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A review by sofia_reading
Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela
4.0
Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela is a heartwarming story of friendship, faith, identity, family, and journeys to self-knowledge. At its centre are Iman, a beautiful young Syrian refugee who fled the war and made her way to Scotland, Moni a Sudanese woman who once held a corporate job but is now married and the main carer for her beloved young son who has cerebral palsy, and finally there is Salma, an Egyptian woman who married a white Scottish convert and has a happy home with him but feels alienated by her children who often seem so foreign to her. Salma is the leader of the group and has arranged a road trip to visit the grave of Lady Evelyn (Zaynab) Cobbold, the first Englishwoman to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah in 1933 at the age of 66. This alone was fascinating to me as I’d never heard of this woman. Learning about her both through the story and the google rabbit hole it sent me down was so satisfying in itself, but this little book had its own twists and turns to keep me occupied plenty!
This is very much a road trip novel, each one of these women is on a journey of self-reflection and comes out on the other side of the experience a changed woman. One hopes for a brighter future for each of them as their lives extend beyond the pages of Bird Summons, but the unexpected twist in the story was the magical realism. As they embark on their travels Iman starts to be visited by a Hoopoe bird. For those familiar with the stories of the Quran, they will recognise this bird as one that makes an appearance in the stories of Suleyman (Solomon). This bird speaks to Imaan and tells her allegorical moral lessons. I absolutely adored these stories. They reminded me of when I was an Arabic language student and I used to read through Kalila wa Dimnah, folkstories featuring animals, each with a strong moral message at the end.
Magical realism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love a good mug of magical realism and as the story climaxes so too does the magic tip over into the fantastical. The messages Aboulela imparts are ones of humanity, a continuum of shared legacies, holding onto heritage whilst taking up our space in the contemporary moment, of friendship and forbearance, and of our interconnectedness being far greater than our disconnects. And of course, she delivers this all with writing that is generous in its lyricism and beauty.
If I have any criticism at all it is only that all the Muslim men are dreadful. The only one who is not, is the white convert, and that is a little problematic for me. I would have liked to have seen at least one redeemable brown Muslim man in there.
If you like books that are allegorical, have a fairytale/folklore feel to them, magical realism and like to read own voice authors, I highly recommend this one!
I had the pleasure of speaking with the warm and wonderful Leila about Bird Summons on my instagram and the spoiler free conversation can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMFudG4piy2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This is very much a road trip novel, each one of these women is on a journey of self-reflection and comes out on the other side of the experience a changed woman. One hopes for a brighter future for each of them as their lives extend beyond the pages of Bird Summons, but the unexpected twist in the story was the magical realism. As they embark on their travels Iman starts to be visited by a Hoopoe bird. For those familiar with the stories of the Quran, they will recognise this bird as one that makes an appearance in the stories of Suleyman (Solomon). This bird speaks to Imaan and tells her allegorical moral lessons. I absolutely adored these stories. They reminded me of when I was an Arabic language student and I used to read through Kalila wa Dimnah, folkstories featuring animals, each with a strong moral message at the end.
Magical realism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love a good mug of magical realism and as the story climaxes so too does the magic tip over into the fantastical. The messages Aboulela imparts are ones of humanity, a continuum of shared legacies, holding onto heritage whilst taking up our space in the contemporary moment, of friendship and forbearance, and of our interconnectedness being far greater than our disconnects. And of course, she delivers this all with writing that is generous in its lyricism and beauty.
If I have any criticism at all it is only that all the Muslim men are dreadful. The only one who is not, is the white convert, and that is a little problematic for me. I would have liked to have seen at least one redeemable brown Muslim man in there.
If you like books that are allegorical, have a fairytale/folklore feel to them, magical realism and like to read own voice authors, I highly recommend this one!
I had the pleasure of speaking with the warm and wonderful Leila about Bird Summons on my instagram and the spoiler free conversation can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMFudG4piy2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link