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saradawn's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
Some really good pieces, but majority were not for me, too artistic & difficult to decipher
classicbhaer's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the wide array of perspectives that were present in this book. Not did the editor bring together a wonderful collection of writings, the writings were created by an assortment of women of different ages as well. I felt like that created a very interesting dynamic in the writing, but also illustrated that deep feelings can be felt at any age. I felt passion and many deep emotions while reading this book. All the writers are very talented. I think my favorite, if I had to pick, would be Islamic Tinder by Triska Hamid.
On top of the quality of writing, I also enjoyed that there were different forms of writing present; short stories, poetry, and plays as well.
On top of the quality of writing, I also enjoyed that there were different forms of writing present; short stories, poetry, and plays as well.
mellygraph's review against another edition
2.0
A handful of good pieces, the best being the editor's Battleface. There's quite a lot of artsy-fartsy writing in the anthology, and oftentimes I found myself thinking, I have no idea what I've just read. Perhaps it'd help if you're more familiar with the culture?
glindaaa's review against another edition
2.0
What I liked most about it (and like feels like such a bad word) were the poems. There were a lot of stories that I found interesting, if not all of them and it gave me another eye-opener on the road that I am now taking with the last books I read.
The resembles with one of the chapters to the book of Why I am no longer talking to white people about race, did not surprise me and yet it did. The effect that Brexit had on the racists feeling of some people in England. It is a shame, more I can't say but it's simply a thing, I wish it wasn't.
My favourite story might be The Girl Next Door, it gave so much and yet so little that it leaves you wondering in a satisfied manner (more stories had that) the building up of the prose is perfect for that.
I don't know why I gave it such a low rating, there were stories I found difficult to read or to capture my attention but in general, it wasn't bad and it had nothing to do with what they wrote about maybe just the writing style if I have to pick a reason. One of the first poems struck me because of what I thought was a double meaning Home, to a man.
Even if it was the first poem it still makes me think about it 5 days later. Impressive work for someone who barely thinks and reads poetry.
The resembles with one of the chapters to the book of Why I am no longer talking to white people about race, did not surprise me and yet it did. The effect that Brexit had on the racists feeling of some people in England. It is a shame, more I can't say but it's simply a thing, I wish it wasn't.
My favourite story might be The Girl Next Door, it gave so much and yet so little that it leaves you wondering in a satisfied manner (more stories had that) the building up of the prose is perfect for that.
I don't know why I gave it such a low rating, there were stories I found difficult to read or to capture my attention but in general, it wasn't bad and it had nothing to do with what they wrote about maybe just the writing style if I have to pick a reason. One of the first poems struck me because of what I thought was a double meaning Home, to a man.
Even if it was the first poem it still makes me think about it 5 days later. Impressive work for someone who barely thinks and reads poetry.
mjbirdy's review against another edition
3.0
This was a book I really wanted to like and honestly there were some really beautiful poems that I did really enjoy. It’s also quite beautifully put together. My only really gripe is that I felt like a fair bit of it was the fluffy kind of ‘artistic’ that doesn’t make any sense but puts the onus on the audience to find meaning in something that means nothing... if that makes sense.
I recognise as well though that I might just not understand because it is not my context, I am not a Muslim and while I feel very connected as a person of faith, a woman of colour, a diasporic child of immigrants who grew up surrounded by a diverse community of Muslims, I am not the audience the central voice of this body of work is representative of. All that to say it might not be fluffy at all it just might seem that way to me because I don’t get it
I recognise as well though that I might just not understand because it is not my context, I am not a Muslim and while I feel very connected as a person of faith, a woman of colour, a diasporic child of immigrants who grew up surrounded by a diverse community of Muslims, I am not the audience the central voice of this body of work is representative of. All that to say it might not be fluffy at all it just might seem that way to me because I don’t get it
karimorton33's review
2.0
I was hoping this book would be more compelling, but in the end I found it quite blah. There were a handful of stories that I found intriguing but overall I wasn’t wowed by it. (Read for Feminist Book Club)
bethj1x's review against another edition
3.0
As an anthology there were some really interesting pieces, and it has been brilliantly structured by the editor Sabrina Mahfouz to pull together a range of short stories, plays, poetry and essays to really showcase the work of the writers. I struggled to get into some of the short stories, and much preferred the non-fiction. Surprisingly I really enjoyed quite a lot of the poetry within the book, something which I have not really delved into in the past. I try to be varied in the authors which I read and this was a great way to find new authors, particularly those you are British, Muslim and Women (as the title suggests!). I will definitely be checking out more work by some of the authors.
My personal favourites include:
1. Kamila Shamsie's The Girl Next Door
2. Ahdaf Soueif's Mezzaterra
3. Seema Begum's Uomini Cadranno
4. Aisha Mirza's Staying Alive Through Brexit: Racism, Mental Health and Emotional Labour
5. Sabrina Mahfouz's Battleface (this is the one that has stuck with me the most since I finished reading the book - absolutely captivating)
6. Hanan al-Shaykh's An Eye That Sees
Book was read as it was the January/February 2019 Our Shared Shelf (OSS) Book Club pick.
My personal favourites include:
1. Kamila Shamsie's The Girl Next Door
2. Ahdaf Soueif's Mezzaterra
3. Seema Begum's Uomini Cadranno
4. Aisha Mirza's Staying Alive Through Brexit: Racism, Mental Health and Emotional Labour
5. Sabrina Mahfouz's Battleface (this is the one that has stuck with me the most since I finished reading the book - absolutely captivating)
6. Hanan al-Shaykh's An Eye That Sees
Book was read as it was the January/February 2019 Our Shared Shelf (OSS) Book Club pick.
saryy's review
I picked it up expecting it to be nonfiction. essays on how it's like to be a Muslim woman in Britain, but decided to give the short stories and poems a try (which are the first few chapters.)
I didn't like them at all. I didn't enjoy the writing style one bit, of any of them. I didn't really understand what they were trying to say, and I just didn't like the stories. Thought of skipping forward to the essays but I just lost all interest in this book.
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
I didn't get on with the first piece, skipped to the second, and then the third and then picked a few at random and realised it was too literary for me.
caroline_harden's review against another edition
4.0
A really important and note worthy book, that's so relevant to our current society. I was struck by Ahdaf Soueif's essay, and it was really interesting to have a greater exposure to the complexities and challenges a Muslim (although it might be dual) identity brings.