A review by serendipitysbooks
These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 These Impossible Things looks at three British Muslim women from different ethnic backgrounds - Pakistani, Egyptian and Palestinian. Early on in the novel their friendship fractures and most of the book is spent with them individually dealing with various personal and relationship issues, until a crisis brings them together again. While I enjoyed my reading experience and found each woman’s story arc interesting if often heavy - rape, domestic abuse, unwanted pregnancy and the challenges of interfaith relationships - one major thing bothered me. The Muslim men were virtually all portrayed in a negative light - abusive, controlling, judgemental - while the white men were all very liberal, progressive, socially aware and - for want of a better term - woke. While I can partially understand why the book was written this way I wish there had been a little more balance and nuance - a white male exhibiting sexism, racism or Islamophobia; a Muslim man supporting his female friends or family by standing up to those who tried to restrict them. 
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