A review by mhmrose
The Museum by Leila Aboulela

emotional informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.5

 This is such a beautiful short story about love, loneliness and misunderstandings. The misunderstanding is not around feelings of love, but feelings of understanding cultures; the stereotypical and sometimes misleading information museums present of African cultures. Aboulela's final lines, "If she had been strong she would have explained, and not tired of explaining. [...] If she had not been small in the museum, if she had been really strong, she would have made his trip to Mecca real, not only in a book." reflect Shadia's loneliness and want to have Bryan understand that museums aren't always right; that they distort facts and imbue it with fiction till there is a blur between real and stereotypes.

Overall, The Museum was a lovely story and a must-read for everyone.