Book Review
Mar. 28th, 2023 01:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariRoses, in the Mouth of a Lion
by Bushra Rehman
This bittersweet novel is set in the mid to late 1980s and is told from the perspective of Razia Mirza, daughter of Pakistani immigrants, as she grows up in Queens. The story is anchored bu Razia's friendships with other girls. First are Saima and Taslima, Pakistani girls like herself. Razia and Saima are driven apart by a quarrel between their parents, but Razia's friendship with Taslima endures. The two of them navigate an adolescence perched between the strict religious ways of their families and their longing to take part in American culture and fashion. In high school, Razia meets Angela and their friendship becomes something much more, awakening a new self-understanding in Razia. When their relationship is discovered, Razia has to make a swift and difficult choice between her family's demands and her future.
Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a beautifully written, quiet novel really captures the tension of growing up caught between traditional expectations and the desire to be more. I especially enjoyed the way the story is told through small, ordinary, largely domestic moments. I really liked Razia and her friends and how they both love and push against the traditions and strict practices of their community. There are no simple dichotomies or easy black and white judgments made.
by Bushra Rehman
This bittersweet novel is set in the mid to late 1980s and is told from the perspective of Razia Mirza, daughter of Pakistani immigrants, as she grows up in Queens. The story is anchored bu Razia's friendships with other girls. First are Saima and Taslima, Pakistani girls like herself. Razia and Saima are driven apart by a quarrel between their parents, but Razia's friendship with Taslima endures. The two of them navigate an adolescence perched between the strict religious ways of their families and their longing to take part in American culture and fashion. In high school, Razia meets Angela and their friendship becomes something much more, awakening a new self-understanding in Razia. When their relationship is discovered, Razia has to make a swift and difficult choice between her family's demands and her future.
Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a beautifully written, quiet novel really captures the tension of growing up caught between traditional expectations and the desire to be more. I especially enjoyed the way the story is told through small, ordinary, largely domestic moments. I really liked Razia and her friends and how they both love and push against the traditions and strict practices of their community. There are no simple dichotomies or easy black and white judgments made.
