Has anyone read this book before? [Reviews]

[Jo, Our Shared Shelf Moderator]

So to get things rolling for our new book 'The Things I Would Tell You: British-Muslim Women Write edited by Sabrina Mahfouz' I thought I would ask the standard question - Has anyone read this book before? If so, please share your thoughts.

[Kim]

I have not read this book, but am so excited as one of my book goals of 2019 was to read stories by and/or about Muslim Women! Great timing OSS mods :)

I'm quite surprised my local library doesn't have this, as I live in an area where there are a lot of Muslim folks (one of whom is going to be starting as one of two first Muslim women sworn into the US Congress tomorrow). I've requested they get it as I think it would get checked out quite often. But I'm also going to order a copy and donate it to the library (if I don't write all over the margins!)

*kim

[Cendaquenta]

I read it last year. Kind of an up-and-down experience, it was a very mixed bag IMO. Although some of the stories I think I didn't understand properly, for one reason or another. Perhaps I missed out on some cultural context since I myself am not Muslim, or maybe it was nothing to do with that and they just flew over my head.

I am needing to reread it but not yet.

[Savannah]

I haven’t read yet, but just got it and eagerly looking forward to reading.

[Sarah]

I’m bang in the middle of it! It’s def worth a read but so far I haven’t really been able to get to grips with some of the fiction stories I can’t seem to really follow them. However the essays are pretty good and make for a thought provoking read and really resonate with me as a British Muslim woman. The poetry is also at times quite moving although can be difficult to read as there’s some pretty heavy content!

[Adriana]

Not yet, but I will pick it up asap to follow along!

[K]

I read about 70% last year. I need to borrow it again from the library this year to finish it. Glad it’s a OSS pick, as an anthology I felt it was a worthwhile and pertinent read representing the plurality of Muslim women writers and some really powerful, moving and thought-provoking pieces. As a full body of work I didn’t connect with or find every piece as powerful/evocative as I have done with other edited anthologies or short stories collections (such as The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla or The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen or The Colour of Madness: Exploring BAME mental health in the UK edited by Samara Linton and Rianna Walcott)

Without giving spoilers I was captivated by Kamila Shamsie’s The Girl Next Door, Battleface by Sabrina Mahfouz, The Insider by Leila Aboulela and Aisha Mirza's essay Staying Alive Through Brexit – Racism, Mental Health and Emotional Labour.

I hope eventually every library will stock this book and other anthologies mentioned.

[Lidija]

Not before, but I've just read the first story and it is really good, really moving. Beautiful writing!

[[deleted user]]

Hello! I finished it in the train yesterday. This book approaches some many important points through different form (since it is an anthology). From honour-killing to government manipulation it let you speechless. Although this has a focus on UK but at one point I forgot it is talking about the British country and I extended it to US and France (except when it tells you about Brexit).
Each writing is specific and deals with one or several topics so, personnaly, I had to do breaks (sometime) to think about what was approached, and even by doing that I (probably) missed some messages. As mentioned elsewhere I'll definitely need to read some parts again.

Good call on selecting an anthology and this topic Team OSS (or OSS Team, I do not know which one is correct). 👍

[[deleted user]]

Yes it is :) so you can after every single essay or poem, I did that several times to assimilate different messages.

[Marcia]

I agree that it's a mixed bag. I enjoyed the essays; not too sure about the poetry and fiction.

[[deleted user]]

Marcia wrote: "I agree that it's a mixed bag. I enjoyed the essays; not too sure about the poetry and fiction."

I must admit that sometimes I had a hard time to focus on some of the fictions. At some point I felt lost in the lines and I was not sure to decipher messages correctly. That's why I need to read those parts again.

[Marcia]

I was expecting more non-fiction personal accounts of British Muslim women's experiences, as opposed to plays and poems by British Muslim women.

[Anna]

Another great choice of book from OSS and I'm glad I got to read this. Like some of you, I had to take a couple of breaks between reading the various pieces. In some of the novellas I struggled to understand exactly what happened and to whom, and I'm afraid that I failed to understand the message the author wanted to get through. But other pieces spoke very strongly to me, e.g. the novel 'Under the Cypress Tree' and some of the poems. Many of the pieces deal with identity, being rootless and longing for somewhere to belong. A couple of the poems have interesting thoughts on gender roles.

[Almodather]

As a Muslim man, I think the book is incredible in its contents: the emotional narrative of women, narrating their experiences in lucid, honest tones, and exploring their struggles as they live in a different cultural setting than their ancestors. That, to me, was kind of new, because in the Middle East women do not have usually the courage and space to write such narratives. I think the great thing about the book is that it is emotional and motivating, making one live the experiences one reads in their minds!

[Hatice]

I hadn't read this book before but as soon as I started it flowed so easily and I think it is because I am Muslim. The contents were very familiar to me, if not mirroring personal experiences or experiences of Muslim women I know. Some texts I must admit were either hard to understand or I just did not like the style. I was surprised though by this book because I never thought other Muslim women share these emotions, thoughts and experiences so I loved this book all round.

[Charlene]

The fiction and essays were more approachable for me. Some of the poems didn't make sense for me.

The Insider stood out for me. It was a great look at what was and what now changed.