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readwithshaazia's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful, necessary collection of stories.
In the past I have read quite a few collections of essays written by Muslim women. But this is the first time I am reading Muslim women unleashing their creativity in short stories, essays, articles, reflections, poems, and plays. Muslim women shouldn't always have to write about their lived experiences, they should have the space to write what they like.
Grateful I stumbled upon this gem.
In the past I have read quite a few collections of essays written by Muslim women. But this is the first time I am reading Muslim women unleashing their creativity in short stories, essays, articles, reflections, poems, and plays. Muslim women shouldn't always have to write about their lived experiences, they should have the space to write what they like.
Grateful I stumbled upon this gem.
alisha94's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
applezing's review against another edition
3.0
There were definitely some 5-star authors in this collection that I’ll be reading more of, so that’s exciting! Overall though I would say most of the selections were pretty average.
kaylasbookishlife's review against another edition
3.0
he Things I Would Tell You edited by Sabrina Mahfouz
This book has been on my TBR for a while now. And I was so excited that my library had copies of it!
I have read similar books with essays by primarily British Muslim women and have really enjoyed learning more about their experiences living in two cultures.
I’m so sad that I didn’t enjoy this book. In addition to short essays, there are also poems and scripts in here and I think that’s why I didn’t like it. I’ve mentioned before I am not a poetry person and often struggle to read it. I just felt really confused I’m most of the works. I wasn’t grasping the meanings of the poems or symbolism or other poetry things. I just felt like the pieces of literature were not written very clearly.
I hope you all enjoy this one more than I did. I think it’s a great option to check out if you enjoy poetry and anthologies with different types of literature inside!
This book has been on my TBR for a while now. And I was so excited that my library had copies of it!
I have read similar books with essays by primarily British Muslim women and have really enjoyed learning more about their experiences living in two cultures.
I’m so sad that I didn’t enjoy this book. In addition to short essays, there are also poems and scripts in here and I think that’s why I didn’t like it. I’ve mentioned before I am not a poetry person and often struggle to read it. I just felt really confused I’m most of the works. I wasn’t grasping the meanings of the poems or symbolism or other poetry things. I just felt like the pieces of literature were not written very clearly.
I hope you all enjoy this one more than I did. I think it’s a great option to check out if you enjoy poetry and anthologies with different types of literature inside!
pityuralde's review against another edition
1.0
Este no es un libro de historias de mujeres británicas musulmanas, es una antología de poesías, ensayos, obras... escritas por mujeres británicas musulmanas.
Los ensayos y las obras son en general buenos, las poesías un par valen la pena, otras fueron hechas para ser declamadas y no se traducen tan disfrutables escritos. La calidad de todos los escritos es muy distinta.
La introducción es rarísima, creí que sería la editora pero luego su historia es increíble... esta lleno de sorpresas este libro, la verdad no siempre buenas.
Los ensayos y las obras son en general buenos, las poesías un par valen la pena, otras fueron hechas para ser declamadas y no se traducen tan disfrutables escritos. La calidad de todos los escritos es muy distinta.
La introducción es rarísima, creí que sería la editora pero luego su historia es increíble... esta lleno de sorpresas este libro, la verdad no siempre buenas.
rachelemm's review against another edition
4.0
I read 'The Things I Would Tell You' as part of a buddy read with two friends. We split the book into four sections and over the course of four weeks discussed the stories and articles we read. I would highly recommend this as a way of consuming the book. Or, if you are not able to find a buddy, I would suggest reading the book slowly and giving yourself some time to really engage with the text and explore the themes in the book.
Like any anthology, there will be pieces that you connect with more than others. At first, I really struggled with the poems in the book. I have always found poetry difficult and have convinced myself that I just don't "get" it. However, because I knew I would be discussing the poems with my buddies I made more of effort to understand them and for the most part those efforts really paid off. We often found in our discussions that the poems were what we spent the most time discussing despite them being relatively short pieces.
The book covers themes you would expect from a book written by Muslim women such as racism, sexism and oppression but there are surprises in here too. Some of the stories are not about any of those issues at all and are just interesting stories about a group of characters. I loved those pieces in particular because they made a statement in and of themselves by telling the reader that just because the author is Muslim and female doesn't mean their art has to be defined by that fact.
Like any anthology, there will be pieces that you connect with more than others. At first, I really struggled with the poems in the book. I have always found poetry difficult and have convinced myself that I just don't "get" it. However, because I knew I would be discussing the poems with my buddies I made more of effort to understand them and for the most part those efforts really paid off. We often found in our discussions that the poems were what we spent the most time discussing despite them being relatively short pieces.
The book covers themes you would expect from a book written by Muslim women such as racism, sexism and oppression but there are surprises in here too. Some of the stories are not about any of those issues at all and are just interesting stories about a group of characters. I loved those pieces in particular because they made a statement in and of themselves by telling the reader that just because the author is Muslim and female doesn't mean their art has to be defined by that fact.
thatothernigeriangirl's review against another edition
4.0
For me, the jingle with the power to make or mar an anthology, is the introduction and in The Things I Would Tell You, Sabrina Mahfouz used the introduction to walk us through why an anthology that represents the diverse nature of Muslim women (in this case British Muslim Women) is important and why lack there of can disempower.
The Things I Would Tell You, containing contributions from 22 British Muslim women, sets out to achieve ‘proper representation’ and it did so impressively, being a first of its kind. One need only look through the diverse style of writing, exceptional storytelling and even the ages of the contributors, to affirm this.
As not all food in a buffet appeals to a person, not all contributions in the anthology resonated with me. As a matter of fact, I have a pattern of how I liked each contribution, based on genre;
Drama > Short Stories > Essays > Poetry
Yes, I liked the poems the least. I connected with only 2/3 poems, the rest felt abstract and ‘trying too hard’ or maybe it’s just my personal issue with poetry. The Insider by Leila Aboulela is the star player in this book. It maybe the storytelling or what the story represents (or both) but it really encapsulated the main theme of the book; re-writing mis(non)representation. Battleface by Sabrina Mahfouz is also gripping because in 20 pages, Mahfouz managed to create a pause for the more powerful side of the ‘conversation’ to sit back and contemplate the irony at play.
Ahdaf Soueif’s Mezzaterra left me heartbroken especially after I googled “Abu Ghraib Prison” and Shaista Aziz’s Blood and Broken Bodies highlights the reality of Muslim women and honor killings in some parts of the world. I loved almost all the short stories but Hanan al-Shaykh’s An Eyes that Sees stole my heart and this statement;
“ the eye is the gateway to the soul; the eye is insight; the eye is exploration. The ignorant are blind even if they see; the learned see even if they are blind “
will state with me for a long time!
All in all, an amazing 3.75 stars and a worthy debut into this type of anthology. I hope to see more anthologies by Muslim women especially from the Middle East, Africa and Asia
The Things I Would Tell You, containing contributions from 22 British Muslim women, sets out to achieve ‘proper representation’ and it did so impressively, being a first of its kind. One need only look through the diverse style of writing, exceptional storytelling and even the ages of the contributors, to affirm this.
As not all food in a buffet appeals to a person, not all contributions in the anthology resonated with me. As a matter of fact, I have a pattern of how I liked each contribution, based on genre;
Drama > Short Stories > Essays > Poetry
Yes, I liked the poems the least. I connected with only 2/3 poems, the rest felt abstract and ‘trying too hard’ or maybe it’s just my personal issue with poetry. The Insider by Leila Aboulela is the star player in this book. It maybe the storytelling or what the story represents (or both) but it really encapsulated the main theme of the book; re-writing mis(non)representation. Battleface by Sabrina Mahfouz is also gripping because in 20 pages, Mahfouz managed to create a pause for the more powerful side of the ‘conversation’ to sit back and contemplate the irony at play.
Ahdaf Soueif’s Mezzaterra left me heartbroken especially after I googled “Abu Ghraib Prison” and Shaista Aziz’s Blood and Broken Bodies highlights the reality of Muslim women and honor killings in some parts of the world. I loved almost all the short stories but Hanan al-Shaykh’s An Eyes that Sees stole my heart and this statement;
“ the eye is the gateway to the soul; the eye is insight; the eye is exploration. The ignorant are blind even if they see; the learned see even if they are blind “
will state with me for a long time!
All in all, an amazing 3.75 stars and a worthy debut into this type of anthology. I hope to see more anthologies by Muslim women especially from the Middle East, Africa and Asia
laurikas's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This collection was very good. In fact, some of the stories / poems impressed me a lot.
A poem written by a 14 year old girl called Seema Begum was really beautiful.
Many of these are really beautiful, full of humanity.
I think this book also represents why I love London... even with all its flaws, it's a place that transcends its multicultural background and gives a chance to everyone. Plus I related dearly to the search for true belonging - perhaps where we are most at home it's not where we were born, but where we feel at home.
A poem written by a 14 year old girl called Seema Begum was really beautiful.
Many of these are really beautiful, full of humanity.
I think this book also represents why I love London... even with all its flaws, it's a place that transcends its multicultural background and gives a chance to everyone. Plus I related dearly to the search for true belonging - perhaps where we are most at home it's not where we were born, but where we feel at home.
lunarreads's review against another edition
I think I wasn't in the right headset to read this book. Additionally, as I'm not British, I think alot of niche references flew over my head.