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A review by the_wistful_word_witch
Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Hollow Fires has me so conflicted!!! I've written this review over and over again, trying to find just the right words to do this book, this story, justice. I definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings, which I'm including here, so you don't have to risk seeing any potential spoilers further down in the review.
Trigger Warnings:
Islamophobia
Institutionalized racism Patriarchy
Misogyny
Murder
Domestic terrorism
White supremacy
Racist slurs
Police prejudice/disdain/incompetence
**POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD**
On the one hand, I love this book because Samira Ahmed isn't pulling her punches at all in this SCATHING, much-deserved commentary of the incredibly racist systems and people in the US, and emboldened by recent history. It's so well written, giving the reader an intimate look at what it feels like to be a Muslim living in 2022 USA, balancing the joy of experiences that almost everyone can relate to - having your crush crush on you, sharing moments of love with family members and friends - with the unique feelings of fear, anger, sadness, frustration, etc. that only comes from being within the specific demographic in which the two main characters - Safiya and Jawad - live(d) their lives. Ms Ahmed also brilliantly balances all of this against the chilling background of a murderous mystery and ghost story.
But on the other hand, the story within the story ripped through my heart and had me crying in places. As a parent, I was hit especially hard, trying to fathom how the parents in this amazingly written, haunting, achingly sad story would manage to survive, much less thrive, after events like those in the book. Plus, the reactions from a lot of the white people depicted were utterly disgusting - like literally made my lip curl and anger flush my chest at times. Because while this is technically a work of fiction, it's based on real events from the 1920s, and a lot of us know that scenarios like these play out in real life all the time, even now, especially when you're BIPOC...
Much like The Taking of Jake Livingston, Hollow Fires is a dark and complex ghost story about a young Iraqi boy who gets profiled, bullied - even by his own teachers - and eventually murdered for misconceptions based on the color of his skin and his heritage.
Safiya, an aspiring investigative journalist, is also dealing with racists at her school, as well as her horribly prejudiced principal. They're all out to take her down a notch because she's a Brown scholarship kid who points out the blatant aspects of white supremacy hiding in the open at her fancy prep school. She's also being haunted by Jawad's ghost, as they share a connection that even Safiya barely remembers. But she's not going to let threats from the racists or from her principal stop her because she's hot on their trail, and on the trail of something much, much darker that could very well be her own undoing...
Trigger Warnings:
Islamophobia
Institutionalized racism Patriarchy
Misogyny
Murder
Domestic terrorism
White supremacy
Racist slurs
Police prejudice/disdain/incompetence
**POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD**
On the one hand, I love this book because Samira Ahmed isn't pulling her punches at all in this SCATHING, much-deserved commentary of the incredibly racist systems and people in the US, and emboldened by recent history. It's so well written, giving the reader an intimate look at what it feels like to be a Muslim living in 2022 USA, balancing the joy of experiences that almost everyone can relate to - having your crush crush on you, sharing moments of love with family members and friends - with the unique feelings of fear, anger, sadness, frustration, etc. that only comes from being within the specific demographic in which the two main characters - Safiya and Jawad - live(d) their lives. Ms Ahmed also brilliantly balances all of this against the chilling background of a murderous mystery and ghost story.
But on the other hand, the story within the story ripped through my heart and had me crying in places. As a parent, I was hit especially hard, trying to fathom how the parents in this amazingly written, haunting, achingly sad story would manage to survive, much less thrive, after events like those in the book. Plus, the reactions from a lot of the white people depicted were utterly disgusting - like literally made my lip curl and anger flush my chest at times. Because while this is technically a work of fiction, it's based on real events from the 1920s, and a lot of us know that scenarios like these play out in real life all the time, even now, especially when you're BIPOC...
Much like The Taking of Jake Livingston, Hollow Fires is a dark and complex ghost story about a young Iraqi boy who gets profiled, bullied - even by his own teachers - and eventually murdered for misconceptions based on the color of his skin and his heritage.
Safiya, an aspiring investigative journalist, is also dealing with racists at her school, as well as her horribly prejudiced principal. They're all out to take her down a notch because she's a Brown scholarship kid who points out the blatant aspects of white supremacy hiding in the open at her fancy prep school. She's also being haunted by Jawad's ghost, as they share a connection that even Safiya barely remembers. But she's not going to let threats from the racists or from her principal stop her because she's hot on their trail, and on the trail of something much, much darker that could very well be her own undoing...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Classism, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Antisemitism