July 11, 2005
Aboulela's U.S. debut is written in the voice of Najwa, an upper-class Sudanese woman, and covers, episodically, 20 years of her life. A Khartoum teen, Najwa flees to London with her mother and brother when the coup of 1985 leads to her father's arrest and execution. With her mother soon dead and her brother in jail on drug charges, Najwa attempts to negotiate work, love and the ways they get twisted around emigré politics—and religion. An affair begun in Khartoum with devout, politically engaged, working-class fellow émigré Anwar is threaded in with a later one with Tamer, the contentiously devout, college-age son of the family for which Najwa works as a nanny when in her 30s. The denouements of the two relationships, though separated by more than 10 years, come one after the other; both lead, painfully, to a deepening of Najwa's religious faith. Aboulela was raised in Khartoum and now divides her time between Dubai and Aberdeen, Scotland; a novel (The Translator
) and short story collection (Colored Lights
) were previously published in the U.K. Aside from some stilted dialogue, she draws Najwa's odyssey of exile, loss and found faith beautifully. Agent, Stephanie Cabot at William Morris
.
July 15, 2005
Few of her London employers would be able to imagine their unassuming, devout Muslim maid as either secular or elite, yet two decades earlier Najwa was a wealthy college girl in Khartoum with few interests beyond marrying well and shopping for Western-style outfits. When her Sudanese life is destroyed forever by political upheaval, family tragedy, and forced exile in England, Najwa slips dispiritedly into a lower social class. She finds comfort in a renewed interest in religion. Her faith unexpectedly leads to an intense romance with a much younger man, shattering her quiet life in a denouement both surprising and amusing. Award-winning author Aboulela ("The Translator") grew up in Khartoum and lives in Britain; both are depicted with a strong sense of place as the action shifts deftly between 1980s and present-day England. Clear and precise writing, sympathetic characters, and positive portrayals of Muslim religious practices lend this elegantly crafted novel broad appeal. Recommended for most fiction collections. -Starr E. Smith, Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA
Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 1, 2006
Adult/High School -The daughter of a wealthy government official, Najwa grows up pampered and carefree in western Sudan during the 1980s. With her 19th birthday, though, comes the overthrow of the president and arrest of her father by the new government. Najwa; her twin brother, Omar; and their mother flee to London. Within a few years, she is completely alone: her father has been executed, her mother succumbs to a fatal illness, and Omar is in prison for an assault conviction stemming from his drug abuse. Once a fashionable university student in Khartoum, the young woman makes ends meet as a nanny to a wealthy Arab family. Clothed in traditional Muslim hijab, she has suddenly become invisible within the city, much as the Ethiopian servants used to blend into the background in her parents - household. Yet even as she comes to terms with this anonymity, a spark develops between her and the younger brother of her employer, and she is forced to confront the chasm between servant and master. Aboulela offers a captivating glimpse into one woman -s journey through the various strata of society. The protagonist -s experiences give her a deeper reliance on her faith and help her to recognize the shallowness of the life she left behind. This is the author -s first work to be published in the U.S. Students will appreciate the story not only for its insights into Muslim faith and traditions, but also for the ways her compellingly real characters relate to one another." -Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA"
Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2005
Aboulela's second novel, the first published in the U.S., weaves a timely Cinderella tale--only in reverse. Born to a wealthy and politically well-connected Sudanese family, Najwa attends the university in Khartoum. A student-led revolution leads to a coup, sending the family into exile in London, except for her father, who is detained and hanged. Najwa's journey over the next 20 years involves a downward economic spiral and her gradual acceptance of the Muslim faith. She is forced to give up her educational goals after her mother dies and her brother is incarcerated for drugs, and when she applies for a nanny position, she confronts just how far she has "come down in the world." Her despondent moments are alleviated by visits to the mosque with newfound Muslim friends, and she starts wearing a headscarf, an anathema in her student days. Aboulela's engaging story of the life and loves of this brave young woman provides an honest and thoughtful look at the power of this often maligned religion to both heal and support.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)