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charlotekerstenauthor 's review for:
Mirage
by Somaiya Daud
“Even your happiness is rebellion."
It’s been a bit since the last YA book I read and I’m happy to say that Mirage was a pleasant return to the genre. I’ve been trying to read as much as I can about colonialism lately and I’m especially itching for speculative stories of colonialism, so Mirage was a great fit. At the same time, there are a couple of weaknesses to the book that left me a little lukewarm.
I think the book’s absolute greatest strength lies with the character of Maram, the princess whom Amani is abducted to impersonate. She is a really complex character and her position in the Vath empire is a fascinating one that belies the complexities of biracial identity in a colonized world. We see her internalized hatred for being part Andalaan and the way that she is a tool of the Vath regime, a puppet to be paraded around, a manipulator who is manipulated in turn. She is too Vath for the Andalaan and too Andalaan for the Vath and so she exists in a liminal space made possible only by empire, truly belonging to neither group.
She does horrible things to Amani over the course of the book and these things are never excused, but at the same time I think Daud does a great job of showing her inner vulnerability and how she was shaped to be the way she is now. The relationship between the two girls is a complex and uncomfortable dynamic to be sure - Amani says clearly that she is a slave in all but name and nonetheless takes it upon herself to try to change Maram because, while she is oppressing Amani, Amani sees that she in turn is being used by the empire. She tries to make use of this commonality, attempting to turn Maram into an ally to the rebellion. There is genuine sisterhood and affection in their relationship, to be sure, but how do we make sense of that given Maram’s power and Amani’s powerlessness? At first I was worried that the book would argue that it’s the responsibility of the oppressed to humanize themselves to the oppressor but I definitely don’t think that’s what Daud is saying. Rather, I think the point is to understand that it is possible to be oppressed and marginalized at the same time, and that it is important to find commonality in shared aspects of disenfranchisement if possible.
It’s a really rich and thought-provoking dynamic, clearly, and my favorite part of my story overall. I also appreciated some of the things we see through Amani’s story as well as Idris’s. We see how Amani is forced to become like Maram, assimilating herself to the empire’s standards of behavior while struggling against its claim on her autonomy and core identity. It’s also very interesting that Idris discusses how he and the other child survivors of murdered elite families all came to distrust each other as the Vath pitted them against each other so that they wouldn’t rise against the Vath together - divide and conquer. I think Mirage just absolutely nails the complexity of survival/existence and relationships under empire - the betrayals and compromises, the desperation to cling to what is yours and the way that identity and loyalty can be eroded away but nonetheless remain possible and more vital than ever.
With that being said about Amani and Idris, however, I think the book’s greatest weakness lies in their characterization for me. Though I appreciated the points I just mentioned, I did not find either of them to be especially complex or interesting characters. Put together I cared even less for their romance. It moves quite quickly and hits all the familiar beats of YA romances. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with it but I do feel that it detracts from the much more interesting aspects of the book such as Amani’s relationship with Maram and the rebellion.
The book’s writing is smooth and lyrical and I loved the inclusion of poetry as well as all of the descriptions of North African-inspired culture. While I’m on this point I’ll mention that some reviews I saw complained about the world-building not making sense because it’s such a combination of sci-fi high tech and North African tradition but...eh. I think the emphasis on a culture that’s overlooked in spec fic is more meaningful to me than a complex explanation of how high tech and traditional ways exist together. It just isn’t the hardest thing for me to accept, thought it’s clear that others feel differently.
Finally, I’ll just mention that I love that Daud is clearly a massive BioWare fan - there is a character named Corypheus in Mirage, and her author profile picture on her shows her wearing an N7 jacket. :)
It’s been a bit since the last YA book I read and I’m happy to say that Mirage was a pleasant return to the genre. I’ve been trying to read as much as I can about colonialism lately and I’m especially itching for speculative stories of colonialism, so Mirage was a great fit. At the same time, there are a couple of weaknesses to the book that left me a little lukewarm.
I think the book’s absolute greatest strength lies with the character of Maram, the princess whom Amani is abducted to impersonate. She is a really complex character and her position in the Vath empire is a fascinating one that belies the complexities of biracial identity in a colonized world. We see her internalized hatred for being part Andalaan and the way that she is a tool of the Vath regime, a puppet to be paraded around, a manipulator who is manipulated in turn. She is too Vath for the Andalaan and too Andalaan for the Vath and so she exists in a liminal space made possible only by empire, truly belonging to neither group.
She does horrible things to Amani over the course of the book and these things are never excused, but at the same time I think Daud does a great job of showing her inner vulnerability and how she was shaped to be the way she is now. The relationship between the two girls is a complex and uncomfortable dynamic to be sure - Amani says clearly that she is a slave in all but name and nonetheless takes it upon herself to try to change Maram because, while she is oppressing Amani, Amani sees that she in turn is being used by the empire. She tries to make use of this commonality, attempting to turn Maram into an ally to the rebellion. There is genuine sisterhood and affection in their relationship, to be sure, but how do we make sense of that given Maram’s power and Amani’s powerlessness? At first I was worried that the book would argue that it’s the responsibility of the oppressed to humanize themselves to the oppressor but I definitely don’t think that’s what Daud is saying. Rather, I think the point is to understand that it is possible to be oppressed and marginalized at the same time, and that it is important to find commonality in shared aspects of disenfranchisement if possible.
It’s a really rich and thought-provoking dynamic, clearly, and my favorite part of my story overall. I also appreciated some of the things we see through Amani’s story as well as Idris’s. We see how Amani is forced to become like Maram, assimilating herself to the empire’s standards of behavior while struggling against its claim on her autonomy and core identity. It’s also very interesting that Idris discusses how he and the other child survivors of murdered elite families all came to distrust each other as the Vath pitted them against each other so that they wouldn’t rise against the Vath together - divide and conquer. I think Mirage just absolutely nails the complexity of survival/existence and relationships under empire - the betrayals and compromises, the desperation to cling to what is yours and the way that identity and loyalty can be eroded away but nonetheless remain possible and more vital than ever.
With that being said about Amani and Idris, however, I think the book’s greatest weakness lies in their characterization for me. Though I appreciated the points I just mentioned, I did not find either of them to be especially complex or interesting characters. Put together I cared even less for their romance. It moves quite quickly and hits all the familiar beats of YA romances. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with it but I do feel that it detracts from the much more interesting aspects of the book such as Amani’s relationship with Maram and the rebellion.
The book’s writing is smooth and lyrical and I loved the inclusion of poetry as well as all of the descriptions of North African-inspired culture. While I’m on this point I’ll mention that some reviews I saw complained about the world-building not making sense because it’s such a combination of sci-fi high tech and North African tradition but...eh. I think the emphasis on a culture that’s overlooked in spec fic is more meaningful to me than a complex explanation of how high tech and traditional ways exist together. It just isn’t the hardest thing for me to accept, thought it’s clear that others feel differently.
Finally, I’ll just mention that I love that Daud is clearly a massive BioWare fan - there is a character named Corypheus in Mirage, and her author profile picture on her shows her wearing an N7 jacket. :)