book data
166 ratings, 3.75 average rating, 53 reviews
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published
August 22nd 2006
by Carroll & Graf
binding
Paperback, 448 pages
isbn
0786715197
(isbn13: 9780786715190)
description
Syrian immigrant Khadra Shamy is growing up in a devout, tightly knit Muslim family in 1970s Indiana, at the crossroads of bad polyester and Islamic d...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 295)
It is nice that there is a Muslim fiction book out. And on top of that, it all happened in Indianapolis. One problem though. We read it in school and it wasn't appropriate. It was kind of extreme. Some naive paren tmight pick it up from the library and take it home for their 12 or 13 year old child to read. The problem is that it can easily confuse ANYONE. If you don't discuss it with someone who has read it, you deen can be altered. Lucky enough for me, I had my english teacher and the rest of ...more
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5 comments
Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
Reading The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf felt strange to me - in a good way. It was the first time I had ever read a book in which I felt like I could have been on the next page, a part of the story. I KNOW the community; I have dealt with every character she described. It felt like "coming home" to a place I know and love with all its warts and scars.
The writing style was a bit sparse for my taste, hence the 4 stars rather than 5. But the story was riviting. I think there is a un...more
The writing style was a bit sparse for my taste, hence the 4 stars rather than 5. But the story was riviting. I think there is a un...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone, especially Muslims & those seeking insight into American Muslim communities
I thought this book really captured what its like to grow up as an American Muslim- the author's attention to detail helps to capture the little idiosyncracies & contradictions within the community & the struggles the American-born have in confronting/reconciling with immigrant Islam. The main character's journey through various phases/types of Islam was done especially well. I also thought the book was good in showing the problems & issues within the American Muslim community while ...more
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Read in December, 2006
A very honest look at the immigrant Muslim community...it seems to be based off the author's experience growing up near ISNA headquarters. Rather dramatized in parts, it is nontheless a well-written story of growth, self-exploration, and finding one's self and spirituality. Definitely the first "good" Muslim-American piece of literature I've come across.
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Dana by:
found this on Goodreadsrecommends it for: everyone should read this!
I found this book to be very enlightening. I still have a lot to learn about Islam - the author used so many unfamiliar words, especially around prayer time and the preparations involved for it. There were a few moments in the book when the main character had an "aha" moment that brought me to tears. I especially found it touching when she related with the Orthodox Jewish woman and they discovered that they understood one another better than most would because of the similarities in...more
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Read in June, 2008
Mohja Kahf's fiction debut tells the story of Khadra Shamy, a Syrian Muslim girl who, at a young age, moves with her family to the United States during the 1970s, and grows up in Indiana. Khadra's parents struggle to raise their children in accordance with Islamic values, while awash in a mostly Caucasian, Christian, and very American environment. The reader follows Khadra's journey to understand herself as an American Muslim well into adulthood. She travels to Syria after her marriage breaks do...more
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Read in December, 2007
Mohja Kahf is phenomenal. I've read some of her short stories before reading this book and I loved them. Girl in Tangerine Scarf is an excellent debut---the characters were all very real, and thankfully, for once, nuanced. The main characters story totally mirrors mine growing up, leaving home, returning to the "homeland," being shocked at the things that happen in Muslim countries, coming to terms with her American-ness, etc. Her problems with the "fundos" as well as the sec...more
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Read in May, 2008
I read up until pg. 339 and stopped because I just wasn't interested in the story. There's no plot..or, rather, there's no continuity in the events that take place in the novel. Persecution, alienation, resentment, radicalism, etc. Stages of a young woman's spiritual development. And that was it. Characters enter and leave, we don't get to know them at all. The prose is clunky at times. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more had I been able to relate to and understand Khadra's experiences. Maybe I w...more
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The first time I tried to read it, I could not keep track of the book and left.
But at my second try, on the way- while travelling on the bus- I indulged myself to the book.
I think the writing style is very sparse,
but the experiences of the main character Khadra as a muslim woman touches the reality of general muslim women who grow up within a modern society with the traditional or islamic values.
Many times I found myself identifiying with the characters in the book.
I think for anybo...more
But at my second try, on the way- while travelling on the bus- I indulged myself to the book.
I think the writing style is very sparse,
but the experiences of the main character Khadra as a muslim woman touches the reality of general muslim women who grow up within a modern society with the traditional or islamic values.
Many times I found myself identifiying with the characters in the book.
I think for anybo...more
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Read in January, 2008
Growing up Muslim in the late 1970s in Indianapolis, a young woman struggles to find her place in her religion and her new country-America. It is worth the read. Interestingly--I read it before hearing a presentation by the author and was glad that was my timeline. It is unlikely that I would have read the book after hearing the author (it is usually the reverse for me). Kahf's anti-west and refusal to acknowledge inconsistencies in Islam lecture points were interesting given her novel explores ...more
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Read in September, 2007
I utterly adored this book. Perhaps it's because the woman, although Muslim, grew up with a similar background in rather fundamentalist religion. It's an intellectual discovery as well as a memoir. Reading this book, I was forced (and rather happy to do it) to do some research into a religion I knew virtually nothing about. The process is so difficult; it made me appreciate just how hard it was and is to be devout. Yet, this woman's intellect and struggle is the brilliant kernel at the heart of ...more
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Read in March, 2008
A book club read. The Bloomington Arts Council sponsors a "One Book, One Bloomington" contest where the local community nominates and votes on a book that has had social impact. The author, Mohja Kahf, lived in the area and now teaches in Arkansas. I was not a big fan of the writing style, but I appreciated the book for giving me a view of life as a Muslim. But the book addresses the larger issue of prejudice and how we all experience it from both the perspective of victim and perpetra
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone interested in a muslim girls story of growing up in the midwest
Mojah Khaf did a great job of sharing everyday struggles in a muslim girls life while growing up in mid-western America, as well as the struggle of growing up American in an Arab family. Many of the scenarios were very emotional the way they were presented and brought tears to my eyes several times throughout the book. Some of the content would not be good for young people to read because it does go though marital problems and challenges that would be too "mature" for some readers.
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Read in September, 2008
This was an amazing novel about an Muslim American girl who is torn between her parent's traditional world and the American world she grew up in. The author brings up some deep issues of race and religion that really makes the reader think. Even though I am not Muslim I felt myself identifying with the main character as she questions her religion and traditions.
The author also brings up important points about discrimination across all cultures; both race and gender.
The author also brings up important points about discrimination across all cultures; both race and gender.
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Read in October, 2008
recommends it for:
people who grew up with a religion...or people who know people who grew up religious
Excellent! Excellent! Shares the story of growing up Muslim in the US. So many things I thought...how strange? And then I would giggle aloud realizing how many people had thoughts like that about Mormonism and me as I was growing up in the US (just thought I'd tack on the US thing to more closely and clearly draw a parallel btwn us...the narrator and I..you're feelin' me right? I'm not just babberling for no reason..right?)
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone interested in women's issues and religion
A novel written from the perspective of a girl who grew as a practicing Muslim and had an arranged marriage. She eventually struggles between the conservative Islamic culture and her liberal views. Great view into what Islamic culture is all about - she studies a variety of different views within Islam as she explores her faith. The book is also about friendship and coming to compromises even if you have different views.
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recommends it for:
American Muslims
What a fun book. It is one that I bet most American Muslims will find themselves relating to. The narrator undergoes so many different phases of personal religious identity that most readers would find themselves somewhere in the book. Her familiarity with American Muslim culture greatly enriches this book and allows for a remarkable honesty, humor, and relatability. A must-read for American Muslims.
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I really enjoyed this book. I was able to relate to the main character on so many different levels because it was about being a first generation muslim. (Her parents were from Syria, mine from India)
I didnt read it one or two sittings like I usually do. I read it slowly so I could savor it. The main character still stays with me and I wonder how her life turned out...
I didnt read it one or two sittings like I usually do. I read it slowly so I could savor it. The main character still stays with me and I wonder how her life turned out...
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Read in October, 2007
fascinating book about growing up syrian muslim in indiana. a story about being female and muslim, from childhood to adulthood. all the levels and sects of the muslim religion, the attractions they hold. being a foreigner in the midwest. finding oneself and being at peace with oneself. go pick this up if you are curious about the muslim world and personal journeys.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Individuals interested in Muslim immigrants in the United States
So part of this book is very much about a coming of age story of a girl in Indiana. It just so happens that she is Muslim and has some other struggles to face. Deciding who she is, what her religious beliefs are, and some interesting observations about Indiana from a Syrian-American who can speak with a flawless American accent, but still has other hurdles to face.
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