A well written first 30 about bereathment, family and community.
What do you do when your Mother or Grandmother asks you to do something when on her deathbed? say yes even though you know that the task is unlikely to be completed/successful, thats what I did, to release her suffering. And what did the protagonist of this book do? well Bilal sidesteps the request and hopes that it will go away, a bit of a weak response, he comes across as a weak character in the first 30 pages and I cant say that I like him much. Which leaves room for him to develop, come on give him a chance, his Mam did ask him to build a place of worship after all.
What really makes this book a fascinating read is the female characters who are startlingly powerful and I can see why Bilal is scared of all of them. It should be noted that I wouldnt be scared of them and would have made a promise to work on my faith more but refuse the religious house building contract. The mother has a strong and stark personality, has a stoic way that makes her like a stone pillar in comparison to the jellyfish that is Bilal, alas she doesnt last too long as she has to die to set off the plot.
Then there is Mariam, the wife of Bilal, she is a strong well spoken woman with a sharp sense of what to do in a crisis. When Shagufta phones to palm off a sick old lady upon Bilal she takes control where he doesnt. She doesnt do too well in the negotiation, so Shagufta must be a pretty formidable character. For once a good book with some strong female role models, I hope that Bilal can learn to be strong from them.
The plot is a little unrealistic to be sure, could Bilal build a place of religious worship of the Muslim faith in a secular/christian village? I doubt it would be successful, the village council would have something to say. Also Bilal does not have the motivation to perform this task, which is why the elite females will have to project manage it. It will certainly produce some interesting narrative, and no doubt Bilal will become stronger by reuniting with his families cultural identity; maybe his wife will get a job on the Daily Mail as a result of this endeavor. I would like to see Bilal learn to release his bonds of family expectations and stand firm in his lack belief in an organised religion and yet earn the respect of his family. It would also be good to see some of his friends welcomed into the Muslim faith, whilst he stands on the sidelines. Should be an interesting read.
What do you do when your Mother or Grandmother asks you to do something when on her deathbed? say yes even though you know that the task is unlikely to be completed/successful, thats what I did, to release her suffering. And what did the protagonist of this book do? well Bilal sidesteps the request and hopes that it will go away, a bit of a weak response, he comes across as a weak character in the first 30 pages and I cant say that I like him much. Which leaves room for him to develop, come on give him a chance, his Mam did ask him to build a place of worship after all.
What really makes this book a fascinating read is the female characters who are startlingly powerful and I can see why Bilal is scared of all of them. It should be noted that I wouldnt be scared of them and would have made a promise to work on my faith more but refuse the religious house building contract. The mother has a strong and stark personality, has a stoic way that makes her like a stone pillar in comparison to the jellyfish that is Bilal, alas she doesnt last too long as she has to die to set off the plot.
Then there is Mariam, the wife of Bilal, she is a strong well spoken woman with a sharp sense of what to do in a crisis. When Shagufta phones to palm off a sick old lady upon Bilal she takes control where he doesnt. She doesnt do too well in the negotiation, so Shagufta must be a pretty formidable character. For once a good book with some strong female role models, I hope that Bilal can learn to be strong from them.
The plot is a little unrealistic to be sure, could Bilal build a place of religious worship of the Muslim faith in a secular/christian village? I doubt it would be successful, the village council would have something to say. Also Bilal does not have the motivation to perform this task, which is why the elite females will have to project manage it. It will certainly produce some interesting narrative, and no doubt Bilal will become stronger by reuniting with his families cultural identity; maybe his wife will get a job on the Daily Mail as a result of this endeavor. I would like to see Bilal learn to release his bonds of family expectations and stand firm in his lack belief in an organised religion and yet earn the respect of his family. It would also be good to see some of his friends welcomed into the Muslim faith, whilst he stands on the sidelines. Should be an interesting read.