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A review by thatothernigeriangirl
The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write by Sabrina Mahfouz
4.0
For me, the jingle with the power to make or mar an anthology, is the introduction and in The Things I Would Tell You, Sabrina Mahfouz used the introduction to walk us through why an anthology that represents the diverse nature of Muslim women (in this case British Muslim Women) is important and why lack there of can disempower.
The Things I Would Tell You, containing contributions from 22 British Muslim women, sets out to achieve ‘proper representation’ and it did so impressively, being a first of its kind. One need only look through the diverse style of writing, exceptional storytelling and even the ages of the contributors, to affirm this.
As not all food in a buffet appeals to a person, not all contributions in the anthology resonated with me. As a matter of fact, I have a pattern of how I liked each contribution, based on genre;
Drama > Short Stories > Essays > Poetry
Yes, I liked the poems the least. I connected with only 2/3 poems, the rest felt abstract and ‘trying too hard’ or maybe it’s just my personal issue with poetry. The Insider by Leila Aboulela is the star player in this book. It maybe the storytelling or what the story represents (or both) but it really encapsulated the main theme of the book; re-writing mis(non)representation. Battleface by Sabrina Mahfouz is also gripping because in 20 pages, Mahfouz managed to create a pause for the more powerful side of the ‘conversation’ to sit back and contemplate the irony at play.
Ahdaf Soueif’s Mezzaterra left me heartbroken especially after I googled “Abu Ghraib Prison” and Shaista Aziz’s Blood and Broken Bodies highlights the reality of Muslim women and honor killings in some parts of the world. I loved almost all the short stories but Hanan al-Shaykh’s An Eyes that Sees stole my heart and this statement;
“ the eye is the gateway to the soul; the eye is insight; the eye is exploration. The ignorant are blind even if they see; the learned see even if they are blind “
will state with me for a long time!
All in all, an amazing 3.75 stars and a worthy debut into this type of anthology. I hope to see more anthologies by Muslim women especially from the Middle East, Africa and Asia
The Things I Would Tell You, containing contributions from 22 British Muslim women, sets out to achieve ‘proper representation’ and it did so impressively, being a first of its kind. One need only look through the diverse style of writing, exceptional storytelling and even the ages of the contributors, to affirm this.
As not all food in a buffet appeals to a person, not all contributions in the anthology resonated with me. As a matter of fact, I have a pattern of how I liked each contribution, based on genre;
Drama > Short Stories > Essays > Poetry
Yes, I liked the poems the least. I connected with only 2/3 poems, the rest felt abstract and ‘trying too hard’ or maybe it’s just my personal issue with poetry. The Insider by Leila Aboulela is the star player in this book. It maybe the storytelling or what the story represents (or both) but it really encapsulated the main theme of the book; re-writing mis(non)representation. Battleface by Sabrina Mahfouz is also gripping because in 20 pages, Mahfouz managed to create a pause for the more powerful side of the ‘conversation’ to sit back and contemplate the irony at play.
Ahdaf Soueif’s Mezzaterra left me heartbroken especially after I googled “Abu Ghraib Prison” and Shaista Aziz’s Blood and Broken Bodies highlights the reality of Muslim women and honor killings in some parts of the world. I loved almost all the short stories but Hanan al-Shaykh’s An Eyes that Sees stole my heart and this statement;
“ the eye is the gateway to the soul; the eye is insight; the eye is exploration. The ignorant are blind even if they see; the learned see even if they are blind “
will state with me for a long time!
All in all, an amazing 3.75 stars and a worthy debut into this type of anthology. I hope to see more anthologies by Muslim women especially from the Middle East, Africa and Asia