A review by typesetjez
The Submission by Amy Waldman

3.0

I definitely liked the style of this book, which shows the issue from multiple character's viewpoints, where they each have their own lives, but aspects of those lives intersect with each other's—like a giant Venn diagram. I'm starting to realize that this is an element in a few of my favorite books, and I think reading it so soon after The Art of Fielding (told in the same fashion) made me like this book more than I would have otherwise. The story definitely brought up some large issues that need to be discussed and because it's such a hot-button issue (Muslims after 9/11), I didn't agree with most of the characters, but I still found some redeeming qualities in most of them. My favorite character, by far, was Asma. At some points, I felt like the book was stretching far too long considering the main plot was actually quite simple, but, at the same time, it felt true to life because even something as simple as choosing a design for a memorial can stretch on for months. The time jump at the end, however, felt very abrupt and sudden. Listening to the audiobook, I was sure I had accidentally skipped tracks or even a whole disc, but I understand why the author chose to do this. That said, I don't agree with her choice to do so. I think the novel would have been better to resolve it in the moment, rather than to look back on it twenty years later. Overall, I think the writing was very good, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't the best novel for me, personally. I won't hesitate to recommend it to others, though.