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A review by aish_dols
Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela
4.0
'They underestimated their own importance and exaggerated their shortcomings. They inflated their problems and followed their egos, counselled each other but rejected what was right. Their quarrels taking up space, their connections weakening. And now they were far away, deep in the realm of consequence.'
Three immigrant women – Moni, Salma and Iman, will journey through the Scottish Islands to visit the grave of a revert in the Victorian Era, Lady Evelyn Cobbold (the first woman to go for the Holy pilgrimage to Mecca, who happens to be british and the daughter of the Earl of Dunmore//This is a fact//), to strengthen their faith & roots.
Iman, young and gorgeous/has a record of two past marriages/known to have possessive partners. Salma, the oldest/also the one willing to leave her four kids and husband for a parallel life with a man it could've worked out with & Moni, the richest but with a huge trial/has a son with cerebral palsy and the whole dilemma is rocking her young marriage – on their way to visit the grave, would face their own souls, desires and longings in what seems to be a fantasy aspect of the book.
The human journey, faith, spiritual guidance and destination in Bird Summons is defined using stories, fantasy, imagination and reality. There are etiquettes for visiting the grave in Islam and Salma sort of broke that in the mix of the fantasy aspect in the book, Salma ended up asking late Lady Evelyn for help next to her graveside, got some visions too by the bronze plaque of the gravestone. I didn't really feel that part. I get the grave visitation to reflect on the death and life of the individual and pray for them but the fantasy infusion was very thick (for me) at some point.
Above all, I drew several lessons from Bird Summons when it comes to human desires, temptations and how holding on to Him regardless of our own inclinations turns out better for us.
Three immigrant women – Moni, Salma and Iman, will journey through the Scottish Islands to visit the grave of a revert in the Victorian Era, Lady Evelyn Cobbold (the first woman to go for the Holy pilgrimage to Mecca, who happens to be british and the daughter of the Earl of Dunmore//This is a fact//), to strengthen their faith & roots.
Iman, young and gorgeous/has a record of two past marriages/known to have possessive partners. Salma, the oldest/also the one willing to leave her four kids and husband for a parallel life with a man it could've worked out with & Moni, the richest but with a huge trial/has a son with cerebral palsy and the whole dilemma is rocking her young marriage – on their way to visit the grave, would face their own souls, desires and longings in what seems to be a fantasy aspect of the book.
The human journey, faith, spiritual guidance and destination in Bird Summons is defined using stories, fantasy, imagination and reality. There are etiquettes for visiting the grave in Islam and Salma sort of broke that in the mix of the fantasy aspect in the book, Salma ended up asking late Lady Evelyn for help next to her graveside, got some visions too by the bronze plaque of the gravestone. I didn't really feel that part. I get the grave visitation to reflect on the death and life of the individual and pray for them but the fantasy infusion was very thick (for me) at some point.
Above all, I drew several lessons from Bird Summons when it comes to human desires, temptations and how holding on to Him regardless of our own inclinations turns out better for us.