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13th out of 577 books
—
648 voters
I Can't Think Straight
by
Shamim Sarif
Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend.
Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. As Tala’s wedding day approaches, simmering tension...more
Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. As Tala’s wedding day approaches, simmering tension...more
Paperback, 216 pages
Published
November 11th 2008
by Enlightenment Press
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Thoughts on a book so good I'll need more time to wrap up my thoughts...
I really, really like this book. It is not just well-written and thoughtful, gripping and genuine, _I Can't Think Straight_ speaks to anyone who has ever felt pressured to be part of something because parents or society expect it, not because it is what you yourself truly want.
'But there was a reason why romance and passion were so suited to fiction; and to learn this lesson was a function of maturity...a growth away from th...more
I really, really like this book. It is not just well-written and thoughtful, gripping and genuine, _I Can't Think Straight_ speaks to anyone who has ever felt pressured to be part of something because parents or society expect it, not because it is what you yourself truly want.
'But there was a reason why romance and passion were so suited to fiction; and to learn this lesson was a function of maturity...a growth away from th...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I watched the movie first, i liked it, except its abit short. So i decide to read the book, knowing that the book usually is the extension of the movie. Well, after i finished the book, i have a strange sense of deja va, I wish it was longer.
Anyway, about the book, it definitely is an extension of the movie, however there are parts where it totally different from the movie, such as settings and Sequences of events. Watching the movie first did have its advantage, as you can put faces in the cha...more
Anyway, about the book, it definitely is an extension of the movie, however there are parts where it totally different from the movie, such as settings and Sequences of events. Watching the movie first did have its advantage, as you can put faces in the cha...more
I must confess, I watched the movie before I read this book.
Shamim Sarif tells the story of two women fighting for independence within their families and struggling to determine their own identities. Tala is the head-strong, Palestinian, Christian, who lives in Amman, Jordan with her wealthy family. Leyla is the Muslim, Indian, who lives in the London suburbs with her family. The two met and must determine what love is worth.
The characters, both main and supporting, are well developed in this n...more
Shamim Sarif tells the story of two women fighting for independence within their families and struggling to determine their own identities. Tala is the head-strong, Palestinian, Christian, who lives in Amman, Jordan with her wealthy family. Leyla is the Muslim, Indian, who lives in the London suburbs with her family. The two met and must determine what love is worth.
The characters, both main and supporting, are well developed in this n...more
Tala, a Jordanian of Palestinian descent (and Christian), falls for Leyla, an Indian Muslim. A really interesting combination that didn't get played up enough, I thought. This book follows the movie (which I haven't seen yet, but sure want to!). I liked it a lot, the story is a good one. But the book suffers from a surfeit of typos, and while I think Sarif was going for an omniscient POV, it really reads like head hopping. Probably because it is written from the movie and not the other way aroun...more
Ok I didn't read this book in a day. I bought this for my kindle two days ago and while I wasn't absolutely compelled to read it, it was a decent enough read.
It was interesting reading about characters who were a) women, b) gay, and c) not white. It was a sweet story, and I liked that it wasn't someone's attempt to tease a story out of a porno (I'm looking at you, Arbor Vitae). It was fairly well done, though not the greatest writing I've ever uncovered.
There were a LOT of characters introduced,...more
It was interesting reading about characters who were a) women, b) gay, and c) not white. It was a sweet story, and I liked that it wasn't someone's attempt to tease a story out of a porno (I'm looking at you, Arbor Vitae). It was fairly well done, though not the greatest writing I've ever uncovered.
There were a LOT of characters introduced,...more
This is a truly enjoyable book that exceeds the expectations of lesbian romance and provides interesting and complex political, cultural and religious settings.
I Can't Think Straight is really two stories; that of Christian Palestinian Tala and that of Muslim Indian Leyla. The two women meet coincidentally and their off and on encounters keep tension alive while growing a meaningful connection and mutual affinity.
The L word . . .
If you're looking for smut, this ain't it. It's the tale of a mor...more
I Can't Think Straight is really two stories; that of Christian Palestinian Tala and that of Muslim Indian Leyla. The two women meet coincidentally and their off and on encounters keep tension alive while growing a meaningful connection and mutual affinity.
The L word . . .
If you're looking for smut, this ain't it. It's the tale of a mor...more
I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't exceptional but it was a quick really enjoyable read. The book could be taken lightly and be enjoyed as a romantic comedy but there is also a more serious tone to it with the (very) small analysis of the communities both girls belong to. I especially liked to have every character point of view about the events :)
I thought the movie wasn't so good in the more serious tone, but was still a nice watch. I saw it the day after reading the book or something like...more
I thought the movie wasn't so good in the more serious tone, but was still a nice watch. I saw it the day after reading the book or something like...more
I think this book has been seriously overrated. It's a story about on identity, changes in women in society, religion in both traditional and modern views as well as the discussions of homosexuality. It's use of changing points of view helps you to have an insight into the different emotions from the points of views and thoughts of those persons.
Because of these changes it makes the story more realistic and very modern as it hits the issues seen today. This book connected well with me as it hel...more
Because of these changes it makes the story more realistic and very modern as it hits the issues seen today. This book connected well with me as it hel...more
After watching this movie a good 50 times, I knew the book would be a must read. Although I undoubtedly loved the movie, I felt as if something were missing & I had multiple questions. Just as I expected, the book provided more insight on the characters & my questions were answered. Of course there are some slight differences between the movie & the book, but overall, I was enamored with the book. This was one of those hard to put down books & although I had an inkling that I'd e...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Fast besser als der Film
Liebe in London
Shamim Sarifs Erstling lief unter dem Titel "I Can't Think Straight" schon 2008 erfolgreich beim Abschluss der Lesbisch Schwulen Filmtage, und so war die Rezensentin gespannt, aber auch ein bisschen skeptisch, ob der auf einem Film basierende Roman die Erwartungen erfüllen würde - erst recht, da sie von der Autorin qualitativ hochwertige Literatur gewohnt ist. Aber das Multitalent Shamim Sarif beweist einmal mehr, dass in ihrem Fall Film und Buch jeweils au...more
Liebe in London
Shamim Sarifs Erstling lief unter dem Titel "I Can't Think Straight" schon 2008 erfolgreich beim Abschluss der Lesbisch Schwulen Filmtage, und so war die Rezensentin gespannt, aber auch ein bisschen skeptisch, ob der auf einem Film basierende Roman die Erwartungen erfüllen würde - erst recht, da sie von der Autorin qualitativ hochwertige Literatur gewohnt ist. Aber das Multitalent Shamim Sarif beweist einmal mehr, dass in ihrem Fall Film und Buch jeweils au...more
Unlike a lot of the other reviews, I had no idea that this book had been made into a film when I picked it up. The characters sounded interesting to me: a Palestinian woman and an Indian woman living in London. The settings and cast of the novel did appeal to me, but the plot seemed a little straightforward. I appreciated the added complexity of the different cultures and religion between the women, but the basic premise felt a little unoriginal. Perhaps I could identify too closely with Yasmin'...more
Oh dear. We seem to have picked a far from great book for book club this month. It wasn't offensively bad, but the writing was inelegant and the story didn't really seem to have anything to say. The author also commited the cardinal sin of flitting from one character's head to another from one paragraph to the next: possibly my number one peeve in bad writing.
Seemed like it wouldn't make a bad film though, so perhaps it's worth tracking that down.
Seemed like it wouldn't make a bad film though, so perhaps it's worth tracking that down.
1 like · like · see review
I didn't know which came first..the movie or the book. I am straight; I watched the film, and I love it! It was short, so I decided to know more about it, found out the director had the book version, so I bought it.
I prefer the book. It gives the fan of the film an insight to the thoughts of the characters. I love knowing there's more to Lamia than how she was portrayed on the film.
I Can't Think Straight is funny! A page-turner! Funny and Likeable characters!
I prefer the book. It gives the fan of the film an insight to the thoughts of the characters. I love knowing there's more to Lamia than how she was portrayed on the film.
I Can't Think Straight is funny! A page-turner! Funny and Likeable characters!
This was one of the first Lesbian Romances I ever read. It will always be one of my favorites, held near and dear in my heart.
It's wonderful because, not only is the story very heart warming and sexy, but you also get this amazing look into another culture (two actually).
Love can happen anywhere to anyone. 'I Can't Think Straight' is a testament to that.
If you read this book, you will love it!
It's wonderful because, not only is the story very heart warming and sexy, but you also get this amazing look into another culture (two actually).
Love can happen anywhere to anyone. 'I Can't Think Straight' is a testament to that.
If you read this book, you will love it!
My book club is reading this book. It shows the cultural and religious constrictions that constrained these two interesting young women who are attracted to each other. One is a London-based Palestinian from a wealthy Middle Eastern family. The other is young British Indian woman who is dating the other's best friend. It's a story of their "unexpected love and unusual freedoms."
While I enjoyed the foreign settings, and cultures, the title though intended to a pun, really gives you an insight in to how you'll feel when reading the book. There are so many POV's that you often times need a score card to remember who's head you're in. That being said, it was still an interesting read, if just for the fierce loyalty displayed by one of the sisters.
This book was okay; not horrible, not great. The author could have done a few things to improve it, such as fleshing out some of the sub-plots (which, looking back on the book, seem completely unnecessary), sticking to one point of view for at least the duration of the chapter,editing some of the overly flowery language, etc.
Almost word for word the movie, yet had some different or longer scenes. Both are very good. It was interesting to see the minor differences between book and film, as some worked better than their counterparts. Both are just different enough that I honestly couldn't say I prefer one over the other, but rather I like them equally well.
Absolutely loved this book! I had watched the movie before reading it and I greatly appreciated the extra in depth look into the individual characters. This was a nice feel good story about love without all the extra unnecessary drama and over-sexed descriptions that usually go with it! The pages flew by!
I saw the movie so now i'm interested in reading the book.
I enjoyed the movie, it inspired me so much while I was writing and working on my 3rd book. Now I get it, every movie starts with a book. Awsome, it makes me want to write more. Now it's 2am and I need to sleep. I will write more tomorrow.
I enjoyed the movie, it inspired me so much while I was writing and working on my 3rd book. Now I get it, every movie starts with a book. Awsome, it makes me want to write more. Now it's 2am and I need to sleep. I will write more tomorrow.
The book was slow and boring. I would not recommend anyone to read it. It is very typical. There isn’t much that happens. It’s not badly written but there’s nothing to it that makes it unique besides the Middle East culture. It was predictable.
I usually read a book first before I see the movie. In this case I did not, because I didn't know there was a book before I saw the film. This kinda ruined my reading experience. But oh well, 'I can't think straight' was still a nice read. One thing though: not all lesbians watch 'The L Word' and listen to k.d. lang and not everyone who watches 'The L word' and listens to k.d. lang is a lesbian ;)
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When I first read this book I fell in love with it and I love to reread it. This book does show in detail the complexity of two separate cultures that are complete opposites. I love this book.
Very well written! I started this book before bed and did not go to sleep til I had finished it. If there is only one book you read by Shamim Sarif this year it should be this one!
a good book, but quite short. there could have been a more in depth look at the cultures Leyla ans Tala have been raised in - it all seemed a little too easy...
I saw the movie first and loved it - I actually think the movie is better than the book. However, the books is really wonderful. :)
Liked the movie, for what it was. Book's OK, though the Kindle version is in need of copyediting, although not as bad as some.
Delightful to read! The regular doses of wit and humor did a wonderful job of lightening up the more serious themes of the book (i.e. coming out to your parents, discovering your true self and what makes you happy, etc.). This was a pure joy to read and wickedly funny! Shamim Sarif is an excellent author and does a wonderful job of balancing the story with lighthearted humor and just the right amount of seriousness and all the emotional nuances and feelings we experience when growing up and fall...more
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1 de Jul 08:57