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A review by saskiacb
I Love I Hate I Miss My Sister by Amélie Sarn
1.0
This is an add to my previous review (under the dotted/dashed line) because I've been thinking about this book lately and authors writing about cultures, social issues etc that aren't native to them. It is great that they do, but when they do, it's important to get it right and not layer on thick stereotypes.
Furthermore, while I did take away things from this story I don't think it was right for a non-own voices author to write this narrative in the way that they did because it has reinforced this association of violence with Islam, and that is not okay. It's horrible. Why not write say, the same story but have a different outcome or just cut away the thread of the story that the gang inhabits. If it was a Muslim author, it would be different. And I know I picked up this book knowing the gist of the story I didn't know the author wasn't Muslim, which I will remember to check next time.
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This book is explores many controversial but important themes.
Family and expectation is one, the relationship between Sohane and Djelila is typical in its growing apart nature as siblings do, they grow older and form their own opinions and beliefs. But you can still see how much they love and care about each other.
As the author mentioned in the author's note, which is very important to remember- this book is not trying to convey whether the hijab should or should not be allowed to be worn in schools, rather Sarn is trying to inquire about "the freedom of women and their right to choose how to live their lives". It is about the violence women face on a day to day basis and how the blame is seemingly forced upon them rather than the perpetrators.
Furthermore, while I did take away things from this story I don't think it was right for a non-own voices author to write this narrative in the way that they did because it has reinforced this association of violence with Islam, and that is not okay. It's horrible. Why not write say, the same story but have a different outcome or just cut away the thread of the story that the gang inhabits. If it was a Muslim author, it would be different. And I know I picked up this book knowing the gist of the story I didn't know the author wasn't Muslim, which I will remember to check next time.
----------------
This book is explores many controversial but important themes.
Family and expectation is one, the relationship between Sohane and Djelila is typical in its growing apart nature as siblings do, they grow older and form their own opinions and beliefs. But you can still see how much they love and care about each other.
As the author mentioned in the author's note, which is very important to remember- this book is not trying to convey whether the hijab should or should not be allowed to be worn in schools, rather Sarn is trying to inquire about "the freedom of women and their right to choose how to live their lives". It is about the violence women face on a day to day basis and how the blame is seemingly forced upon them rather than the perpetrators.