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A review by perfect_leaves
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
3.0
DISCLAIMER: I'm writing this review several months after I finished reading the book, so some of the details are not as clear in my head. I've tried my best to summarize my overall impression, though.
I'm not going to lie, the cover is 100% of the reason I selected this book. It's rare to find a Muslim on the cover, and it's even rarer for that Muslim to be a hijabi.
When I first started reading, I was excited because I immediately related to the characters. Ayesha is a teacher (like me) who's only going it because it's a "safe" career choice compared to her writing ambitions. Khalid presents as a "fundamentalist Muslim" whose new (islamophobic) boss is doing everything in her power to get rid of him (been there too, sort of). I couldn't wait to see what would happen, but the book fell flat for me. Ayesha At Last reads a lot like a South Asian drama. It has all the typical characteristics: a love triangle, family member secrets, family members who don't communicate with each other, an "evil aunty" and an external villain.
Unfortunately, while I have the patience to watch a TV show with those things, I don't have the patience to read several hundred pages of it.
Here's what I liked:
- diversity of characters
- certain elements of the plot
- the authenticity of the characters
- realism
Here's what I didn't like
- NONE OF THE CHARACTERS SEEM CAPABLE OF HAVING A CONVERSATION AND I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS.
Yes, that one thing is enough for me to knock two stars off. That and the book lasted a bit too long, in my opinion.
That said, I'm still going to recommend this book. Why? Because it's so rare to see this particular set of characters in a book. And I imagine they might resonate a bit better with South Asian readers than with me (a Black American). So although I personally didn't *love* the book, I still recognize that it's a good book and that it's worth reading. It simply wasn't my cup of tea.
I'm not going to lie, the cover is 100% of the reason I selected this book. It's rare to find a Muslim on the cover, and it's even rarer for that Muslim to be a hijabi.
When I first started reading, I was excited because I immediately related to the characters. Ayesha is a teacher (like me) who's only going it because it's a "safe" career choice compared to her writing ambitions. Khalid presents as a "fundamentalist Muslim" whose new (islamophobic) boss is doing everything in her power to get rid of him (been there too, sort of). I couldn't wait to see what would happen, but the book fell flat for me. Ayesha At Last reads a lot like a South Asian drama. It has all the typical characteristics: a love triangle, family member secrets, family members who don't communicate with each other, an "evil aunty" and an external villain.
Unfortunately, while I have the patience to watch a TV show with those things, I don't have the patience to read several hundred pages of it.
Here's what I liked:
- diversity of characters
- certain elements of the plot
- the authenticity of the characters
- realism
Here's what I didn't like
- NONE OF THE CHARACTERS SEEM CAPABLE OF HAVING A CONVERSATION AND I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS.
Yes, that one thing is enough for me to knock two stars off. That and the book lasted a bit too long, in my opinion.
That said, I'm still going to recommend this book. Why? Because it's so rare to see this particular set of characters in a book. And I imagine they might resonate a bit better with South Asian readers than with me (a Black American). So although I personally didn't *love* the book, I still recognize that it's a good book and that it's worth reading. It simply wasn't my cup of tea.