Reviews - Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

685 reviews for:

The writing is just not moving me. I'm not sure if it's the audiobook narrator but the sentences and rhythm feel static. The stories almost fell disjointed, it could all be for reason but I will not know

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

4.25

emotional reflective tense medium-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

Not to compare every immigrant / first gen story but it made me think of The House on Mango Street. I loved it so much! Except the ending was so rushed. If it was based on real life okay that's fine but it was too fast. I would've liked an epilogue a year, five years, ten years in the future or another look at the neighborhood. Something!

Content Warnings

somber451's review against another edition

3.25

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

so the beginning of the book was like kinda just vignettes and they were nice but it was kinda like 180 pages of exposition and then the actual plot happened and was so rushhhhed. did not love the ending and there were some loose ends. the writing was amazing, but the very slow to way too fast pace was awful.

angieinbooks's review against another edition

4.5

hopeful sad

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Roses, int he Mouth of a Lion is a coming of age novel, which follows Razia, the American-born daughter of Pakistani immigrants as she navigates the expectations of her immigrant muslim community with the reality of growing up in Queens, New York in the 1980's. The writing is exceptional--so incredibly descriptive that I feel like I grew up right next door to Razia.

I honestly didn't know what to expect with this novel, but I was drawn to it because I wanted to see how Razia's queer awakening was handled with her religions Muslim upbringing. You know how much I like it when religious and queer themes intersect...

I don't want to reveal too much lest I spoil things for readers, but this is one of the more impressive books I've read all year.

And just in case anyone sees the LGBTQ tags and is looking for a romance (since that is the majority of what I read), this isn't that book.

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

This book dives into second-generation Muslim American experiences, friendship, trauma, and being LGBTQIA in this community. The pacing and character development are well utilized, and the stories shared paint a strong picture. It was distressing that the girls’ trauma was never addressed, often true in real life. Do read the content warnings.

Content Warnings