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A review by rushda
The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write by Sabrina Mahfouz
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I went into this book blind, not knowing much about it beyond what the title says. That in itself was enough to intrigue me, especially as I'd enjoyed the similar anthology It's Not About the Burqa. Unfortunately, it didn't resonate with me as much as I had hoped.
What was great was that the book included Muslim women from a range of ages, ethnic backgrounds, professional backgrounds and included a queer writer too. They had unique voices and each chapter was distinct.
What let the book down for me was a lack of focus. It was a mix of fiction, non-fiction, poetry — some that were originally spoken word — and plays, and not all of them worked as well in print format as they might have done, for example, on stage or on the radio.
As is pretty typical with anthologies, there was also quite a bit of diversity in the quality of writing too (surprisingly, it wasn't the youngest and least experienced writer, a 15-year-old, whose work I felt was weaker!).
Overall, a great initiative but I wish the execution was better.
What was great was that the book included Muslim women from a range of ages, ethnic backgrounds, professional backgrounds and included a queer writer too. They had unique voices and each chapter was distinct.
What let the book down for me was a lack of focus. It was a mix of fiction, non-fiction, poetry — some that were originally spoken word — and plays, and not all of them worked as well in print format as they might have done, for example, on stage or on the radio.
As is pretty typical with anthologies, there was also quite a bit of diversity in the quality of writing too (surprisingly, it wasn't the youngest and least experienced writer, a 15-year-old, whose work I felt was weaker!).
Overall, a great initiative but I wish the execution was better.