I just finished reading The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf. It's a novel, but I am curious to know how much of the author's life is in this story of a Muslim girl growing up in a suburb of Indianapolis in the 1970's.
I was initially put off by the "ADD" jumpiness of the story, but soon the author settled down and told the story in chronological order. I'm not necessarily opposed to a story that jumps from one time period to another, but it's hard to do well, and I've recently seen a couple of movies and read a couple of books that jump around in a very confusing way.
What I do like is learning new things about other cultures, and this book gave me an eye-opening glimpse into the world of a Muslim female. Khadra is just a little younger than me, grew up in the Midwest, and had a fierce devotion to the religion of her family, just as I did. Her understanding of Islam changed as she grew and experienced more of the world, just as my ideas about Christianity changed as I grew older. But that is pretty much where the similarities end. I recognized landmarks she writes about, as Khadra drives from Indianapolis to Bloomington, but found myself learning so much about the milestones in a Muslim woman's life. I was facinated to read about the differences in the Muslim world--from fundamentalism to the differences in each country in the Islamic world.
My advice, should you decide to read The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf, is to give it a few chapters to settle down. You will not be disappointed.
2 comments:
We read this a few years ago in the UU book group after Aubryn recommended it. When you live and/or grew up somewhere as seemingly obscure as West Lafayette, Indiana, its always fun to read something that takes place in our home territory. I would agree with your assessment that it jumps around a bit at the beginning and to stick with it. I thought it was interesting to read about the emotions she goes through and how she comes to terms with her heritage, particularly in a time period when there was less publicity on the subject.
Dagmar, you should have your own blog! You are much more eloquent in your assessment, AND you've read a ton of books--I'd be interested in finding out what your "take" is on more books!
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