From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
This is a dark and depressing story, 3 generations of Palestinian women passing on shame and self-loathing for being a woman in such a patriarchal and misogynistic culture. But it’s well written and certainly worth your time to hear the voices of women who are usually voiceless.
Not an easy book but I became attached to the characters, the women that is. They angered me, they worried me, I felt compassion for them and I wanted their circumstances to improve. After generations of misogyny, patriarchy and a culture of abuse, the cycle is breaks. Well written.
Fast read. it is the story of three generations of Palestinian women living in Brooklyn in current times. The society they live in is totally Paternalistic - with the men making every decision and the women living lives to cook, clean and have children. The women were only slightly educated and even though they chose to live in America they disdained the American freedoms that women and children take for granted.
Paints a very dismal picture for women roles in that culture - but even the men were ...more
Paints a very dismal picture for women roles in that culture - but even the men were ...more
I think I liked the title better than the actual experience of reading the book. The author interview and essay at the end helped, but the stories were so dark, and the writing was not compelling enough to break the dreariness of the perspectives on a woman’s role, a woman’s work, a woman’s place, a woman’s choices. Maybe that was the point. Still, even though I almost stopped reading altogether several times, and was frustrated that the author kept pushing back the reveals of the various secret
...more
Excellent debut novel by Etaf Rum. A heartbreaking, multi-layered story with depth of characters woven through multiple generations of Palestinian women. A realistic look at the challenges they face, especially when immigrating to a new country.
Apr 28, 2019
Pantteri
marked it as to-read
May 13, 2019
Meghan
marked it as to-read
Jun 01, 2019
Dee
marked it as to-read
Nov 05, 2019
Laura
marked it as to-watch
Nov 14, 2019
Kirsten Barber
marked it as to-read-soon
Jan 11, 2020
Alisa
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2020
Kim
marked it as to-read
Mar 01, 2021
Elaine Kasteler
marked it as to-read
Jun 12, 2022
Crystal
marked it as to-read
Jan 31, 2023
Liz
marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2024
Kirsty
marked it as to-read
