If I had to sum up Manal al-Sharif’s memoir Daring to Drive in one sentence it would be: Saudi Arabia is a country that despises women. I didn’t know this. Somehow, I thought it was one of the more enlightened Middle Eastern countries but after listening to Manal’s story of lifelong oppression for no other reason than being female, I realize how wrong I was. Ostensibly, the ... Read More...
The Pasha of Cuisine
The light radiating from the Pasha of Cuisine spread across fields, gardens, orchards, and farms, and from there penetrated kitchens, the hands of cooks, and palates, beginning a new era of opulence, prosperity, joy, and health. In short, a new golden age of taste. Set in the time of Aghas and Sultans, in Constantinople, the greatest city of the Ottoman Empire, The Pasha of ... Read More...
Before She Sleeps by Bina Shah
Men’s physical appetites are huge, but their emotional appetites are without end. Set in Green City, the capital of South West Asia Before She Sleeps is a dystopic novel along the lines of The Handmaid’s Tale. The difference being that because the female population has been decimated by a version of the HPV virus they are treated with the utmost respect. Without ... Read More...
There There by Tommy Orange
One of the downsides of reading a lot is the feeling that, while you still enjoy most of what you read, some of it tends to sound familiar—as if you’ve read it before. Which is not unreasonable, as ‘how many truly distinct plots there are in fiction’ is a subject of debate even among critics. Still, it makes it that much more exciting when I come upon something wholly ... Read More...
The Secrets Between Us
By the end of Thrity Umrigar’s novel, The Space Between Us, Bhima had been fired from her job as Sera’s household servant, after being accused of stealing money from the family. For Bhima, living alone while trying to raise her granddaughter, Maya, in one of Mumbai’s many slums, this was a catastrophic event. She had worked for Sera for over two decades, relying on Sera’s ... Read More...
It’s Monday, July 9th: What Are You Reading?
Hello, reading lovelies! As I started prepping for this post the date kept jumping out at me. Guess what? Today marks my 6th year as a book blogger. I’ve written reviews of over 1,200 books. It’s a lot to contemplate, but, for once, I don’t have the words. Last week was a busy week of family and travel that left me behind in my writing so I’m going to keep it simple today. I'll ... Read More...
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