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A review by onthesamepage
This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I bought this book a few years ago for 2 reasons:
1) I really loved this specific cover
2) I loved Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged by the same author, and was hoping for another win
It starts off on the wrong foot (for me) when Bilal's mother is on her death bed, and instead of using her last breaths to reaffirm her faith (something that all Muslims know about), the author makes it almost a haha funny moment where she decides to spend her final words on one last job for her son. That small, fairly insignificant moment, told me exactly what to expect from this book, which was probably a good thing, or I might have enjoyed it less.
Credits to the author, this is a very readable book. It's effortlessly engaging and entertaining, even though it deals with the enraging topic of small-mindedness within communities and Islamophobia. But it's also not a story that left a big impact on me by the end. I don't know if there was a better way to conclude the book, but it did feel a bit like a cop-out to me, a way to avoid actually dealing with the issue at the heart of this story. But I enjoyed my time with (most of) these characters nonetheless.
1) I really loved this specific cover
2) I loved Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged by the same author, and was hoping for another win
It starts off on the wrong foot (for me) when Bilal's mother is on her death bed, and instead of using her last breaths to reaffirm her faith (something that all Muslims know about), the author makes it almost a haha funny moment where she decides to spend her final words on one last job for her son. That small, fairly insignificant moment, told me exactly what to expect from this book, which was probably a good thing, or I might have enjoyed it less.
Credits to the author, this is a very readable book. It's effortlessly engaging and entertaining, even though it deals with the enraging topic of small-mindedness within communities and Islamophobia. But it's also not a story that left a big impact on me by the end. I don't know if there was a better way to conclude the book, but it did feel a bit like a cop-out to me, a way to avoid actually dealing with the issue at the heart of this story. But I enjoyed my time with (most of) these characters nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Suicide