all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, books, books + writers1 Comment

Elections, a Beam of Light, and Woolf

April 2, 2024April 5, 2024 Neriman K.

Politics cannot be trusted, I know, but this week and until it lasts I only want to bask in the light of hope and in the possibility of change. Continue reading Elections, a Beam of Light, and Woolf

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, books in translation, monthly wrap-ups, translated books, women's fiction, World literatureLeave a comment

Another Summer Gone: Paris, the Realness of Thoughts & Ernaux’s The Years

August 13, 2023September 23, 2023 Neriman K.

As I think these thoughts now, I’m also wondering whether Ernaux would call them real because I’m not so sure. Continue reading Another Summer Gone: Paris, the Realness of Thoughts & Ernaux’s The Years

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, home + belonging, My Most Anticipated Books Series, Turkish Literature, women's fiction, World literature16 Comments

Dear Europe: I Promise I’m Not Staying

March 26, 2023January 1, 2024 Neriman K.

Sure, I had the privilege of choosing to leave my homeland, but how much of that choice was really mine to begin with? Continue reading Dear Europe: I Promise I’m Not Staying

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, My Most Anticipated Books Series, reflections, The Sudan Series, women's fiction2 Comments

Decolonizing History & Reclaiming the Narrative: Leila Aboulela’s Latest Novel River Spirit

February 6, 2023July 20, 2023 Neriman K.

What is not to love about a postcolonial novel that complicates the concepts of “victory” and “heroism,” inviting questions about whose victory, whose hero, and whose version of events–whose (hi)story is being told? Continue reading Decolonizing History & Reclaiming the Narrative: Leila Aboulela’s Latest Novel River Spirit

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, books, monthly wrap-ups, reflections10 Comments

Existential Threats & Good Books | 2022 in Review

January 15, 2023January 15, 2023 Neriman K.

The opposite of death is not life, I don’t think–it is wonder. My grandpa’s words “I don’t want to die” reverberated until they did not. Continue reading Existential Threats & Good Books | 2022 in Review

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, books, monthly wrap-ups, women's fiction2 Comments

Plums & Society & Fall Reads | November 2022

December 8, 2022January 15, 2023 Neriman K.

I owe it to myself to write, I often think to myself. Irrespective of what it is that I’m writing, writing seems to be the tool that enables me to be in touch with the best version of myself. Continue reading Plums & Society & Fall Reads | November 2022

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, books + writers, home + belonging, meditations on home + belonging, women's fiction5 Comments

In Search of Silence & a Life Worth Living: Etel Adnan’s Shifting the Silence

September 1, 2022September 2, 2022 Neriman K.

‘Shifting the Silence’ is raw and elusive, like the very reflection you’re reading here, but it will urge you to confront the incomprehensible. Continue reading In Search of Silence & a Life Worth Living: Etel Adnan’s Shifting the Silence

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, books, home + belonging, Middle Eastern +Unapologetically Muslim Reading Challenge, Reading Around Asia, women's fiction, World literature3 Comments

Finding Beauty ‘In Our Times of Greatest Love and Greatest Fear’: The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

August 17, 2022August 17, 2022 Neriman K.

Lefteri approaches her characters’ vulnerability in such a gentle, graceful way that the novel feels heart-warming and hopeful despite the horrifying reality millions of people worldwide face today. Continue reading Finding Beauty ‘In Our Times of Greatest Love and Greatest Fear’: The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri