Minaret

Leila Aboulela s American debut is a provocative, timely, and engaging novel about a young Muslim woman once privileged and secular in her native land and now impoverished in London gradually embracing her orthodox faith With her Muslim hijab and down turned gaze, Najwa is invisible to most eyes, especially to the rich families whose houses she cleans in London Twenty years ago, Najwa, then at university in Khartoum, would never have imagined that one day she would be a maid An upper class Westernized Sudanese, her dreams were to marry well and raise a family But a coup forces the young woman and her family into political exile in London Soon orphaned, she finds solace and companionship within the Muslim community Then Najwa meets Tamer, the intense, lonely younger brother of her employer They find a common bond in faith and slowly, silently, begin to fall in love Written with directness and force, Minaret is a lyric and insightful novel about Islam and an alluring glimpse into a culture Westerners are only just beginning to understand. Free Download [ Minaret ] by [ Leila Aboulela ] – kino-fada.fr This is a simple and clearly written story which takes a different look at the tensions within Islam, between men and women and life as an immigrant Najwa is born into a high ranking family in Sudan she is a Muslim, but a secular one which consists mostly of good works Her father is a business man who is closely connected to the regime Najwa is studying to go to university and her life is westernised and privileged She meets Anwar, also studying, but he is radical and left wing He teases This is a simple and clearly written story which takes a different look at the tensions within Islam, between men and women and life as an immigrant Najwa is born into a high ranking family in Sudan she is a Muslim, but a secular one which consists mostly of good works Her father is a business man who is closely connected to the regime Najwa is studying to go to university and her life is westernised and privileged She meets Anwar, also studying, but he is radical and left wing He teases her about her family and connections Then there is a coup and Najwa, her brother and mother flee to Britain her father is arrested and hung Over time Najwa s life disintegrates her mother dies, her brother is imprisoned for drug related offences She meets Anwar again and they have a relationship, but she discovers his view of it is very different to hers and she...I accidentally found this book in my college library amongst all the famous writers hiding away.the cover of the book appealed to me so I took it home It was about two years ago and that was when my reading career began was not much of a reader before.Now all I can remember is that I cried through it and didn t quite understand the ending But this book always lingered on in my mind After two years things changed, a lot of things happened, at that point I remembered what I read in this book, I accidentally found this book in my college library amongst all the famous writers hiding away.the cover of the book appealed to me so I took it home It was about two years ago and that was when my reading career began was not much of a reader before.Now all I can remember is that I cried through it and didn t quite understand the ending But this book always lingered on in my mind After two years things changed, a lot of things happened, at that point I remembered what I read in this book, I wanted to read i...Like Brick Lane, this book allows us an intimate glimpse inside the life of an expatriate Muslim woman in London But this heroine knew a life of extreme privilege when she was younger, until her family is shattered by a coup that overthrows her father and their security Now she does servant work of the kind she used to have others do for her And as her life evolves, she moves toward the faith that she has always been a part of but has never ...I found Aboulela s description of life as a Sudanese woman struggling to make a living in London to be interesting, but Minaret was largely a morality tale There was a hint of ambiguity in the ending which signalled that perhaps Najwa s conversion was not the only thing needed to bring her contentment, but overall this was a book in which the devout were the good guys and the atheists, or even the Muslim women who didn t want to veil, were shallow and venal It was far too two dimensional in I found Aboulela s description of life as a Sudanese woman struggling to make a living in London to be interesting, but Minaret was largely a morality tale There was a hint of ambiguity in the ending which signalled that perhaps Najwa s conversion was not the only thing needed to bring her conten...A Review of Minaret By Leila Aboulela for ENGL 358 In modern society there seems to be this over arching generalization that Islam is this incredibly oppressive religion for women This is coupled with the large lack of female voices in arguing a counter case of this generalization that has allowed this view to go fairly undiscussed As Mahmudul Hasan writes, Muslim women have often been portrayed as disempowered, oppressed and belittled by Muslim men, subservient to their husbands with no A Review of Minaret By Leila Aboulela for ENGL 358 In modern society there seems to be this over arching generalization that Islam is this incredibly oppressive religion for women This is coupled with the large lack of female voices in arguing a coun...I found this book a quick easy read The story could ve been great but for me it had no substance Basically she was rich then she wasn t She wasn t a practising Muslim, then she was This book for me really isn t for adults Teenagers yes To be honest it just didn t have any oomph SPOILER ALERT I didn t even care when her father or mother died I m not even sure that I cared too much for her either It didn t my emotions going and I felt I was reading it just for the sake of it Sorry I I found this book a quick easy read The story could ve been great but for me it had no substan...I enjoyed this book very much and it was very easy to read The writing is simple and straightforward yet rich at the same time as it s first person, you really get to know Najwa well and watch her grow It flits between Khartoum, where Najwa and her family are rich, her father working in the government, and where they are, for the most part, non practising Muslims..But after a coup which results in her father s execution, Najwa, her brother Omar and her mother are forced to seek asylum in I enjoyed this book very much and it was very easy to read The writing is simple and straightforward yet rich at the same time as it s first person, you really get to know Najwa well and watch her grow It flits between Khartoum, where Najwa and her family are rich, her father working in the government, and where they are, for the most part, non practising Muslims..But after a coup which results in her father s execution, Najwa, her brother Omar and her mother are forced to seek asylum in London, where they find their bank account is slowly dwindling and their prospects not as they were in Sudan..I think a lot of books with a focus on Islam recently tend to look at the extremist side, or western influences, so it was nice to read a book where a woman turns to religion to find sola...The back cover promises that this book is a stunning and insightful novel about one woman s journey toward spiritual peace Whoever wrote that, though, was a lil bit crazy Yes, this book does follow one woman s conversion from a secular, Westernized Muslim to aconservative one and gives that story a terrific twist because the secular lifestyle was in Sudan and theconservative developments occur in bustling London But there s precious little peace to be had here the final The back cover promises that this book is a stunning and insightful novel about one woman s journey toward spiritual peace Whoever wrote that, though, was a lil bit crazy Yes, this book does follow one woman s conversion from a secular, Westernized Muslim to aconservative one and gives that story a terrific twist because the secular lifestyle was in Sudan and theconservative developments occur in bustling London But there s precious little peace to be had here the final scene makes clear that, despite the camaraderie that Najwa finds in the mosque, she has not been able to end her personal agony and although religion plays a central role in the plot and character development, it seemed to me to beof a symbol or a stand in for what the main character was really seeking a home and family.No, the real story here is one of forced emigration and exile, the loss of loved ones and homeland put plainly, loss of identity...My knowledge of Sudan, the Muslim religion, and those exiled to England after the political upheaval of the 80s is minimal, so I was intrigued by many of the issues in this novel Overall, it was just a so so read for me though Najwa s journey to spiritual fulfillment was the most satisfying part of this novel Her voice was intimate and easy to identify with I was pleasantly surprised to find that she chose to take what is considered aconservative and prudish path in life I think the My knowledge of Sudan, the Muslim religion, and those exiled to England after the political upheaval of the 80s is minimal, so I was intrigued by many of the issues in this novel Overall, it was just a so so read for me though Najwa s journey to spiritual fulfillment was the most satisfying part of this novel Her voice was intimate and easy to identify with I was pleasantly surprised to find that she chose to take what is considered aconservative and prudish path in life I think the author, Leila Aboulela, did a good job of showing why a young woman would want to reject prominent Western ideals such as freedom in dress, freedom from family, etc Through Najwa s struggles, it s easy to see how these things can be so oppressive and unfulfilling I thought the comfort and renewal Najwa finds in the Muslim religion was beautiful I m afraid that s where my praise of the novel ends Much as I appreciated her spiritual enlightenment, I wantedfrom Najwa Even though Najwa has the cou...I found this to be an excellent novel, and was a little upset that my local bookshop had filed it under something peculiar like black fiction This is a good story because it s a good story that it illuminates an area of life many of us in the West find mysterious shouldn t lead to it being relegated to the ...

• English
• 03 November 2019
Leila Aboulela
• Paperback
• 288 pages
• 0802170145
• Leila Aboulela
• Minaret