Beyond the books that her sister-in-law smuggles home, Isra has little sense of hope. They teach us core values about love, respect, honor and honesty. Do you have any experiences of women enforcing norms that seem sexist to you. How have they not? Driven from his home by the Israeli invasion, Isra’s father was reduced to a poor plot of land on the outskirts of Birzeit. The world needs more diverse writers such as Rum to tell their stories and teach us more about other cultures and lives.

That is how we are told to treat women in the Qur’an.” Sadly, this is not the reality of these characters’ lives. A Woman is No Man. If you'd like me to review your book, contact me! To answer questions about A Woman Is No Man, please sign up. Education is a driving force for Deya, despite the fact that her community prioritizes marriage and motherhood for women. Nevertheless, I felt a connection with Deya and her mother, Isra, and my heart went out to Isra too many times to count. Book club questions for A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum discusses in-depth this story about three generations of Palestinian-American women. Yet, Isra is a lover of romantic stories and she holds out hope that despite an arranged marriage, she’ll still have love. Her days are spent under her mother-in-law’s thumb, cooking and cleaning for Adam, a man who seems to be disinterested at best and outright dangerous at worst. Why do you think that academic and professional goals are seen as a negative quality in women in this story? London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2019. Have you ever witnessed a person use stress or suffering as an excuse for their behavior? Our editors independently selected these items because we think you will enjoy them and might like them at these prices. Her heartfelt and piercing debut novel, “A Woman Is No Man” (Harper, 352 pp., ★★★ out of four), explores how domestic violence infects one family of Arab immigrants. How are the men in the novel also failed by societal expectations? Let’s talk about that. One of the challenges that Rum tackles is speaking openly about the brutal treatment of these women. View my Affiliate Disclosure page. Learn how your comment data is processed. 2020 © - Book Club Chat. The ensuing trial uncovers unimaginable secrets from that night―trysts in the woods, mysterious notes, child-abuse charges―as well as tense rivalries and alliances among a group of people driven to extraordinary degrees of desperation and sacrifice. Why is the idea of taking responsibility for your own destiny such a powerful one? Do you think Isra should have joined her? There’s only one thing you’ll need, and that’s patience.”Etaf Rum, A Woman Is No Man For the most part, I enjoyed A Woman Is No Man, but I felt the story dragged a little bit towards the end. The #ReadWithJenna book club continues! Shapewear, hair care and more: Only hours to save on Steals and Deals for her! Let’s talk about Isra’s arrival to America. Ultimately Deya advocates for herself and breaks free from her family’s prescribed path. While A Woman Is No Man is a rallying cry to resist patriarchal strictures designed to keep women in ‘their place,’ it is also a love letter to books and their transformative power. But when Isra gives birth to a girl, Fareeda acts like Isra committed a great sin. The novel shifts among character perspectives, including that of her overbearing mother-in-law, Fareeda. Why do you think that was a turning point for them? Reading was one of the only comforts, and acts of rebellion, that Isra enjoyed, and she had a particular affinity for literary heroine Scheherazade: “For a thousand and one nights [her] stories were resistance.

Marriage, motherhood — that is a woman’s only worth.”. Why didn’t anyone intervene? Why or why not?
Book club questions for A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum discusses in-depth this story about three generations of Palestinian-American women. Pricing and availability are accurate as of publish time. But after reading all the comments I believe that Deya's memory, that the kids are still with the family, the dates are clues that her escape was thwarted and she was killed by her husband. It focuses on the women: Deya, Isra, Fareeda. Your email address will not be published. Her grandmother, Fareeda, is trying to force her to meet suitors so she can marry. The book also touches on the legacy of violence passed down from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories — the humiliation of living with armed soldiers and checkpoints, the misery of life in a refugee shelter — and its lingering echoes in America: This is a brave move. Check out my book club discussion questions here. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. But from an artistic point of view, while Rum’s female characters have complexity and dimension, her male characters tend to lead their lives offstage, buried in work, and their humanity feels more elusive. Let’s talk about that. 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. Can Amar find his way back to the people who know and love him best? Post was not sent - check your email addresses! This question echoes across countries and generations through Etaf Rum’s intense debut novel, “A Woman Is No Man.”, In 1990 Birzeit, a town in the West Bank, 17-year-old Isra prepares for some special guests: They’re seeking a bride for their son Adam. Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events, The author Etaf Rum. The book club questions for A Woman Is No Man will have spoilers so check out my spoiler-free review first. Their lives there are harsh and austere.

How do you value your education? Arabs and Muslims are often stigmatized in popular American culture. Let’s talk about the significance of this. Let’s talk about why Fareeda was so obsessed with them having a son. While A Woman Is No Man ends on a hopeful note, overall it’s a pretty sad tale; Isra obviously suffers from worsening and untreated depression, and she is treated brutally by those around her.

A Woman Is No Man book. What are the potential risks of such secrecy? These men come and go as they please, but the women are virtual prisoners of the home — they don’t even eat dinner with their husbands. In 1990, Isra is married off by her family in Palestine at 16 to a man from America, and in … Isra is passive and fatalistic through much of the story. Or was it Young and Pak themselves, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? What was holding her back? Set in an America that may feel removed yet is all too close at hand, A Woman Is No Man is both a gripping page-turner and an intimate family portrait. A Place for Us takes us back to the beginning of this family’s life: from the bonds that bring them together, to the differences that pull them apart. A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum (debut) Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: March 5, 2019 Length: 336 pages Amazon {A Bit of Backstory} Single Sentence Summary. With nearly twenty years between them a mother and daughter struggle to find a place for themselves within the confines of their strict Muslim community. (Angela Blankenship). Title: A Woman Is No Man: A Novel: Author: Etaf Rum: Publisher: HarperCollins, 2019: ISBN: 0062699784, 9780062699787: Length: 368 pages: Subjects: Fiction › Family Life › General. Like Fareeda in the novel, historically many women have stayed quiet about abuse they’ve suffered. Let’s talk about first thoughts about Isra and her hope for love. Etaf Rum's new novel, A Woman is No Man, may violate a code of silence in the tight-knit and often closed Palestinian American community of Brooklyn in … There is Hadia: their headstrong, eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Her family is trying to marry her off, as is tradition. Today, many women are speaking out about abuse they have faced in and out of the workplace for the first time. Review Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events, What is a woman’s life worth? Her dreams of love and freedom are crushed as she’s shown to the space she and Adam will share: a room in her in-laws’ basement. To continue this discussion, the publisher behind "A Woman is No Man" shared some questions to think about when you've finished reading. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda’s insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. In "A Woman is No Man," several characters reflect on the pressures put on men. Throughout May, we've been posting some questions on our TODAY Instagram Page, and have loved seeing the conversations that were started in response! Learn more about Shop TODAY. Reading becomes an act of rebellion for Isra and Sarah. Read 8,136 reviews from the world's largest community for readers.

Required fields are marked *. For Etaf Rum, writing "A Woman Is No Man" meant violating the code of honor of her community. But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family—knowledge that will force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, the past, and her own future. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Do you feel as though you have control of your destiny? And we finally learn that Isra did try to escape with her children but it seems like Adam caught her. Fareed’s daughter and Deya’s Aunt, Sarah, reaches out to Deya in hopes to help her not live a life like her mother Isra. Deya can’t help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when Deya was only eight. She lived such a painful life, but her love of books made me smile. A Place for Us is an emotional read about a Muslim American family struggling with tradition and culture. Why do you think Deya’s family places such a strong emphasis on her heritage over the place she grows up? The significance of Etaf’s title, "A Woman Is No Man," resonates in different ways depending on how you view women’s role in society. Over the course of a week, the naïve and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married, and is soon living in Brooklyn. Her female characters are doubly victimized, by both the occupation and a patriarchal culture.
Deya was born in America, yet raised to be Palestinian in an insular community in Brooklyn. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim is a stunning novel that stays with you long after you finish the last page. Do you think she made the right choice running away from home? Still, it offers a nuanced picture of a woman’s life within a traditional Arab … What did you think about Sarah and her story? I love to read and review various genres with a focus on contemporary fiction, historical fiction with some mysteries/thrillers and also select nonfiction and memoirs. How does one reconcile what they learn at home with what they learn in the world? The novel is broken into three parts, but for the purposes of this guide will be broken into eight sections. And Fareeda tells her that she’s changed and she wants to see Sarah again. Like these bright rays, Rum adds her fresh voice to a burgeoning generation of Arab American women writers — Laila Lalami, Naomi Shihab Nye, Randa Jarrar, Mohja Kahf, Jennifer Joukhadar, among so many others — authors who take up the question of what it means to be an Arab woman in America now. Dutiful and soft-spoken, Isra has wisps of longing; she dreams of romance and adventure. The Mother – Isra.


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