A review by onthesamepage
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I still find it hard to believe that in the year 2023, I have read an adult fantasy book (probably my favourite genre) that contains verses from the Quran within the text. This book is always going to have a special place in my heart for that alone.

But we'll come back to the Muslim representation. Let's talk about the fantasy parts first.

For this scribe has read a great many of these accounts and taken away another lesson: that to be a woman is to have your story misremembered. Discarded. Twisted.

I haven't read the Daevabad trilogy yet, and I don't think you necessarily need to to enjoy this book, but it might be useful to know that there are some crossover characters, and that the books are all set in the same world. I read this book as part of a readalong, and based on the discussions, I gather that a few parts of this may have more of an impact if you've read the trilogy.

The book is written as Amina narrating her story to a scribe named Jamal. It didn't happen a lot, but there were a couple of instances where Amina would interrupt her storytelling to make a snarky remark directed at Jamal, and I really liked those inserts. Without them it was easy to forget that this is her telling her story, and not just me reading a fantasy book written in first person.

"I am not distracted," I insisted. "I am murderously focused."

The story has a lot of journeying (she is a pirate, after all), "getting the gang back together", and then setting off on the actual quest. It's a pretty fun adventure, with interesting characters, and I really enjoyed reading it. I will say that the last quarter of the book relies a bit too much on a "deus ex machina" aspect in my opinion, and I kind of wish the author had allowed Amina to find another way to deal with the villain of the story.

Having this book open with "In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate", as a Muslim, just felt very powerful. It really set the tone for me right off the bat, and the constant mentions of everyday Muslim things gave me this feeling of being seen. There were mentions of the prophets and some of the stories surrounding them (although I actually disagree with the version used here, but that's a small quibble).

And if one of these events made me feel as though I had no right to ever call upon God again, the other filled me with a driving need I could not deny. So I keep my daily prayers, even if I feel unworthy the entire time.

The story was full of these small mentions that never allowed me to forget that Amina is Muslim. She said, "God is greatest", before diving headlong into danger. She acknowledges that she has nobody to turn to but God when she finds herself with her back against the wall. She talks about how she used to drink, how she kissed men who were not her husband, and how she doesn't do those things anymore because she's trying to be a better Muslim. Good representation isn't about characters that are the perfect portrayal of what a Muslim should be, it's about this: being Muslim is part of Amina's character, and there's no possible way to ignore that. 
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