Intensely Provocative and Brilliantly Poigniant
This Green and Pleasant Land tells the story of Bilal and his wife Mariam, both second generation Brits, whose parents immigrated from Pakistan. When Bilal's mother dies, her final request is that Bilal build a mosque in the sleepy southern village he moved away from Birmingham to start a new life in. As Bill faces the question of what it means to belong, he comes face to face with years of doubts and fears he has never addressed, and as he moves forward with the mosque he will have to face more than just his insubstantial fears.
This book is brilliantly written, using humour and amazingly depicted cultural scenes to talk about some very important current issues. The tone and setting are spot on – as a foreign-born British citizen who has lived here for the past 15 years, I recognise every detail of the village and people Malik describes, and see myself in many of them. The subtle cultural humour had me laughing and cringing accordingly. The way she pinpoints British nuances and subtleties in simple and recognisable ways is astounding and brilliant. The passages from Shelley's perspective particularly had me laughing at almost every understated line. Although I don't know much about Pakistani culture, I could tell that she wrote about it with the same cuttingly accurate subtlety and affectionate humour.
I love the way that this book makes you think and examine your own views as you read. There are so many challenging passages. The reaction of the town to Bilal's proposal is both understandable and shameful. Yet, when I look at the words without bias I recognise some of the same thought-processes and hypocrisies exhibited by Shelley, Copperthwaite and co. in myself. I loved the gentle challenge that this book provides to look at yourself without fear, and to recognise that change is possible, no matter how old or set in your ways you are. Both Shelley and Khala Rukhsana are beautiful examples of that.
I am also in love with the way that Malik gets across what I believe to be the biggest overlooked principle of today, which might just have to power to save us all if we could uphold it – You don't have to share someone's beliefs or lifestyle in order to love them, respect them, honour them and help them to share equal freedoms and rights with you. Reverend Richard Young and Bilal's strong friendship was one of my favourite sub-plots of the book. They are both just men, whose religious beliefs don't have to alter their regard for each other or the lengths they will go to in order to support each other. As an Anglican myself I was so impressed and appreciative of Richards character and stance in this book. He isn't threatened by the chance for Muslims to have their own place of worship in his village, because they deserve a sacred space just as much as the Christians do.
I will admit that it took me some time to get into this novel, but once I made it 50 or 60 pages in I was hooked, and by the end I really didn't want the story to end. The characters and setting are so familiar and if not always lovable, at least understandable.
Highly recommended, especially for those who wish to examine what they think about national identity, inclusive culture, and what it means to follow your convictions in life. 5 Stars!
This book is brilliantly written, using humour and amazingly depicted cultural scenes to talk about some very important current issues. The tone and setting are spot on – as a foreign-born British citizen who has lived here for the past 15 years, I recognise every detail of the village and people Malik describes, and see myself in many of them. The subtle cultural humour had me laughing and cringing accordingly. The way she pinpoints British nuances and subtleties in simple and recognisable ways is astounding and brilliant. The passages from Shelley's perspective particularly had me laughing at almost every understated line. Although I don't know much about Pakistani culture, I could tell that she wrote about it with the same cuttingly accurate subtlety and affectionate humour.
I love the way that this book makes you think and examine your own views as you read. There are so many challenging passages. The reaction of the town to Bilal's proposal is both understandable and shameful. Yet, when I look at the words without bias I recognise some of the same thought-processes and hypocrisies exhibited by Shelley, Copperthwaite and co. in myself. I loved the gentle challenge that this book provides to look at yourself without fear, and to recognise that change is possible, no matter how old or set in your ways you are. Both Shelley and Khala Rukhsana are beautiful examples of that.
I am also in love with the way that Malik gets across what I believe to be the biggest overlooked principle of today, which might just have to power to save us all if we could uphold it – You don't have to share someone's beliefs or lifestyle in order to love them, respect them, honour them and help them to share equal freedoms and rights with you. Reverend Richard Young and Bilal's strong friendship was one of my favourite sub-plots of the book. They are both just men, whose religious beliefs don't have to alter their regard for each other or the lengths they will go to in order to support each other. As an Anglican myself I was so impressed and appreciative of Richards character and stance in this book. He isn't threatened by the chance for Muslims to have their own place of worship in his village, because they deserve a sacred space just as much as the Christians do.
I will admit that it took me some time to get into this novel, but once I made it 50 or 60 pages in I was hooked, and by the end I really didn't want the story to end. The characters and setting are so familiar and if not always lovable, at least understandable.
Highly recommended, especially for those who wish to examine what they think about national identity, inclusive culture, and what it means to follow your convictions in life. 5 Stars!