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A review by fatima17
The Royal Abduls by Ramiza Shamoun Koya
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc.
First of all, I did go into the book expecting the characters to be Muslim. From the names, I did think that. However, discovering that Amina was an atheist was not actually a problem. The book was slightly all over the piece but perhaps that reflected the inner turmoil and confusion that the characters were going through. I found it very interesting that the narration switched between Amina and Omar. It made for interesting reading to read between Omar who is trying to find his way as a young boy caught between many different identities and Amina who is older and somewhat successful but is still having those struggles. I found Amina to be fascinating as she represents that struggle of wanting to live life on her own terms but still being bound by the same cultural restraints even if she doesn't recognise it.
I would have liked Mo's character to be given a little more nuance. It felt that only after the big event happened to me we find out more about it and his own struggles.
Overall, I felt like the book did a good job of explaining the struggles of being caught in a post 9/11 world as a person of colour and what that means.
First of all, I did go into the book expecting the characters to be Muslim. From the names, I did think that. However, discovering that Amina was an atheist was not actually a problem. The book was slightly all over the piece but perhaps that reflected the inner turmoil and confusion that the characters were going through. I found it very interesting that the narration switched between Amina and Omar. It made for interesting reading to read between Omar who is trying to find his way as a young boy caught between many different identities and Amina who is older and somewhat successful but is still having those struggles. I found Amina to be fascinating as she represents that struggle of wanting to live life on her own terms but still being bound by the same cultural restraints even if she doesn't recognise it.
I would have liked Mo's character to be given a little more nuance. It felt that only after the big event happened to me we find out more about it and his own struggles.
Overall, I felt like the book did a good job of explaining the struggles of being caught in a post 9/11 world as a person of colour and what that means.