17. A book with a Muslim character or author

[Suzanne]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I used Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol.

2. Did it feature a Muslim character or was it by a Muslim author or both?
This author of this book is Turkish so I am counting it as a Muslim author. I think that it is hard to determine if authors consider themselves Muslim so I used an author from a predominantly Muslim country. I read other books for the challenge that might be more appropriate for the intent of this prompt, but then I didn't have anywhere else to put this book.

3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt?
I highly recommend: A Woman Is No Man and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

[Hannah]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.

2. Did it feature a Muslim character or was it by a Muslim author or both?
The book follows a Muslim family living in India both before and after the partition of British-ruled India into India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The tensions between Indian Muslims and Hindus during this time is very important to the story. Salman Rushdie, like the characters in the story, was born in a Indian Muslim family, though I've read that he now identifies as an atheist.

3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt?
I liked The Kite Runner well enough, but I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Possibly because I didn't read it for school like I did Kite Runner, or because I identified more strongly with the female protagonists of Thousand Splendid Suns, but I found it incredibly moving and well written.

Earlier this year I read Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi for the prompt related to the Egyptian museum. They say El Saadawi is the Simone de Beauvoir of the Arab world and the book was a short but immensely powerful account of how women suffer under fundamentalist religion.

[Pearl]

I read A Thousand Splendid Suns.

I definitely recommend this book.

[Tsipi]

I have so many books for this prompt already, and am bound to have more....

Like many others, I've read all three of the Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty. The first two books were really good, the last one was disappointing. Genre: Fantasy.

I also read and liked The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani. This book is also a good choice for the Warwick Prize prompt, so double dip! Genre: Contemporary fiction.

Historical fiction lovers might enjoy Indu Sundaresan's Taj Mahal trilogy. I read the first two only -- The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses.

Also in contemporary fiction is A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum. I didn't rate this book as highly as I would have liked, but a lot of my very discerning friends gave it five stars, so...

And that is just my reading from this year, so far! There are books I absolutely must recommend for this prompt:

Kamila Shamsie: Burnt Shadows and Home Fire. Both are among my all time favorites of any genre.

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa. Also a must-read.

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, or any book by her. This is beyond "must read", it is a classic, a book I would term *important*.

Graphic novels The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

And if you've made it this far, one more. Full disclosure - this one is by my friend, Khulud Khamis, but my love for it is real: Haifa Fragments.

I hope this prompt repeats, possibly forever, because there are just so many more on my TBR list.

[Nancy]

Nancy wrote: "Exit West or A Woman Is No Man are my options for this one."

I read Exit West, and did A Woman is No Man for a similar prompt for Pop Sugar. I liked A Woman is No Man a lot more. I didn't hate Exit West, but I didn't love it either.

[Anne]

I am reading 'Three cups of tea' by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
It contains muslim characters, it is not a novel.
I can recommend another non fiction book, 'I am Malala' by Malala Yousafzai, a muslim writing about muslims.

[GailW]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
2. Did it feature a Muslim character or was it by a Muslim author or both?
Both
3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt?
The Kite Runner
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Bastard of Istanbul
Three Daughters of Eve
Celestial Bodies
It's Not About the Burqa
Exit West
The Widows of Malabar Hill
Salt Houses
American Dervish
Together Tea
The Stationery Shop

[Andrea]

For this prompt, I read The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela. Both the author and many of the book's major characters are Muslim.

[Laurel]

1. What are you reading for this category? Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
2. Did it feature a Muslim character or was it by a Muslim author or both? Both
3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt? This book won the Arab American Book Award in 2018 and was excellent

[Anastasia]

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

[Dana]

1. What are you reading for this category?
The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson OR An Abundance of Katherines by John Green.

2. Did it feature a Muslim character or was it by a Muslim author or both?
The Bird King has the MC Muslim. An Abundance of Katherines has a character that is Muslim.

[Joan]

1. What are you reading for this category? A Thousand Splendid Suns
2. Did it feature a Muslim character or was it by a Muslim author or both? Both
3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt? I don't think I've read any others besides The Kite Runner. I feel like I read some of that so long ago. I only rated it 3 stars. It's coming back to me as I'm reading this one. A Thousand Splendid Suns seems to have captivated me more than The Kite Runner so far. I'm a quarter of the way through it.

[Stacey]

I just finished reading the complex, yet extraordinary Apeirogon by Colum McCann, a visionary look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the heart of the book are two fathers, one Palestinian, one Israeli, each who have lost a daughter. Their shared grief forces them to become unlikely friends and allies, as they try to change the world around them. This was a really beautiful book that weaves current events with history in a unique and lyrical way.

I highly recommend it, along with Exit West, Midnight's Children and The Submission.

[Duygu]

1. What are you reading for this category? Take It Back
2. Did it feature a Muslim character or was it by a Muslim author or both? Both
3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt? I don't really have anything to recommend as I have only read Turkish books in the past that have Muslim authors and characters. I didn't enjoy the book I read for this prompt even though the rating was high. It just seemed so forced...

[Misty]

Anastasia wrote: "The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah"

Thanks for mentioning this one. I looked up it and decided to read it. I finished it last night, and it was really good. Sad, heavy, and emotionally charged, but really good.

[Pam]

I'm reading a short story collection Rock, Paper, Scissors, and Other Stories by Russian author Maxim Osipov. One of the characters in the title story is Muslim.

[Misty]

You all convinced me, so I’m reading City of Brass for this prompt. I just started it.

[Tiffany]

I read Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. What a profound memoir! She is Muslim and writes about her family connections, then lack thereof.

I would recommend: The Moor's Account - one of the best books I've ever read.
The Perfect Nanny - chilling
The Kite Runner - another fascinating read.