A review by shelby1994
Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

adventurous reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

 
TW: animal cruelty 

“But I knew “religious girl” was code for something that had nothing to do with Allah. It had to do with how a girl did whatever her husband and community said, how a girl wouldn’t question the way things were set up.” 

I read this after listening to Lamya H. (author of Hijab Butch Blues) begin interviewed on The Stacks podcast. She recommended this as a book being in conversation with her own writing about being a queer Muslim woman in the U.S., and while I originally wanted to read them back to back, I still have **updated Libby for the 6th time in an hour** 7 WEEKS until my hold comes through on HBB. 

The first half reads like a series of core memories - the ones that you spill out of you on drunken first dates, trading them like playing cards with whoever is sitting across from you at the bar that night. It’s feeling each other out and casually sliding a religions reference into your banter, then shrieking with delight when they catch it and throw it back in your court. 
Rehman’s characters show that for an immigrant community, the traditions and community building that religion and its rules and comforts provide, can be the only thing keeping people above water. At the same time, deviating from that path can close off  the world of your childhood. When rebellions are made, their consequences are permanent. 

Also recommend this book for anyone looking to recapture the ironic satisfaction that gay girls get when they realize that their parents have spent all their time on alert for boys (commonly referred in my childhood as the ‘spawn of satan’ (™)) that they’ve missed all the gay shenanigans going on under their roof. 

Read If:
  • You were always a little jealous of your ultra-devout friends, for reasons you couldn’t pinpoint. 
  • Your best fashion finds happen in Goodwill 
  • You and your mum will put aside any drama to combine forces against the one relative you all hate. 

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