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hannahmayreads's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book didn't work for me, and it was mostly to do with the characterisation. The plot had promise - a classic road trip novel, but the twist is the characters are three Muslim women. It just didn't come together how I'd hoped.
None of the women felt believable. Moni following a small boy around day after day? Creepy. Salma having an emotional affair with someone who is clearly awful? It seemed too irrational for her. And Iman - she's so off with the fairies she might as well be one of them. She didn't read as a 20-something-year-old woman but as a 10-year-old girl. She was wearing actual costumes and gadding about the place - what is this? The attempts at creating mysticism and magic fell flat and were frankly just odd most of the time.
This book took itself far too seriously for it to be a success.
None of the women felt believable. Moni following a small boy around day after day? Creepy. Salma having an emotional affair with someone who is clearly awful? It seemed too irrational for her. And Iman - she's so off with the fairies she might as well be one of them. She didn't read as a 20-something-year-old woman but as a 10-year-old girl. She was wearing actual costumes and gadding about the place - what is this? The attempts at creating mysticism and magic fell flat and were frankly just odd most of the time.
This book took itself far too seriously for it to be a success.
indahmarwan's review
4.0
This is my first book of Leila Aboulela and I chose blindly to read it as it passed my Instagram scroll. I knew nearly nothing about the book except the background story of the first British woman to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, Zainab Cobbold. So, I was just curious about her.
Apparently, as I started reading it, the characters in the story are three Arab Muslim women who live in Britain make their way to visit the grave of Zainab Cobbold in Scottish Highlands, Inverness. So, the life of Zainab Cobbold is just a background and appeared in line as they make their trip.
Those three main characters and their own problems, reality and experiences hooked me on rushing to finish the reading.
Salma, the woman in charge, would’ve been a doctor in her origin country in Egypt if she weren’t married to a convert Scottish man, and she is reconnecting to her ex in Egypt and imagining what kind of life she would have if she were married to Amir.
Moni, a devoted mother of a disabled son whose husband demands her to join him in Saudi Arabia but there is not much help for her son so she keeps defying and it almost breaks their marriage apart.
Iman, is in her early 20s and already with her third husband, left her native country Syria and whose first husband was killed in the war. While everyone admires her beauty, she is characterised as lazy and brainless.
The plot where the hoopoe is communicating with Iman and sharing stories to her was something I didn’t anticipate. I didn’t think that the book would be a fairy tale. While I get the point which the women would learn from the lesson but I could do it without the hoopoe. What was delighting at that moment was coincidentally I was in the read along which in the week we were talking about the story of Bilqis. So I get the points why Leila Aboulela pick the hoopoe as the plot device.
Leila Aboulela’s writing is simple as the characters and their problems are interesting: it is something that happens in the reality of Muslim women, the Muslim women live in Britain and not in any of the Middle East countries, she focuses on the voices, thoughts, feelings and lived experiences of the women.
If you’re not into fairy tale you might want to skip this book. But if you don’t mind and you want to read about Muslim women bu Muslim woman author you might want to read it.
Apparently, as I started reading it, the characters in the story are three Arab Muslim women who live in Britain make their way to visit the grave of Zainab Cobbold in Scottish Highlands, Inverness. So, the life of Zainab Cobbold is just a background and appeared in line as they make their trip.
Those three main characters and their own problems, reality and experiences hooked me on rushing to finish the reading.
Salma, the woman in charge, would’ve been a doctor in her origin country in Egypt if she weren’t married to a convert Scottish man, and she is reconnecting to her ex in Egypt and imagining what kind of life she would have if she were married to Amir.
Moni, a devoted mother of a disabled son whose husband demands her to join him in Saudi Arabia but there is not much help for her son so she keeps defying and it almost breaks their marriage apart.
Iman, is in her early 20s and already with her third husband, left her native country Syria and whose first husband was killed in the war. While everyone admires her beauty, she is characterised as lazy and brainless.
The plot where the hoopoe is communicating with Iman and sharing stories to her was something I didn’t anticipate. I didn’t think that the book would be a fairy tale. While I get the point which the women would learn from the lesson but I could do it without the hoopoe. What was delighting at that moment was coincidentally I was in the read along which in the week we were talking about the story of Bilqis. So I get the points why Leila Aboulela pick the hoopoe as the plot device.
Leila Aboulela’s writing is simple as the characters and their problems are interesting: it is something that happens in the reality of Muslim women, the Muslim women live in Britain and not in any of the Middle East countries, she focuses on the voices, thoughts, feelings and lived experiences of the women.
If you’re not into fairy tale you might want to skip this book. But if you don’t mind and you want to read about Muslim women bu Muslim woman author you might want to read it.
sofia_reading's review
4.0
Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela is a heartwarming story of friendship, faith, identity, family, and journeys to self-knowledge. At its centre are Iman, a beautiful young Syrian refugee who fled the war and made her way to Scotland, Moni a Sudanese woman who once held a corporate job but is now married and the main carer for her beloved young son who has cerebral palsy, and finally there is Salma, an Egyptian woman who married a white Scottish convert and has a happy home with him but feels alienated by her children who often seem so foreign to her. Salma is the leader of the group and has arranged a road trip to visit the grave of Lady Evelyn (Zaynab) Cobbold, the first Englishwoman to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah in 1933 at the age of 66. This alone was fascinating to me as I’d never heard of this woman. Learning about her both through the story and the google rabbit hole it sent me down was so satisfying in itself, but this little book had its own twists and turns to keep me occupied plenty!
This is very much a road trip novel, each one of these women is on a journey of self-reflection and comes out on the other side of the experience a changed woman. One hopes for a brighter future for each of them as their lives extend beyond the pages of Bird Summons, but the unexpected twist in the story was the magical realism. As they embark on their travels Iman starts to be visited by a Hoopoe bird. For those familiar with the stories of the Quran, they will recognise this bird as one that makes an appearance in the stories of Suleyman (Solomon). This bird speaks to Imaan and tells her allegorical moral lessons. I absolutely adored these stories. They reminded me of when I was an Arabic language student and I used to read through Kalila wa Dimnah, folkstories featuring animals, each with a strong moral message at the end.
Magical realism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love a good mug of magical realism and as the story climaxes so too does the magic tip over into the fantastical. The messages Aboulela imparts are ones of humanity, a continuum of shared legacies, holding onto heritage whilst taking up our space in the contemporary moment, of friendship and forbearance, and of our interconnectedness being far greater than our disconnects. And of course, she delivers this all with writing that is generous in its lyricism and beauty.
If I have any criticism at all it is only that all the Muslim men are dreadful. The only one who is not, is the white convert, and that is a little problematic for me. I would have liked to have seen at least one redeemable brown Muslim man in there.
If you like books that are allegorical, have a fairytale/folklore feel to them, magical realism and like to read own voice authors, I highly recommend this one!
I had the pleasure of speaking with the warm and wonderful Leila about Bird Summons on my instagram and the spoiler free conversation can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMFudG4piy2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This is very much a road trip novel, each one of these women is on a journey of self-reflection and comes out on the other side of the experience a changed woman. One hopes for a brighter future for each of them as their lives extend beyond the pages of Bird Summons, but the unexpected twist in the story was the magical realism. As they embark on their travels Iman starts to be visited by a Hoopoe bird. For those familiar with the stories of the Quran, they will recognise this bird as one that makes an appearance in the stories of Suleyman (Solomon). This bird speaks to Imaan and tells her allegorical moral lessons. I absolutely adored these stories. They reminded me of when I was an Arabic language student and I used to read through Kalila wa Dimnah, folkstories featuring animals, each with a strong moral message at the end.
Magical realism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love a good mug of magical realism and as the story climaxes so too does the magic tip over into the fantastical. The messages Aboulela imparts are ones of humanity, a continuum of shared legacies, holding onto heritage whilst taking up our space in the contemporary moment, of friendship and forbearance, and of our interconnectedness being far greater than our disconnects. And of course, she delivers this all with writing that is generous in its lyricism and beauty.
If I have any criticism at all it is only that all the Muslim men are dreadful. The only one who is not, is the white convert, and that is a little problematic for me. I would have liked to have seen at least one redeemable brown Muslim man in there.
If you like books that are allegorical, have a fairytale/folklore feel to them, magical realism and like to read own voice authors, I highly recommend this one!
I had the pleasure of speaking with the warm and wonderful Leila about Bird Summons on my instagram and the spoiler free conversation can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMFudG4piy2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
insideareadersmind's review
4.0
Bird Summons is a literary fiction novel that follows the journey of 3 very distinct women, as they undertake the challenge to visit the grave of Lady Evelyn in the Scottish Highlands; the first British woman to go on the pilgrimage to Makkah.
I absolutely loved the plot of this novel! Not only did it teach me of a spectacular historical moment, but it also made me one with the characters as they undertook this journey. At multiple points in the book, I felt as if I was overcoming a learning curve along with each of the characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the author could take a simple everyday aspect and make it intriguing. However, there were times when I didn’t exactly feel pulled to the novel, for the simple reason that it wasn’t as interesting throughout the entire novel.
The character development was absolutely wonderful! I find it so amazing that the author could create three distinct characters, and develop them all to their full capacity; I felt like I knew everything about all three of them!
Once you read the novel, you may feel that some weird or out of the ordinary events are occurring, but they make so much sense, and contribute to the lessons of the novel at the end of it! The feature of including stories within a story is intriguing and adds to the multiple lessons that can be learned!
The Muslim representation in this book was wonderful, and I would definitely recommend this book to those wanting to learn new aspects and engage in another thought process!
I absolutely loved the plot of this novel! Not only did it teach me of a spectacular historical moment, but it also made me one with the characters as they undertook this journey. At multiple points in the book, I felt as if I was overcoming a learning curve along with each of the characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the author could take a simple everyday aspect and make it intriguing. However, there were times when I didn’t exactly feel pulled to the novel, for the simple reason that it wasn’t as interesting throughout the entire novel.
The character development was absolutely wonderful! I find it so amazing that the author could create three distinct characters, and develop them all to their full capacity; I felt like I knew everything about all three of them!
Once you read the novel, you may feel that some weird or out of the ordinary events are occurring, but they make so much sense, and contribute to the lessons of the novel at the end of it! The feature of including stories within a story is intriguing and adds to the multiple lessons that can be learned!
The Muslim representation in this book was wonderful, and I would definitely recommend this book to those wanting to learn new aspects and engage in another thought process!
nicolaparty's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Infidelity, War, and Ableism
Minor: Infertility
amirab99's review
5.0
This is the first book I've read by Leila Aboulela and I will definitely be adding more of her books to my list. This book follows the journey of three Muslim women who go on a pilgrimage to visit the grave of Lady Evelyn, a Scottish woman who was known as the first woman in Britain to convert to Islam and make the pilgrimage to Mecca. On this trip, each of these women will face their own adversities as they look inward and navigate the mental hardships that come with being an immigrant, mother, wife, etc, and have to face and shed their ego in a unique way. Aboulela uses elements of magical realism and includes many mythical stories from Rumi, as well as other Sufi and Scottish myths, fairytales, and folklore in her writing, which makes the setting of the story so much more enchanting and hard to put down once you've started.
One thing is that you have to be in the right mood to read this book since the POVs change between the three women a lot and it can be easy to lose track of whose journey you are following if you are not paying attention, however, each woman in the story has a very distinct and different personality from each other so once you have a good understanding of the characters it will not be too difficult to distinguish with POV you are reading.
One thing is that you have to be in the right mood to read this book since the POVs change between the three women a lot and it can be easy to lose track of whose journey you are following if you are not paying attention, however, each woman in the story has a very distinct and different personality from each other so once you have a good understanding of the characters it will not be too difficult to distinguish with POV you are reading.
lillianfreire's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you Grove Press, Black Cat and Edelweiss+ for providing this ARC in exchange of a honest review!
When I read about the plot of this book I was curious. Four ladies travelling together, escaping from their lives and its conflicts, just embarking on an adventure that has some dashes of fables and folklore. Did I hear magical realism? Sounded like my cup of tea! Even though at the end it didn't fulfill all my expectations.
I really liked Leila's writing style and it was probably what I liked the most about this book. It was captivating and compelling at some points. Leila also voices important issues and dilemmas, bringing light to difficulties women immigrants can face in society. But sometimes I felt the parts of the story were too loosely connected and I couldn't keep up with what was going on. Sometimes I was with the ladies and another seeing the bird telling one of the stories and I wasn't really sure how it got there, which make me confused sometimes to understand what was real and what was not and that made me lose connection with the characters and what was happening. The ending wasn't surprising, but overall it was an interesting experience.
When I read about the plot of this book I was curious. Four ladies travelling together, escaping from their lives and its conflicts, just embarking on an adventure that has some dashes of fables and folklore. Did I hear magical realism? Sounded like my cup of tea! Even though at the end it didn't fulfill all my expectations.
I really liked Leila's writing style and it was probably what I liked the most about this book. It was captivating and compelling at some points. Leila also voices important issues and dilemmas, bringing light to difficulties women immigrants can face in society. But sometimes I felt the parts of the story were too loosely connected and I couldn't keep up with what was going on. Sometimes I was with the ladies and another seeing the bird telling one of the stories and I wasn't really sure how it got there, which make me confused sometimes to understand what was real and what was not and that made me lose connection with the characters and what was happening. The ending wasn't surprising, but overall it was an interesting experience.
bookishconnections's review
3.0
I read this for a Book Club.
First of all, this book was not at all what I was expecting.
I was expecting a road trip story leading to the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold which did happen but in the middle of the story it just went off on a completely different tangent.
Huge portions that were made to seem important just seemed to vanish without any resolution.
I was dissatisfied with the story as I loved Minaret so much, this story was a story within a story but I was unsure if what was happening in the story was real or if the ladies just went on a psychedelic trip at some point.
Some of the characters like Iman were really flat and not well developed until much later but by that point I wasn’t interested in her story at all.
Mouni was OK but I also couldn’t connect with her story.
Salma was the most interesting and I would have like to explore her relationship with her children and her husband a bit more rather than her relationship with a past love.
First of all, this book was not at all what I was expecting.
I was expecting a road trip story leading to the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold which did happen but in the middle of the story it just went off on a completely different tangent.
Huge portions that were made to seem important just seemed to vanish without any resolution.
I was dissatisfied with the story as I loved Minaret so much, this story was a story within a story but I was unsure if what was happening in the story was real or if the ladies just went on a psychedelic trip at some point.
Some of the characters like Iman were really flat and not well developed until much later but by that point I wasn’t interested in her story at all.
Mouni was OK but I also couldn’t connect with her story.
Salma was the most interesting and I would have like to explore her relationship with her children and her husband a bit more rather than her relationship with a past love.
victoria_catherine_shaw's review against another edition
4.0
"If I don't know who I am, then how can I know what I want?"
Bird Summons is a gentle, wandering exploration of faith, history, nature, motherhood, marriage, divorce and family from the perspective of three Muslim women living in Scotland.
Salma, a qualified doctor in Egypt but unable to practice in Scotland, has found herself drawn to a former flame and the elevated status he affords her. Moni, a once high-flying career woman turned mother to a disabled son, has discovered herself on the brink of divorce. Iman, a three times married woman in her twenties, has recently been forced to divorce her third husband. The three women are members of the local Muslim Women's Group and together set out on a road trip across the Scottish Highlands. Connected to the past by a shared interest in Lady Evelyn Cobbold, the women are also connected by the weight of the burdens that they carry, the changes occurring in their lives and the inevitably of time. As the women physically journey across the Scottish landscape, they each embark on an individual journey of introspection and spirituality, as they seek to rediscover themselves. As each woman starts to change individually, the group dynamic is altered, and so too they must embark on a joint journey back to one another.
As the story progresses, the lyrical prose tumbles quickly into magical realism. The characters' stories are interspersed with folklore and stories within stories, each symbolic of the issues facing the three women. I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the book but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
The book centres on self-development and, in particular, identity and belonging, dissecting the difficulty of self-expression in the face of societal and familial expectations. Its examination of motherhood and the importance of friendship is beautifully done, and so too is the spiritual awakening that each of the characters experience.
Bird Summons is a gentle, wandering exploration of faith, history, nature, motherhood, marriage, divorce and family from the perspective of three Muslim women living in Scotland.
Salma, a qualified doctor in Egypt but unable to practice in Scotland, has found herself drawn to a former flame and the elevated status he affords her. Moni, a once high-flying career woman turned mother to a disabled son, has discovered herself on the brink of divorce. Iman, a three times married woman in her twenties, has recently been forced to divorce her third husband. The three women are members of the local Muslim Women's Group and together set out on a road trip across the Scottish Highlands. Connected to the past by a shared interest in Lady Evelyn Cobbold, the women are also connected by the weight of the burdens that they carry, the changes occurring in their lives and the inevitably of time. As the women physically journey across the Scottish landscape, they each embark on an individual journey of introspection and spirituality, as they seek to rediscover themselves. As each woman starts to change individually, the group dynamic is altered, and so too they must embark on a joint journey back to one another.
As the story progresses, the lyrical prose tumbles quickly into magical realism. The characters' stories are interspersed with folklore and stories within stories, each symbolic of the issues facing the three women. I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the book but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
The book centres on self-development and, in particular, identity and belonging, dissecting the difficulty of self-expression in the face of societal and familial expectations. Its examination of motherhood and the importance of friendship is beautifully done, and so too is the spiritual awakening that each of the characters experience.
rebeccajanereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Another book I read for the #readingWomenChallenge2021; I finished last week on my drive to see the fam!
Salma, Moni, and Iman are Muslim women living in Scotland. They go on vacation to a loch where they plan to hike up to the grave of a famous woman. During their weeklong visit, Iman finds a closet full of costumes to wear, Moni befriends an odd little boy, and Salma dives deeper into a flirtation with an old lover. All three of them leave the loch changed women, having to deal with finding themselves and understanding how they fit into their faith.
This book contains a lot of magical realism, so if that isn’t your jam, then don’t pick this up (I really liked it!). Some of the things that happen are a bit weird and fantastical, but I enjoyed seeing each of the characters grow.