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8th out of 50 books
—
88 voters
Minaret
Leila Aboulela's American debut is a provocative, timely, and engaging novel about a young Muslim woman -- once privileged and secular in her native land and now impoverished in London -- gradually embracing her orthodox faith. With her Muslim hijab and down-turned gaze, Najwa is invisible to most eyes, especially to the rich families whose houses she cleans in London. Twe...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
August 19th 2005
by Grove Press, Black Cat
(first published June 6th 2005)
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رواية جميلة جداً للكاتبة السودانية القديرة ليلى أبو العلا بترجمة قديرة أيضاً لا يعيبها سوى العشرات من الأخطاء المطبعية - بدون مبالغة - . الرواية تتنقل بين الماضي و الحاضر في حرفنة تستحق الإشادة لابنة من علية القوم تعيش في السودان ببذخ حتى يحدث الانقلاب الذي يرمي بوالدها إلى العالم الآخر و يرمي بهم دون شفقة إلى الغربة . هناك سيحلو للزمن أن يتباهي بقدرته بعزيز القوم . سيقطف رؤوساً و يمهل أخرى قليلاً من الوقت حتى يقطفها في انقلاب آخر . و في هذا الوقت لن يعرف السودان الراحة كما لن يعرفها الناس . و ل...more
Like "Brick Lane," this book allows us an intimate glimpse inside the life of an expatriate Muslim woman in London. But this heroine knew a life of extreme privilege when she was younger, until her family is shattered by a coup that overthrows her father and their security. Now she does servant work of the kind she used to have others do for her. And as her life evolves, she moves toward the faith that she has always been a part of but has never embraced. This is a beautiful, gentle book that ra...more
I accidentally found this book in my college library amongst all the famous writers hiding way.
the cover of the book appealed to me so I took it home. It was about two years ago and that was when my reading career began.
Now all I can remember is that I cried through it and didn't quite understand the ending. But this book always lingered in my mind.
After two years things changed I remembered what I read in this book, I wanted to read it again I went back to the library but could not find it, I...more
the cover of the book appealed to me so I took it home. It was about two years ago and that was when my reading career began.
Now all I can remember is that I cried through it and didn't quite understand the ending. But this book always lingered in my mind.
After two years things changed I remembered what I read in this book, I wanted to read it again I went back to the library but could not find it, I...more
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While I have many criticisms of this book, something about it really drew me into the story and even a few weeks after reading it I still find myself thinking about it. The book follows the story of an upper-class and fairly Western Sudanese woman who moves to London and ends up working-class and drawn towards the Muslim religion she spurned in her native land. Her story of slowly finding meaning in Islam is engaging and my first real understanding of how someone could become so religiously cons...more
I would certainly have to say that this book found me, I went to a local book store and almost left without anything I found interesting or worth reading that would be of value to leave with.Instead, I walked out with a copy of Leila Aboulela's "Minaret". 'It rings with true tenderness and truth', A novel of 'unusual generosity, honesty and compassion',I loved the way the book provokes your thoughts and probes thinking whether as reader's or as individuals who just as Najwa travels along life in...more
This book started very slowly for me. I was frustrated with Najwa's life in Sudan and felt like that section went on for too long--the point about her life pre-coup life was made in a couple pages. The story became more interesting for me once the readers is taken to her current life and the story of her conversion.
The book is described as being an intimate read about the life and faith of a devout Muslim woman, but I found the writing style interfered with the intimacy. I got a sense of her con...more
The book is described as being an intimate read about the life and faith of a devout Muslim woman, but I found the writing style interfered with the intimacy. I got a sense of her con...more
I started out feeling lukewarm about this book... wanting to keep reading because the setting (Sudan) and context were so new and compelling to me, but otherwise not really entranced. Then (I'm not sure when exactly--maybe about a third of the way through?) I started to love the main character, Najwa, and didn't want to put the book down. Maybe this didn't happen for a while because Najwa isn't really that likeable in the beginning; she's actually pretty shallow. But then her life changes drasti...more
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A good piece addressing concerns faced by muslims in Sudan and England in a fictional setting.
The common misconception is that muslims living in western countries face many challenges,however this story paints the factual reality of modern Islam and the challenges faced by muslims in western countries as well as muslim states; the political impact of civil unrest on muslims (specifically Sudan) and the identity issues faced by many today.
The story was slow and simple,showcasing the epic emotions...more
The common misconception is that muslims living in western countries face many challenges,however this story paints the factual reality of modern Islam and the challenges faced by muslims in western countries as well as muslim states; the political impact of civil unrest on muslims (specifically Sudan) and the identity issues faced by many today.
The story was slow and simple,showcasing the epic emotions...more
I will go ahead and just throw it out there that I don't like religion. I don't like any kind of system that is used to oppress and control people, which is what I think of (in general) when I/we/people talk of religion.
So we have this privileged girl, who is being raised in a very patriarchal system (governed by a patriarchal religion), who loses her privilege, position, and a lot of her support system (and her "way"), and then finds her "way" by immersing herself in that religion. She is raise...more
So we have this privileged girl, who is being raised in a very patriarchal system (governed by a patriarchal religion), who loses her privilege, position, and a lot of her support system (and her "way"), and then finds her "way" by immersing herself in that religion. She is raise...more
the story of Najwa, a girl born to affluent and politically ambitious parents in Sudan, whose life started degrading when her father was accused of treachery and corruption (which he possibly did) when the old regime fell to the new in the nineties. She had to flee to London as asylum seeker along with her mother and twin brother, and none of them recovered, either mentally or monetarily. The book goes on to describe how she faced her hardships and how she evolved into a strong person towards th...more
I will admit a prejudice I found in myself after reading Minaret, by Leila Aboulela---I am not big on books where the characters find happiness through religious conversion...whether that is Christian or Muslim, I have a hard time with that.
But despite that being a theme in Minaret, there is much that I also liked. The story of a girl who grew up in wealth, and was in a family of political power in Sudan, and is then without means as she has to emigrate to London, is fascinating and has such a r...more
But despite that being a theme in Minaret, there is much that I also liked. The story of a girl who grew up in wealth, and was in a family of political power in Sudan, and is then without means as she has to emigrate to London, is fascinating and has such a r...more
An earlier novel than Aboulela's The Translator and more autobiographical (I presume). Not as accomplished, but still, very good & worth reading.
I really enjoyed her writing, but it didn't seem to be building to anything. The narrator changed, to be sure, but it was so hidden in the switching of time periods and the lines of the story as to be almost missed.
I did find it thought-provoking, though, which is always good. Her longing to know what it's like to have a country that is stable, to be able to make plans and live your life regardless of what is going on in your government. I know that I often feel like everything hinges on an elec...more
I did find it thought-provoking, though, which is always good. Her longing to know what it's like to have a country that is stable, to be able to make plans and live your life regardless of what is going on in your government. I know that I often feel like everything hinges on an elec...more
A privileged Sudanese woman who gradually discovers her faith in London, it's a challenging, worthy read with no easy answers.
Disappointing, cliched, frustrating. Read it with my Doha book club and even my Muslim friends have said so. Avoid.
Jan 10, 2011
Angelo Vassallo
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
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Tooking this book, I was wondering if it will be one of the 1000 books which describes the women poor condition in the arabic world, but already from the first pages I realised that it was something different. It is a story of a woman and the story is interesting not because she is muslim, but it is interesting for what she has to tell us, for what she lives, for what she feels, for her daily life, which has nothing to do with being or not muslim. If you are looking for a book about the conditio...more
Easy and nice book to read. Najwa's odyssey of loss and found faith is written beautifully.
I was caught by mother for reading ronggeng dukuh paruk which was a book she didn't agree that I had to keep on reading. So she suggested Minaret which she said was more appropriate.
I'll say something straight about Najwa, A.K.A. the main character in this book. I have to admit she is a tough teenager. The misery she felt, from the death of her father, followed by her mother, and his brother in jail, didn't make a single doubt in her heart to go back to the path she believed, was right.
After h...more
I'll say something straight about Najwa, A.K.A. the main character in this book. I have to admit she is a tough teenager. The misery she felt, from the death of her father, followed by her mother, and his brother in jail, didn't make a single doubt in her heart to go back to the path she believed, was right.
After h...more
My 2008 bookcrossing review:
I did enjoy this book but I don't know whether it would be for everyone. It's quite a sad story in a lot of ways, about being lonely, falling in love - but always with the wrong person, and ending up alone and getting older.
It's also about a Sudanese woman trying to find her own identity and come to terms with her Islamic faith.
The main character, Najwa, is really interesting. I found her someone who you could really empathise throughout the book. She isn't perfect, a...more
I did enjoy this book but I don't know whether it would be for everyone. It's quite a sad story in a lot of ways, about being lonely, falling in love - but always with the wrong person, and ending up alone and getting older.
It's also about a Sudanese woman trying to find her own identity and come to terms with her Islamic faith.
The main character, Najwa, is really interesting. I found her someone who you could really empathise throughout the book. She isn't perfect, a...more
Jan 16, 2010
Liz Livingston
added it
OK, actually I would delete this book from my shelves because I wouldn't recommend it, but I don't know how to delete a book yet :). It's not that the book didn't contain valuable information. It was very interesting; I learned much about one Muslim woman's life and perspective, even though the book is fiction. She discusses life as a Sudanese in Africa, and as a refugee in London. She also shares how she desires to develop a relationship with Allah, to find faith, meaning, and purpose in life....more
I found this to be an excellent novel, and was a little upset that my local bookshop had filed it under something peculiar like 'black fiction'. This is a good story because it's a good story - that it illuminates an area of life many of us in the West find mysterious shouldn't lead to it being relegated to the 'minority interest' part of the book world.
Aboulela has written about what makes a rather superficial young woman become a devout older one, and how her religious beliefs shape her conduc...more
Aboulela has written about what makes a rather superficial young woman become a devout older one, and how her religious beliefs shape her conduc...more
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Another in the Islam-in-various-cultures genre is Minaret, by Leila Aboulela , which we also read for B/C. It’s about a well-off Sudanese woman who immigrates with her family to Great Britain after a change in government involves the execution of her father. This young woman is university educated, speaks fluent English and is very capable, has a mom and relatives who are also educated, and very liberal by Moslem standards, but…that’s really where the story begins. I really enjoyed this book and...more
Depressing, but you don't know how depressing until the end. It keeps compounding until you realize what a giving person she is, even though she didn't start off that way. Was hoping the end would have been more positive, but it ended the "right" way in that she did love him and did what was needed to give him a life he wanted. Religiously, it made me curious. Maybe some research in my near future! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE being Jewish and won't be converting, but I am interested in learning...more
I found Aboulela's description of life as a Sudanese woman struggling to make a living in London to be interesting, but Minaret was largely a morality tale. There was a hint of ambiguity in the ending which signalled that perhaps Najwa's conversion was not the only thing needed to bring her contentment, but overall this was a book in which the devout were the good guys and the atheists, or even the Muslim women who didn't want to veil, were shallow and venal. It was far too two-dimensional in it...more
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I'm not into any religions so I usually wouldn't have read this one, except I'd enjoyed the other two by Leila Aboulela so I gave it a go.
The thing is, you can understand why Najwa turns to her faith, because as she gradually goes through life she seems to lose everything she cares about. The only thing keeping her sane is her faith.
The thing is, you can understand why Najwa turns to her faith, because as she gradually goes through life she seems to lose everything she cares about. The only thing keeping her sane is her faith.
I didn't like this book that much, mainly due to the writing style. I couldn't figure out whether the writing was simplistic on purpose (to reflect the naivete of the main character) or because the author just isn't that good. I lean towards the former because I did read her book The Translator but I am still not entirely convinced. I found myself very annoyed at the characters more often than not, although they could be compelling at times. I ascribe this to my own Sudanese origin (so do Indian...more
It was nice read. Whilst reading I felt like I was having a conversation over tea with some one telling me about their upbringing and a few things they've experienced along the way. Not exciting at all though. The ending I felt was dull and left me deflated. I would of liked to see a sequel of 'Minaret' maybe to enlighten us on how the main character in her 30's or 40's found love, grew in her faith and maybe her returning to Sudan to see changes??
This was a very good book, very well written, and extremely interesting. I thought it was a wonderful look into the life, not only of someone different from myself, but of someone who is an outsider in her own surroundings. I read this for a college class, and I think that it should be taught at more colleges, not just because it is well written, but also because it shows people that just because a person is Muslim doesn't make them at best, alien, at worst, a terrorist. Too many people today eq...more
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Leila Aboulela grew up in Khartoum, Sudan where she attended the Khartoum American School and Sister School. She graduated from Khartoum University in 1985 with a degree in Economics and was awarded her Masters degree in statistics from the London School of Economics. She lived for many years in Aberdeen where she wrote most of her works while looking after her family; she currently lives and lect...more
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“The Mercy of Allah is an Ocean, Our sins are a lump of clay clenched between the beak of a pigeon. The pigeon is perched on the branch of a tree at the edge of that ocean.It only has to open it's beak”
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8 people liked it
“I've come down in the world. I've slid to a place where the ceiling is low and there isn't much room for me to move.Most of the time I'm good. I accepted my sentence and do not brood or look back. But sometimes a shift makes me remember. Routine is ruffled and a new start makes me suddenly conscious of what I've become -”
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5 people liked it
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