A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum | Published March 5th 2019 by Harper | 336 Pages | Goodreads
✅ REVIEW
An impressive and powerful debut novel whose main characters are members of an Arab-American family living in Brooklyn, NY.
I was captivated by the story, it was emotional, beautifully written, and compelling. It explores domestic violence, patriarchy, culture and traditions, duty vs. following your own voice, and other themes. The characters felt realistic and well developed.
I loved it and highly recommend it to readers of contemporary fiction.
NOTE: After finishing the novel, I wanted to learn more about the author and what inspired her to write this story and found this excellent interview here.
✅ PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION
“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.”
✅ BOOK SOURCE AND FORMAT
Loan from Miami-Dade’s Library Overdrive, audiobook