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A review by tigger89
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I was a little bit nervous going into this because, while I know a little about Islam, I was concerned this book might get too in-depth for me. But I shouldn't have worried at all, because this was written to be very accessible to anyone who's been exposed to the Abrahamic canon. While I often couldn't place a character immediately, as Lamya began to describe their stories I realized that I already knew most of them in broad strokes, even if the details were different. I will say that I'm sure these stories are more a personal interpretation than a scholarly overview. For example, I very much doubt that it's generally accepted among scholars of Islam that Maryam, mother of Isa(Jesus, in Christianity), was a lesbian, or that Allah is explicitly a non-binary being. But it's Lamya's right to seek her own truth in tradition, and I appreciate her sharing that interpretation.
This memoir is, in the grand queer tradition, organized by topic rather than being presented in linear order. She skips forward and backward through the chapters of her life as needed, from her teenage years to college, back to her childhood then ahead to her late 20s, back to college, and so on. I found the ordering to be easy to read, but it's something to be prepared for going in if you're not familiar with this style of memoir.
This memoir is, in the grand queer tradition, organized by topic rather than being presented in linear order. She skips forward and backward through the chapters of her life as needed, from her teenage years to college, back to her childhood then ahead to her late 20s, back to college, and so on. I found the ordering to be easy to read, but it's something to be prepared for going in if you're not familiar with this style of memoir.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts