“A moving meditation on motherhood, inter-generational trauma and how surface appearances often obscure a deeper truth. . . . A stunning second novel from a writer who set the bar very high with her first!”—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics and Community Board
The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of A Woman Is No Man returns with a striking exploration of the expectations of Palestinian-American women, the meaning of a fulfilling life, and the ways our unresolved pasts affect our presents.
“After Yara is placed on probation at work for fighting with a racist coworker, her Palestinian mother claims the provocation and all that’s come after were the result of a family curse. While Yara doesn’t believe in old superstitions, she finds herself unpacking her strict, often volatile childhood growing up in Brooklyn, looking for clues as to why she feels so unfulfilled in a life her mother could only dream of. Etaf Rum’s follow-up to her 2019 debut, A Woman Is No Man, is a complicated mother-daughter drama that looks at the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma and what it takes to break the cycle of abuse.” —Time magazine, “The Most Anticipated Books of the Year”
Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Palestinian immigrants. She lives in North Carolina with her two children. Rum also runs the Instagram account @booksandbeans. A Woman Is No Man was her first novel.
My thoughts: I found this really interesting, I’ve never wanted children and have always made that clear. But I can easily imagine finding myself, like Yara, in a life that isn’t what I want, but what was expected of me. The husband, kids, the only thing she feels she has for herself is her job – and everyone around her doesn’t seem to approve of her doing that.
After starting therapy following an outburst at a rude colleague, she slowly starts to open up and deal with the trauma of her own childhood, and that passed down from her parents.
Yara is a complicated, angry person, struggling with her feelings and her place in the world. She’s never felt able to do what she wants with her life. As the eldest child, and only daughter, she had to help look after her brothers, help her mum around their home, and try to ignore the violence in their house.
She married the man her father wanted her to, she’s done all the school drop offs and pick ups, always has a home cooked meal ready, never pushes things. But all she wants to do is create art.
As she starts to spread her wings, starts to come into her own, she realises things have to change. She loves her daughters, but can’t fit into the mould of perfect Palestinian daughter, wife, mother, anymore and needs to live on her own terms.
Heartbreaking, thought provoking and intelligent, this was an enjoyable and moving read.
Thank you to HQ for sending me a copy to read and review.
ramblingmads 