Bilal is an accountant living in small middle class English village, Babel's End. He is known as Bill to his friends and neighbours and is fully integrated and active in the affairs of the local community. However, his mother's dying wish is that Bilal should build a mosque in her memory in Babel's End. What a great plot with the potential for lots of humour and comedic scenes!
Initially, I was disappointed that the story was more serious, exploring instead the difficult relationships between the inhabitants - Bilal's wife, Mariam, who is still in love with her first husband, the retired headmistress, Anne whose only son took a drugs overdose the year before, Richard, the vicar who is beginning to doubt his faith. I thought a great opportunity for a really funny story had been lost.
However, the warmth and humour in the story is provided by Bilal's aunt, Khala, who comes to stay as the villagers take sides over the future of a mosque in their community.
I really enjoyed this book. It has a beautiful cover showing an idyllic rural village with both a church and mosque nestled among the houses. At times the text was a bit awkward making me feel that the book had been translated from another language (which it hasn't) eg page 88 'Anne, tall with a broad frame, seemed impervious in both look and manner.' Shame these idiosyncrasies could not have been corrected during the editing process for a smoother read.
Initially, I was disappointed that the story was more serious, exploring instead the difficult relationships between the inhabitants - Bilal's wife, Mariam, who is still in love with her first husband, the retired headmistress, Anne whose only son took a drugs overdose the year before, Richard, the vicar who is beginning to doubt his faith. I thought a great opportunity for a really funny story had been lost.
However, the warmth and humour in the story is provided by Bilal's aunt, Khala, who comes to stay as the villagers take sides over the future of a mosque in their community.
I really enjoyed this book. It has a beautiful cover showing an idyllic rural village with both a church and mosque nestled among the houses. At times the text was a bit awkward making me feel that the book had been translated from another language (which it hasn't) eg page 88 'Anne, tall with a broad frame, seemed impervious in both look and manner.' Shame these idiosyncrasies could not have been corrected during the editing process for a smoother read.