I love Samira Ahmed's writing. LOVE!! First was Love, Hate & Other Filters, the was one of the most important, timely and timeless, and relevant books I ever read Internment. And not this beautiful and amazing adventure into the past and a look at the present and the need for women and girls to have their voices, their stories heard, and not just be the backdrop for a man's tale, #WriteHerStory.
A young woman on her annual trip to Paris with her parents to visit her father's home country, Khayyam meets the descendant of famous Musketeer author Alexandre Dumas, also named Alexandre.
Khayyam feels like her world is in limbo, she bombed an essay contest and possibly her chance at her dream college, she doesn't know where things stand with her maybe boyfriend, and she feels like she has lost her voice, or like she never had one...
When she just so happens to meet Alexandre she finds a chance to redeem her failed essay research and possibly find some lost art and the subject of her essay. But then things change and her desire shifts. She wants to help Leila, the subject of her research, not be a prop in someone else's tale but have her voice, her story, shine. The emotions and should she or shouldn't she weigh heavy on Khayyam. And of course there is a little bit of romance but it isn't over blown and isn't the main focus of the story. Which I like. I mean hey, I don't mind a good romance novel, but in a story about agency and having your voice heard in a man's world, it would have felt like a punch to the story and not an addition. It walks the line and never detracts from Khayyam's mission, give Leila her voice back and find her own voice at the same time.
I loved this story!!! I loved the humanity that the characters have, no one is perfect, people mess up, and then have to try to make amends. And the history is fascinating!!
(Finished May 5, 2020)
No comments:
Post a Comment