pickA quietly beautiful and powerful queer coming of age novel set in a 1980s Pakistani American community in the Corona neighbourhood of Queens, NY. Told in vignettes, the story follows Razia as she makes and loses friends, participates in community Muslim events, and falls in love with Angela, a classmate. Razia's eventual separation from her family, community, and only world she's ever known is heartbreaking, because you know them all so well. 💔
so-soI loved the character work in this book, but the storyline wasn't the best, imo. I get that it's a bildungsroman, but the plot threads seemed random at times, and the ending was way more heightened than the rest of the story. I'd say it's worth reading, but it's not my new favorite book. #comingofage #historicalfiction #lgbtqfiction
pickThis is a novel, but it‘s almost told in vignettes. Razia is a first generation Pakistani American. The book follows her from her young childhood through her teen years, slices of her life throughout. An overriding feeling of menace from men- in her community, in NYC as a whole, pervades much of the book. Her culture is important to her, but so is being true to herself.
I really liked Razia and thought this was a great book.
so-so4 stars for writing, 2 stars for my personal enjoyment. So 3 stars on average and so-so for me.
Rehman is a beautiful writer, and I get why she wrote this book. It's a necessary story. I just did NOT enjoy it, AT ALL. The older I get the more I want to be entertained by my fiction, and I didn't find this entertaining. I found it beautiful and depressing AF. @soubhiville you asked me to tag you in my review and I remembered!
pick“Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is the quintessential coming-of-age story, but one that explores the dichotomy of growing up in a religious community while the broader American values of freedom and independence tug at your existence.“
Full Review and Chai Recipe Match: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2022/12/23/the-search-for-virtue/
Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion | 
