A review by reads2cope
Elsewhere, Home by Leila Aboulela

4.0

“No one was hurt, hardly anyone was in the room at the time. He found it funny. Perhaps this is the essence of my country, what I miss most. Those everyday miracles, the poise between normality and chaos. The awe and the breathtaking gratitude for simple things. A place where people say, ‘Allah alone is eternal.’”

These short stories made me even more eager to read a novel by Aboulela. This was the first copy available from my library, and while I struggled a bit with the format, the writing was beautiful and I felt totally immersed in each setting. As someone who lives abroad, the emotions of homesickness and being out of place really hit hard. Maybe I’m too much of a romantic, but after a few chapters of unhappy couples, reading each new sad relationship became tiring.  

“Cinnamon tea, sweet in chipped glasses. Roasted watermelon seeds, the salt dissolving in our mouths, the empty shells falling around like leaves.”