review of A WOMAN IS NO MAN BY ETAF RUM

A WOMAN IS NO MAN BY ETAF RUM

Go grab some Chai and let's talk because WOW. Just wow. This book was filled with so many different topics and themes, you just want to sit and discuss it for hours. Talk about a perfect book for your next book club! I really enjoyed this book, more than I originally thought I was going to honestly. It was filled with culture, religion, and traditions, as well as gender and identity, I mean talk about a fantastic debut novel! The reality of what these women must go through mentally and physically is heartbreaking in every sense, and Rum makes you root for them and pray that somehow their outcome can be better at every turn of the page.  Within the first two chapters of this novel you are completely under its spell to consume it. I feel like this is one of those stories that will stay with me. I mean that last chapter alone is still replaying in my head. 

This is the story of three generations of Palestinian-American women, told through a jumping timeline. You met Isra, Deya, and Fareeda (mother, daughter, and grandmother), they each are battling with what it means to be a woman in their traditions and culture with the backdrop of America. This story is about gender and culture, but it's also about standing up and standing true in who you are and what you want out of life. All three of these women want something different out of life(yet at times they want the same thing it seems), and still, they are ruled by perception, image, and shame because of what is grounded in them from past generations. It's a beautiful story that reminds the reader to never lose your voice and to use it with pride and strength. 

But I'm still thinking about that ending!! I mean come on! Also the way Rum makes you love books even more than you did before? I absolutely loved the way she brought them in as one of the central themes. 

Stand out quote: 

"She was a soul torn down the middle, broken in two. Straddled and limited. Here or there, it didn't matter. She didn't belong." pg 107

Some questions to pounder! 

1. What motivates each character? 
2. Why do you think Rum waited to add Fareeda's POV? 
3. Do you think Fareeda truly loved the women in her family? 
4. (small spoiler-ish) At one point (p 119) Fareeda states that Americans aren't grounded and have no values, what does Fareeda value and what grounds her? 

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!! 

-MDB