I felt that a lot went over my head, which may have contributed to my experience of the book.
I have since read another book by Leila, so I believe I should return to this and give it another shot using another medium.
Overall, it was a good book about female friendship, motherhood, and identity.
schwarzer_elch's review
5.0
“Birds Summons” es la historia de Salma, Moni e Imán, tres mujeres musulmanas que parten juntas hacia Escocia, en busca de la tumba de Lady Evelyn Cabbold, la primera mujer británica que se convirtió al islam.
A pesar de la sencillez con la que está escrito, este es un libro que trasciende y que ofrece un valiosísimo análisis sobre el rol de la mujer en la sociedad musulmana. A través de la vida personal de las tres protagonistas, Leila Aboulela nos ofrece una mirada interesante sobre la maternidad, la familia, el cuerpo, la libertad y muchos otros temas vinculados a la femineidad musulmana y universal. Qué importante es leer este tipo de textos en tiempos como el actual, en el que se debate mucho sobre la libertad femenina en el mundo islámica, desde una posición occidental, silenciando las voces de las mujeres musulmanas que, durante años, han reflexionado sobre sí mismas y el mundo en el que viven.
Destaco el diálogo de Imán en el que reflexiona sobre la vestimenta de las personas, argumentando que todas las modas son imposiciones y que, realmente, ningunx de nostrxs tiene libertad absoluta para escoger qué vestir. También quedé fascinado con todas las partes en las que Salma narra la situación con sus hijos, a quienes siente muy británicos y, por ende, muy alejados de ella misma. ¿Y cómo olvidarme de Moni? Un personaje cuyas dudas me conmovieron y me comprometieron por completo con su lucha.
Por su puesto, nada de esto hubiera sido posible sin el gran talento de la autora para crear personajes sólidos, redondos, capaces de enganchar y comprometer a quien lee sus historias. Además, los recursos narrativos y los elementos mágico – religiosos a los que recurre, hicieron que esta fuera una de mis lecturas favoritas del año. ¡Qué ganas de verla publicada en castellano!
*Leí este libro durante el club de lectura organizado en agosto del 2021 por Cindy, de BookOfCinz*
A pesar de la sencillez con la que está escrito, este es un libro que trasciende y que ofrece un valiosísimo análisis sobre el rol de la mujer en la sociedad musulmana. A través de la vida personal de las tres protagonistas, Leila Aboulela nos ofrece una mirada interesante sobre la maternidad, la familia, el cuerpo, la libertad y muchos otros temas vinculados a la femineidad musulmana y universal. Qué importante es leer este tipo de textos en tiempos como el actual, en el que se debate mucho sobre la libertad femenina en el mundo islámica, desde una posición occidental, silenciando las voces de las mujeres musulmanas que, durante años, han reflexionado sobre sí mismas y el mundo en el que viven.
Destaco el diálogo de Imán en el que reflexiona sobre la vestimenta de las personas, argumentando que todas las modas son imposiciones y que, realmente, ningunx de nostrxs tiene libertad absoluta para escoger qué vestir. También quedé fascinado con todas las partes en las que Salma narra la situación con sus hijos, a quienes siente muy británicos y, por ende, muy alejados de ella misma. ¿Y cómo olvidarme de Moni? Un personaje cuyas dudas me conmovieron y me comprometieron por completo con su lucha.
Por su puesto, nada de esto hubiera sido posible sin el gran talento de la autora para crear personajes sólidos, redondos, capaces de enganchar y comprometer a quien lee sus historias. Además, los recursos narrativos y los elementos mágico – religiosos a los que recurre, hicieron que esta fuera una de mis lecturas favoritas del año. ¡Qué ganas de verla publicada en castellano!
*Leí este libro durante el club de lectura organizado en agosto del 2021 por Cindy, de BookOfCinz*
chaiandspices's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thessilian's review against another edition
4.0
Salma, Moni and Iman are three women from diverse backgrounds who met at their local Muslim Women’s Group. They have a variety of cultural differences, educations and marriages, yet each has found themselves at a critical moment in their life.
Salma loves her husband and family but misses the respect of being a doctor and her uncomplicated teenage crush. Moni cares for her disabled son Adam while her husband works abroad, wanting to brush Adam away as a mistake. Iman is the youngest and most traditionally attractive. She is on her third husband, someone who doesn’t care for her, only lusts after her. She is dependent and unhappy.
Together they plan on a trip to Scotland to visit the grave of a Scottish convert. It’s a long journey that fractures their friendships, causes them anxiety and doubt and finally allow them to change and grow.
While their faith is important to them and the story, their issues are easy to understand. Salma’s nostalgia for a better time, for young love, for a glut of opportunities versus harsh realities is surely familiar to anyone. Moni struggles with her responsibilities to her child versus her time with her husband. All she wants is the best for Adam, even if it destroys her marriage. Iman just wants to be seen, to be known, to be loved for who she is, not what she looks like.
Using a mix of realism and magical elements, Bird Summons takes the reader with the women on their journey. The Hoopoe, the titular bird, guides them through what feels like pure fairy tales towards an entrancing and beautiful conclusion.
Salma loves her husband and family but misses the respect of being a doctor and her uncomplicated teenage crush. Moni cares for her disabled son Adam while her husband works abroad, wanting to brush Adam away as a mistake. Iman is the youngest and most traditionally attractive. She is on her third husband, someone who doesn’t care for her, only lusts after her. She is dependent and unhappy.
Together they plan on a trip to Scotland to visit the grave of a Scottish convert. It’s a long journey that fractures their friendships, causes them anxiety and doubt and finally allow them to change and grow.
While their faith is important to them and the story, their issues are easy to understand. Salma’s nostalgia for a better time, for young love, for a glut of opportunities versus harsh realities is surely familiar to anyone. Moni struggles with her responsibilities to her child versus her time with her husband. All she wants is the best for Adam, even if it destroys her marriage. Iman just wants to be seen, to be known, to be loved for who she is, not what she looks like.
Using a mix of realism and magical elements, Bird Summons takes the reader with the women on their journey. The Hoopoe, the titular bird, guides them through what feels like pure fairy tales towards an entrancing and beautiful conclusion.
arcookson's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0