Book Reviews

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

I’m part of what I call “beer book club.” It’s actually called “Books & Brews,” hosted at a local brewery. Instead of all reading the same book and then discussing, our facilitator chooses a theme for the month. In 2022, we’re doing geographic regions! Our May pick was the Middle East. I’m behind the times, but I read A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum.

The Story

This debut novel by an Arab-American voice takes us inside the lives of conservative Arab women living in America.

In Brooklyn, eighteen-year-old Deya is starting to meet with suitors. Though she doesn’t want to get married, her grandparents give her no choice. History is repeating itself: Deya’s mother, Isra, also had no choice when she left Palestine as a teenager to marry Adam. Though Deya was raised to believe her parents died in a car accident, a secret note from a mysterious, yet familiar-looking woman makes Deya question everything she was told about her past. As the narrative alternates between the lives of Deya and Isra, she begins to understand the dark, complex secrets behind her community.

My Thoughts

A Woman is No Man was very hard for me to read. It wasn’t a difficult book. Honestly, it was beautifully written. It was just very difficult to read these stories.

I have not personally spent much time in stories of the Middle East. I have always had a love for Egypt, but that’s about it. Reading a story about Palestinian immigrants and their culture was very eye opening. As a trigger warning, there are quite a few mentions of domestic abuse, so proceed with caution.

I love when books play a big part in stories. Through the two timelines and two perspectives, both mother and daughter love reading. It’s an escape for them, a way to experience something a little bit lighter than their circumstances. This was a library load on my Kindle, so I couldn’t put a flag in the book, but I did take note of one of my favorite (heartbreaking) quotes:

“It’s not strange at all,” Sarah said. “It’s the loneliest people who love books the most.”

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

It baffles me that this is Etaf Rum’s debut novel. It is so beautifully written. She’s telling a different kind of story from a different part of the world. I’m excited to see what she writes next.

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