Wednesday, May 29, 2019

A Woman Is No Man: A Novel by Etaf Rum

A Woman is No Man follows three generations of Palestinian women living in America. 
Fareeda, Isra and Deya. Their story moves back and forth seamlessly between their point of views. Each character has a very unique and distinct voice. 

Fareeda immigrated to American from Palestine. She is completely enmeshed in the patriarchal ways of her culture. Her son, Adam marries Isra and brings her to the United States. The marriage is arranged and problematic at best. The marriage results in the birth of 4 children, one of them being Deya. 

Deya is now of "marrying" age and is being pushed into marriage  by her Grandmother Fareeda. This book chronicles that story along with the life that Isra and Fareeda had in the past. 

This book is haunting and a difficult emotional read. My review is rather vague in that I don't want to give much away but this is perhaps one of the most moving book I've read in years. 


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