Tag: book lovers

all things literary, books, quotable8 Comments

Susan Sontag on Compassion

Neriman K.

“Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. If one feels that there is nothing “we” can do—but who is that “we”?—and nothing “they” can do either—and who are “they”?—then one starts to get bored, cynical, apathetic.” Continue reading Susan Sontag on Compassion

all things literary, book reviews + recommendations, books + writers, Middle Eastern +Unapologetically Muslim Reading Challenge3 Comments

A Feminism of One’s Own: Distant View of a Minaret by Alifa Rifaat

Neriman K.

Alifa Rifaat’s stories are situated within an Islamic framework that allows her to create a feminism of her own. Since Islam and empowerment are often misguidedly placed in contradiction to one another, it’s easy to see why Rifaat is not a household name. Continue reading A Feminism of One’s Own: Distant View of a Minaret by Alifa Rifaat

all things literary, books + writers, Turkish Literature, women's fiction, World literature23 Comments

The Year of the Middle Eastern Reading Challenge + Unapologetically Muslim Reading Challenge? Yes, please.

Neriman K.

This may all seem too idealistic to some but nonetheless conveys a crucial message about the role of the artist and what cultural and literary representations can offer in the ongoing debates about the so-called “problem” of Muslims in the Anglophone North Atlantic. Continue reading The Year of the Middle Eastern Reading Challenge + Unapologetically Muslim Reading Challenge? Yes, please.