You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
If you don’t know already, I have a soft spot for historical fiction, so it’s safe to say that I quite enjoyed this offering by Leila Aboulela.
The Kindness of Enemies moves from Modern day Scotland to the days of Imam Shamil in the Caucasus in the mid 1800s. These two timelines are anchored through Natasha’s research of Imam Shamil’s life, known for his efforts of defending the Caucasus against Russian’s Imperialism.
One of my favourite things about this novel was how Aboulela makes parallels between Natasha’s life, a Russian Sudanese woman and Imam Shamil’s son, Jamaleldin’s experience of growing up in Russia after his kidnapping. There’s this constant identity crisis faced by both characters, a fear of not belonging, not being white enough and on the flip side not feeling Muslim enough. Aboulela also shows the interconnectedness of the personal and political as both characters reckon with Islamophobia.
Aboulela’s novel is multi-layered, and shows the complex nature of faith, nationality, politics and history.
The Kindness of Enemies moves from Modern day Scotland to the days of Imam Shamil in the Caucasus in the mid 1800s. These two timelines are anchored through Natasha’s research of Imam Shamil’s life, known for his efforts of defending the Caucasus against Russian’s Imperialism.
One of my favourite things about this novel was how Aboulela makes parallels between Natasha’s life, a Russian Sudanese woman and Imam Shamil’s son, Jamaleldin’s experience of growing up in Russia after his kidnapping. There’s this constant identity crisis faced by both characters, a fear of not belonging, not being white enough and on the flip side not feeling Muslim enough. Aboulela also shows the interconnectedness of the personal and political as both characters reckon with Islamophobia.
Aboulela’s novel is multi-layered, and shows the complex nature of faith, nationality, politics and history.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I love books about identity; how we think of ourselves, how we change over time. This book was a beautiful exploration of identity and politics, and was a great story on top of it!
This story was told through a dual timeline; the present day from the perspective of Natasha Wilson and a historical timeline set in the late 1800s and told through the perspective of several different characters. The historical timeline essentially tells the life story of Imam Shamil. The two timelines are linked through the fact that Natasha Wilson is a professor of history and her primary area of expertise and interest is that of Imam Shamil.
I found the historical timeline far more interesting than the contemporary one and the majority of the book is devoted to the former which was good. The story did take a little time to properly get into because of the dual timeline but once I had my bearings, I was completely drawn in by the story.
This story primarily focused on Imam Shamil's son who was kidnapped by the Russians and consequently grew up in Russia. His home country and relatives became strangers to him and he led a life starkly differently from their's. When the two ways of life collide, it becomes extremely riveting. There was so much information and so many names and geographical details which were told through the chapters about Imam Shamil, however they were told in such a clever and interesting way that I never felt bored or confused by it, only more interested.
This is the second book I have read by Aboulela and I found it completely different from her first and I still loved her writing style and the way she wove the contemporary and historical stories together. The modern story was set in Scotland as with 'The Translator' which I loved and her characters were complex and deep.
I would definitely recommend this book, the life Imam Shamil and the far reaching consequences of it were so fascinating. I always love reading historical fiction based on true events and real people. The modern storyline let this book down a bit but that might be down to personal taste and the fact that the main character was not very likeable.
I found the historical timeline far more interesting than the contemporary one and the majority of the book is devoted to the former which was good. The story did take a little time to properly get into because of the dual timeline but once I had my bearings, I was completely drawn in by the story.
This story primarily focused on Imam Shamil's son who was kidnapped by the Russians and consequently grew up in Russia. His home country and relatives became strangers to him and he led a life starkly differently from their's. When the two ways of life collide, it becomes extremely riveting. There was so much information and so many names and geographical details which were told through the chapters about Imam Shamil, however they were told in such a clever and interesting way that I never felt bored or confused by it, only more interested.
This is the second book I have read by Aboulela and I found it completely different from her first and I still loved her writing style and the way she wove the contemporary and historical stories together. The modern story was set in Scotland as with 'The Translator' which I loved and her characters were complex and deep.
I would definitely recommend this book, the life Imam Shamil and the far reaching consequences of it were so fascinating. I always love reading historical fiction based on true events and real people. The modern storyline let this book down a bit but that might be down to personal taste and the fact that the main character was not very likeable.
There were limits to how much he could reveal, restraints that he imposed on himself in order to continue to succeed.
3.5 stars
I liked it well enough though I had the feeling that certain relationships could have been explored further, perhaps even blossomed. I didn't like the end because I felt it left too many loose strings though it's possible this was the author's intention.
All the same, it was a wonderful learning opportunity.
Can't believe it took this long to finish though.
3.5 stars
I liked it well enough though I had the feeling that certain relationships could have been explored further, perhaps even blossomed. I didn't like the end because I felt it left too many loose strings though it's possible this was the author's intention.
All the same, it was a wonderful learning opportunity.
Can't believe it took this long to finish though.
My review of this book is available here: http://www.bookslut.com/fiction/2016_03_021387.php