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A review by fazila
The Royal Abduls by Ramiza Shamoun Koya
4.0
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DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Forest Avenue Press for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Royal Abduls By Ramiza Shamoun Koya is a fantastic book that portrays the islamophobia, anti-muslim sentiment, and bigotry against people of color post 9/11 America in a realistic fashion. I had this book on my TBR for the longest time and I am glad I finally got around to reading it. This is a very important book and deals with a lot of social and political issues prevalent to this day. My first impression on reading the synopsis was that it was going to be about a practicing Muslim woman's experience and her struggles in the post 9/11 climate. But reading on I realized that the family had a Muslim background but had forfeited their faith a long time ago. While the anti-muslim sentiment is what shapes the story and propels it forward in a lot of ways, the fact that they were not even practicing Islam was disconcerting. I want to reiterate the fact that this is not the story of Muslims or an Own Voices representation of Muslims. This is the story of the experiences and struggles faced by a second-generation Indian American family in the US. Going into the book knowing this will help you enjoy it and not be confused by the actions of the characters that contradict the faith. The story is told from the two main character's perspectives. One is an Evolutionary Biologist Amina and the other is her young nephew Omar. These perspectives help build the story and take us on a journey through their lives where they each grapple with family situations, racism, islamophobia, prejudice, and workplace tensions. While Omar strives to blend in and live a normal life a young boy with brown skin and a Muslim name, Amina deals with workplace tensions, love life problems, and family issues. I enjoyed reading this book and following Amina and Omar as they navigated the reality of being brown and having a Muslim name in the US. The wide array of topics that can be used for discussion from this book are so many and I am glad I was able to see the problems through Amina and Omar's viewpoint. If you enjoy literary fiction that talks about some of the more serious social topics and tackles subjects like anti-Muslim sentiment, cultural heritage, assimilation of people with ethnic backgrounds to avoid prejudice this will be a good read for you. I gave the book 4.5 stars and I highly recommend checking it out. Keep in mind this is not a story about Muslims, but people who came from a Muslim background who don't practice the faith and are living a secular lifestyle.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL : YOUTUBE
FOLLOW ME ON : TWITTER INSTAGRAM
FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Forest Avenue Press for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Royal Abduls By Ramiza Shamoun Koya is a fantastic book that portrays the islamophobia, anti-muslim sentiment, and bigotry against people of color post 9/11 America in a realistic fashion. I had this book on my TBR for the longest time and I am glad I finally got around to reading it. This is a very important book and deals with a lot of social and political issues prevalent to this day. My first impression on reading the synopsis was that it was going to be about a practicing Muslim woman's experience and her struggles in the post 9/11 climate. But reading on I realized that the family had a Muslim background but had forfeited their faith a long time ago. While the anti-muslim sentiment is what shapes the story and propels it forward in a lot of ways, the fact that they were not even practicing Islam was disconcerting. I want to reiterate the fact that this is not the story of Muslims or an Own Voices representation of Muslims. This is the story of the experiences and struggles faced by a second-generation Indian American family in the US. Going into the book knowing this will help you enjoy it and not be confused by the actions of the characters that contradict the faith. The story is told from the two main character's perspectives. One is an Evolutionary Biologist Amina and the other is her young nephew Omar. These perspectives help build the story and take us on a journey through their lives where they each grapple with family situations, racism, islamophobia, prejudice, and workplace tensions. While Omar strives to blend in and live a normal life a young boy with brown skin and a Muslim name, Amina deals with workplace tensions, love life problems, and family issues. I enjoyed reading this book and following Amina and Omar as they navigated the reality of being brown and having a Muslim name in the US. The wide array of topics that can be used for discussion from this book are so many and I am glad I was able to see the problems through Amina and Omar's viewpoint. If you enjoy literary fiction that talks about some of the more serious social topics and tackles subjects like anti-Muslim sentiment, cultural heritage, assimilation of people with ethnic backgrounds to avoid prejudice this will be a good read for you. I gave the book 4.5 stars and I highly recommend checking it out. Keep in mind this is not a story about Muslims, but people who came from a Muslim background who don't practice the faith and are living a secular lifestyle.