You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
A review by oliainchina
Những Người Đàn Bà by Etaf Rum
2.0
My next read for #MigrationMarch reading challenge.
I’ve seen many good reviews of A Woman is no Man by Etaf Rum that I was disappointed when I didn’t like it. This book is so badly written that I couldn’t make myself read it to the end. I’ve managed the first 30 pages or so, and then skimmed through the rest. The story itself - generations of spousal abuse - is important, no question, as well as a story of an Arab-American woman written by an author who comes from that tradition herself, but the way it is written made me cringe. Sadly, this is when the story becomes more important than the way it is presented.
I find that A Woman is no Man is bound to make people with Western ideals angry. The whole book is built around the clash of Islamic and Western values (the importance of choice in the West vs predestination of Islam), and these two approaches to life are so different that they cannot not to cause indignation in the Western world that is so used to the ideals of free will. I guess this clash is a problem an Arab American woman has to deal with in their life, and it is heartbreaking.
I’ve seen many good reviews of A Woman is no Man by Etaf Rum that I was disappointed when I didn’t like it. This book is so badly written that I couldn’t make myself read it to the end. I’ve managed the first 30 pages or so, and then skimmed through the rest. The story itself - generations of spousal abuse - is important, no question, as well as a story of an Arab-American woman written by an author who comes from that tradition herself, but the way it is written made me cringe. Sadly, this is when the story becomes more important than the way it is presented.
I find that A Woman is no Man is bound to make people with Western ideals angry. The whole book is built around the clash of Islamic and Western values (the importance of choice in the West vs predestination of Islam), and these two approaches to life are so different that they cannot not to cause indignation in the Western world that is so used to the ideals of free will. I guess this clash is a problem an Arab American woman has to deal with in their life, and it is heartbreaking.