Reviews - Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

685 reviews for:

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it but know actually reading it would bring a next level to the reading experience. The structure was kind of weird for me, but I guess a lot of coming of age novels are similarly odd in terms of structure.

confusible's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Two long bus journeys meant I ripped through this novel fast and it was a great read. Rehman did an amazing job bringing the world of 1980s Corona to life with her descriptions of sights, sounds, and smells. She recreated the Pakistani Muslim community in this novel in a way that made me feel I could understand parts of it despite knowing very little about it. I really felt like I knew Razia and enjoyed watching her grow up. Her friendships were so realistic and it was fun to live moments with Taslima and Aliza with her. It was hard to watch her come of age and I was disappointed in some things, like how much she skipped class, but I really felt for her as her world came crashing down and she had to make a brave decision. She’d navigated her life so carefully but there was only so much she could deny. I was shocked that my adopted hometown comes into play at the end.

Content Warnings

hannahanolik's review against another edition

3.5

challenging tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

If I was still 21 and in the closet I’d love this book so so much. I do kind of feel like reading it fed my inner child who would’ve probably had an existential crisis over a book like this.