What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sweetness of Tears: A Novel
When faith and facts collide, Jo March—a young woman born into an Evangelical Christian dynasty—wrestles with questions about who she is and how she fits into the weave of her faithful family. Chasing loose threads that she hopes will lead to the truth, Jo sets off on an unlikely quest across boundaries of language and religion, through chasms of sectarian divides in the Muslim world. Against the backdrop of the War on Terror—travelling from California to Chicago, Pakistan to Iraq—she delves deeply into the past, encountering relatives, often for the first time, whose histories are intricately intertwined with her own . . . only to learn that true spiritual devotion is a broken field riddled with doubt and that nothing is ever as it seems.
A story of forbidden love and familial dysfunction that interweaves multiple generational and cultural viewpoints, The Sweetness of Tears is a powerful reminder of the ties that bind us, the choices that divide us, and the universal joys and tragedies that shape us all.
A story of forbidden love and familial dysfunction that interweaves multiple generational and cultural viewpoints, The Sweetness of Tears is a powerful reminder of the ties that bind us, the choices that divide us, and the universal joys and tragedies that shape us all.
405 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 4, 2011
83 people are currently reading
2203 people want to read
About the author
Nafisa Haji
3 books172 followersNafisa Haji is an American of Indo-Pakistani descent. She was born and mostly raised in Los Angeles—-mostly, because there were years also spent in Chicago, Karachi, Manila, and London. Her family migrated from Bombay to Karachi in 1947 during Partition, when the Indian Subcontinent was divided into two states. In the late 1960s, Nafisa's parents came to the United States, shortly before she was born, in order for her father to study engineering at Stanford. When she was six years old, they stuck with their original plan of "going back home" and moved to Karachi. In less than a year, they knew that they had become more American than they realized and came back to Los Angeles.
Nafisa studied American history at the University of California at Berkeley, taught elementary school in downtown Los Angeles for seven years in a bilingual Spanish program (she speaks Spanish fluently), and earned a doctorate in education from the University of California at Los Angeles. With an unfinished novel left long behind, she seized upon the birth of her son—-when she decided to stay home full-time—-as an excuse to go back to writing, learning to use nap times and weekends very efficiently. She started writing short stories at first, which then developed into an idea for a novel. She now lives in northern California with her husband and son and is currently working on her second novel. Nafisa maintains close ties in Pakistan, traveling there regularly to visit family.
Photograph courtesy of author website. Photo by Robert Stewart - www.artseed.com
Nafisa studied American history at the University of California at Berkeley, taught elementary school in downtown Los Angeles for seven years in a bilingual Spanish program (she speaks Spanish fluently), and earned a doctorate in education from the University of California at Los Angeles. With an unfinished novel left long behind, she seized upon the birth of her son—-when she decided to stay home full-time—-as an excuse to go back to writing, learning to use nap times and weekends very efficiently. She started writing short stories at first, which then developed into an idea for a novel. She now lives in northern California with her husband and son and is currently working on her second novel. Nafisa maintains close ties in Pakistan, traveling there regularly to visit family.
Photograph courtesy of author website. Photo by Robert Stewart - www.artseed.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
July 20, 2023
The final chapter of The Sweetness of Tears begins with the following quotation:
The story is told in multiple-first-person format, which worked well. There are four main narrators and a fifth speaks only once. Josephine March, named for the Little Women character, is a young woman from a very Christian family, which includes peripatetic missionaries and a well-known televangelist. While studying genetics, she realizes the significance of her brown eyes, as a child of blue-eyed parents. So begins her quest and Haji’s story. We follow Jo to meet her biological father, a Pakistani living in Chicago. We learn his story and begin our journey east.
Nafisa Haji - from her Twitter page
While the novel begins in the US, it is centered mostly in Karachi. Family histories are primary here, and Haji has done a masterful job of weaving her characters’ journeys into a coherent tale. She touches on the partition of the Indian subcontinent and looks at manifestations of the deep divide between Sunni and Shia, addresses the effects of PTSD from both Vietnam and the latest war in Iraq, moves from questioning one’s personal history to interrogating prisoners.
Religion plays a very large role in this comparison of East and West. Most of the focus is on the Eastern portion, but care is taken and respect is given to different traditions, with considerable attention to how religious practice and law informs the lives of the characters. It was illuminating.
If you have a tough time keeping everyone straight when there are a lot of characters (like me) it you might struggle here. I suggest keeping a list of who’s who and update it as needed. I assure you that it will be worth the trouble. I found her major characters to be rounded and interesting, and I often wanted to know more about them, which is always a good thing.
The narrative flowed quickly and held my interest, but I was put off by a plot decision or two. In one, a character who had been barely mentioned, marries a young pregnant woman with barely any indication that there was a prior attraction. In another instance, a prisoner mentions a connection that was just a little too convenient to be anything but a crude plot manipulation. But such qualms are few. Haji ties her plot lines and characters up nicely and makes very well her point that we have much more in common with people, from what appear on the surface to be extremely crossed cultures, than we might imagine.
Review first posted in June, 2011
Published - May 54, 2011
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages
Nice article from The Marin Independent Journal about Los Angeles-born Haji, mostly re her first book, but still of interest
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy – Psalm 126, v 5There is enough sowing here for a spring planting. For a few minutes at the beginning of the book I thought this might be an edition of the new Lifetime series Chick-Lit, South Asia. But it turned out to be an intelligent, content-rich novel, reminding me very much of the work of Thrity Umrigar. Haji takes a close look at two families from different worlds, one Christian, one Muslim. Across generations each family suffers its own partitions, copes with its own secrets, makes its own mistakes, and weeps the same human tears.
The story is told in multiple-first-person format, which worked well. There are four main narrators and a fifth speaks only once. Josephine March, named for the Little Women character, is a young woman from a very Christian family, which includes peripatetic missionaries and a well-known televangelist. While studying genetics, she realizes the significance of her brown eyes, as a child of blue-eyed parents. So begins her quest and Haji’s story. We follow Jo to meet her biological father, a Pakistani living in Chicago. We learn his story and begin our journey east.
Nafisa Haji - from her Twitter page
While the novel begins in the US, it is centered mostly in Karachi. Family histories are primary here, and Haji has done a masterful job of weaving her characters’ journeys into a coherent tale. She touches on the partition of the Indian subcontinent and looks at manifestations of the deep divide between Sunni and Shia, addresses the effects of PTSD from both Vietnam and the latest war in Iraq, moves from questioning one’s personal history to interrogating prisoners.
Religion plays a very large role in this comparison of East and West. Most of the focus is on the Eastern portion, but care is taken and respect is given to different traditions, with considerable attention to how religious practice and law informs the lives of the characters. It was illuminating.
If you have a tough time keeping everyone straight when there are a lot of characters (like me) it you might struggle here. I suggest keeping a list of who’s who and update it as needed. I assure you that it will be worth the trouble. I found her major characters to be rounded and interesting, and I often wanted to know more about them, which is always a good thing.
The narrative flowed quickly and held my interest, but I was put off by a plot decision or two. In one, a character who had been barely mentioned, marries a young pregnant woman with barely any indication that there was a prior attraction. In another instance, a prisoner mentions a connection that was just a little too convenient to be anything but a crude plot manipulation. But such qualms are few. Haji ties her plot lines and characters up nicely and makes very well her point that we have much more in common with people, from what appear on the surface to be extremely crossed cultures, than we might imagine.
Review first posted in June, 2011
Published - May 54, 2011
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pages
Nice article from The Marin Independent Journal about Los Angeles-born Haji, mostly re her first book, but still of interest
Read
July 19, 2011I've been struggling to write my review of The Sweetness of Tears for weeks now and cannot adequately put into words the impact the book had. Ms. Haji's story of family, politics, and religion delves into topics that most people consider to be too sensitive to discuss given their proximity to current events, but she does so the sensitivity that the situation warrants. Jo March's quest uncovers family secrets while allowing the reader the chance to put aside biases and view current events from another perspective. In the rapidly expanding global economy, where countries are becoming considerably more dependent upon each other, the lessons of tolerance and respect highlighted in The Sweetness of Tears is as timely as it is beautiful.
The Sweetness of Tears is one of those novels which contains gems that deserve to be highlighted and remembered forever. There is so much wisdom packed into its 374 pages that it requires savoring and slow reading. Ms. Haji ensures that her readers do just that by jumping between characters and in time, as Jo's family history is slowly revealed to her. Each story builds upon the last, until the reader, and Jo, get the full picture.
Compassion, faith and empathy are three of the main themes, which becomes extremely important in the context of post-9/11 life and the subsequent War on Terror executed by the U.S. As Jo struggles to find her identity in light of the new information about her parentage she receives, her struggles mirror the reader's as we all struggle to make sense of the new world into which we were plunged after the attacks on the World Trade Center. What makes The Sweetness of Tears so powerful is the fact that the U.S. is not portrayed as the heroes. Ms. Haji does not shy away from the abuse of prisoners in places like Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay, nor from the mental trauma such actions have on soldiers and contractors who witness these situations. Rather, she challenges the reader to view such proceedings from the Iraqi/Pakistani/Afghan perspective. It is a powerful lesson.
The Sweetness of Tears is not perfect. The jump between narrators is confusing, made more so by the fact that often the context in which the character's story occurs is nebulous and not clearly defined. The reader struggles to understand the time frame in which the individual story is occurring. For example, Jo only hints at the actual 9/11 attacks. It is not until she finally discusses her employment requiring security clearances and background checks where the reader understands that she was still in college during the attacks and that her role as an interpreter would be put to use in the War on Terror. Similarly, Partition, the Vietnam War and other culturally significant events are mentioned after the fact. Keeping one's bearing in the novel proves difficult at times as a result.
In spite of its weaknesses, The Sweetness of Tears remains a beautiful story of empathy and compassion, proving that two fundamentally different cultures can live together peaceably. It is a lesson everyone can and should learn, if only to help prevent more conflict in this conflict-laden world of ours.
Thank you to LibraryThing's Early Reader program for my reading copy!
The Sweetness of Tears is one of those novels which contains gems that deserve to be highlighted and remembered forever. There is so much wisdom packed into its 374 pages that it requires savoring and slow reading. Ms. Haji ensures that her readers do just that by jumping between characters and in time, as Jo's family history is slowly revealed to her. Each story builds upon the last, until the reader, and Jo, get the full picture.
Compassion, faith and empathy are three of the main themes, which becomes extremely important in the context of post-9/11 life and the subsequent War on Terror executed by the U.S. As Jo struggles to find her identity in light of the new information about her parentage she receives, her struggles mirror the reader's as we all struggle to make sense of the new world into which we were plunged after the attacks on the World Trade Center. What makes The Sweetness of Tears so powerful is the fact that the U.S. is not portrayed as the heroes. Ms. Haji does not shy away from the abuse of prisoners in places like Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay, nor from the mental trauma such actions have on soldiers and contractors who witness these situations. Rather, she challenges the reader to view such proceedings from the Iraqi/Pakistani/Afghan perspective. It is a powerful lesson.
The Sweetness of Tears is not perfect. The jump between narrators is confusing, made more so by the fact that often the context in which the character's story occurs is nebulous and not clearly defined. The reader struggles to understand the time frame in which the individual story is occurring. For example, Jo only hints at the actual 9/11 attacks. It is not until she finally discusses her employment requiring security clearances and background checks where the reader understands that she was still in college during the attacks and that her role as an interpreter would be put to use in the War on Terror. Similarly, Partition, the Vietnam War and other culturally significant events are mentioned after the fact. Keeping one's bearing in the novel proves difficult at times as a result.
In spite of its weaknesses, The Sweetness of Tears remains a beautiful story of empathy and compassion, proving that two fundamentally different cultures can live together peaceably. It is a lesson everyone can and should learn, if only to help prevent more conflict in this conflict-laden world of ours.
Thank you to LibraryThing's Early Reader program for my reading copy!
June 20, 2011
There were some passages in this book that just took my breath away with the strength of emotion they entailed...
"These tears are the proof, Sadee, that there is love in the world. Tears are only bitter when we cry selfishly for ourselves. When we deny and forget the sweet love that tears are made of. When we let our sorrow turn to anger. When people cry for each other, it is a good thing...When you cry for others...you are opening your heart to God, who must see what we do and weep for us, too, for the suffering we cause to one another and to ourselves."
"Faith is revelation. And in order to receive revelation you have to be open. Belief is about closing yourself off -- a lie you tell yourself to make the world fit in with how you've decided it should be. Real faith is an action - a verb. It's truth unfolding."
"What I saw there explained everything - the reason he had stayed away, why he had come to say good-bye. I can only describe what I saw by its effect on me. Every woman should be looked at in such a way, at least once in her life. With a longing that cannot be contained - with love that goes beyond mere feeling because it transforms and - like the verse of the poem he had read -- it dissolves, as an offering, a gift.
"These tears are the proof, Sadee, that there is love in the world. Tears are only bitter when we cry selfishly for ourselves. When we deny and forget the sweet love that tears are made of. When we let our sorrow turn to anger. When people cry for each other, it is a good thing...When you cry for others...you are opening your heart to God, who must see what we do and weep for us, too, for the suffering we cause to one another and to ourselves."
"Faith is revelation. And in order to receive revelation you have to be open. Belief is about closing yourself off -- a lie you tell yourself to make the world fit in with how you've decided it should be. Real faith is an action - a verb. It's truth unfolding."
"What I saw there explained everything - the reason he had stayed away, why he had come to say good-bye. I can only describe what I saw by its effect on me. Every woman should be looked at in such a way, at least once in her life. With a longing that cannot be contained - with love that goes beyond mere feeling because it transforms and - like the verse of the poem he had read -- it dissolves, as an offering, a gift.
June 24, 2011
This is a FANTASTIC novel by Nafisa Haji, that speaks about love, for family, for God, and for oneself. Whatever expectations I had of this book, Nafisa Haji trumped and exceeded all of them. It is a beautifully written novel, one that is sure to evoke many emotions in its reader.
The book revolves around Jo, who comes from a conservative Christian family, but finds herself questioning her faith all the time. During her spiritual struggle, she comes to find out the startling truth about her past, and her history. In order to reconcile with her lost self, she travels to Chicago, Pakistan and Iraq - learning Urdu and Arabic on the way, so that she can find herself amongst it all, bring her family together and find some semblance of peace in her life.
The journey that Jo takes is truly inspiring, and Haji's writing is, no other way to put it, simply sublime. With her words, the author literally transports you from the mundane to places like Pakistan and Iraq, and describes them so vividly that you cannot help but feel as if you are, experiencing the majlis in the streets of Pakistan, or the sweltering heat of Iraq's desert. This book was no ordinary book, it felt like a portal that transported you to another place and time, and did it convincingly. Also, the way that author Nafisa Haji speaks of both Islam and Christianity in a fair and unbiased light, all the while drawing parallels between them and highlighting how very similar the two religions really are, is truly commendable. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone - it is an immensely rewarding read, and a book I'll cherish forever.
The book revolves around Jo, who comes from a conservative Christian family, but finds herself questioning her faith all the time. During her spiritual struggle, she comes to find out the startling truth about her past, and her history. In order to reconcile with her lost self, she travels to Chicago, Pakistan and Iraq - learning Urdu and Arabic on the way, so that she can find herself amongst it all, bring her family together and find some semblance of peace in her life.
The journey that Jo takes is truly inspiring, and Haji's writing is, no other way to put it, simply sublime. With her words, the author literally transports you from the mundane to places like Pakistan and Iraq, and describes them so vividly that you cannot help but feel as if you are, experiencing the majlis in the streets of Pakistan, or the sweltering heat of Iraq's desert. This book was no ordinary book, it felt like a portal that transported you to another place and time, and did it convincingly. Also, the way that author Nafisa Haji speaks of both Islam and Christianity in a fair and unbiased light, all the while drawing parallels between them and highlighting how very similar the two religions really are, is truly commendable. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone - it is an immensely rewarding read, and a book I'll cherish forever.
April 12, 2023
S jedne strane Istok: Pakistan, islam, Sadiq i Deena.
S druge strane Zapad: SAD, kršćanstvo, Jo, Angela i Faith.
Iako se u pozadini dva različita svijeta sukobljavaju, likovi čije životne priče pratimo tragaju za istinom, traže oprost i žele se zbližiti.
Radnju pratimo iz različitih perspektiva i polako slažemo mozaik, povezujemo likove i njihove sudbine. U tim različitim perspektivama leži i najveći minus romana - svaki lik pripovijeda na isti način, osim što se kod onih koji govore urdu ubacuju riječi i izrazi na tom jeziku. Da je autorica uložila malo više truda u oblikovanje likova njihovim specifičnim načinima pripovijedanja, roman bi bio itekako bolji. Ovako je samo prosječan - oslanja se na emocije (priznajem, izmamio mi je suzu pred kraj) i znatiželju čitatelja (zato sam ga brzo i pročitala).
*Ispunjeni ciljevi: pročitana knjiga s moje police, pročitana knjiga spisateljice*
S druge strane Zapad: SAD, kršćanstvo, Jo, Angela i Faith.
Iako se u pozadini dva različita svijeta sukobljavaju, likovi čije životne priče pratimo tragaju za istinom, traže oprost i žele se zbližiti.
Radnju pratimo iz različitih perspektiva i polako slažemo mozaik, povezujemo likove i njihove sudbine. U tim različitim perspektivama leži i najveći minus romana - svaki lik pripovijeda na isti način, osim što se kod onih koji govore urdu ubacuju riječi i izrazi na tom jeziku. Da je autorica uložila malo više truda u oblikovanje likova njihovim specifičnim načinima pripovijedanja, roman bi bio itekako bolji. Ovako je samo prosječan - oslanja se na emocije (priznajem, izmamio mi je suzu pred kraj) i znatiželju čitatelja (zato sam ga brzo i pročitala).
*Ispunjeni ciljevi: pročitana knjiga s moje police, pročitana knjiga spisateljice*
September 7, 2014
The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji is, in many ways, a book about eliminating lines: the lines between good and evil, the lines between cultures - Muslim&Christian, Pakistani&American, Shia&Sunni -, the lines between faith and doubt, between joy and sorrow, between right and wrong. Through the lives of two different families, one Christian and one Muslim, we are led into a world of greys, a world where there is no black and white, where lines become blurry and the question of what it means to be human and to have faith is one that takes the main characters on a journey through the mixture of cultures, family values, the learning of languages, of war and politics and religion.
The novel is told through multiple points of view, all in the first person. Haji was successful in giving each character a different voice, never growing confused with who was narrating at any point in the story. Every character is relatable and likable, with their own story to tell and lessons to learn. The story, while dealing with very religious characters, never becomes preachy. On the contrary, it is a novel that encourages you to be open minded, to question laws and beliefs, to always look at the other point of view, to step onto the other person's shoes. Just like the well-known saying "there is always two sides to every story", The Sweetness of Tears captures all of the sides objectively. It is a book that deals with the war on Iraq without taking away the humanity of those who fought nor those who they were fighting against.
What I loved most about the novel is how it reminds us to be human. Many times we forget that we are all the same, no matter what culture or language or religion, we are the same species, living in the same world, and our lives our worth exactly the same. We are not so different as some would have us believe. Today, belief and religion can often be mistaken and lived with a certain fanatism that makes you think your truth is the only truth there is. If you hold on to such certainty it inevitably comes with the notion that others are wrong. As one character humbly puts it faith isn't about having all the answers:
"Faith is revelation. And in order to receive revelation you have to be open. Belief is about closing yourself off- a lie you tell yourself to make the world fit in with how you've decided it should be. Real faith is an action - a verb. It's truth unfolding. You have to let yourself be vulnerable to let that happen. You can't run away from it. You can't drown it out, covering your ears while you shout out declarations of belief. That's not faith. That's cowardice - a fear of truth, which is only scary when you're fighting to keep yourself from knowing it"
I love this idea that faith can't be something that we take and model to fit into what we would want the truth to be, what would be convenient for us to believe in, what would apease our conscience and validate the things we do when we forget the humanity of others. When we think that we hold such truths we are taking away the humanity of others, which is what is done in war. In order to fight a war we have to believe that the others are evil, that we are fighting for the good side to eliminate the bad. However, this is not the case. In war we kill. We kill humans who are just as important as we are.
"I didn't know what I knew now - that the line between good and bad would get so blurry. That other line - the one between us and them getting more distinct. It had to be, for us to be able to do what had to be done."
Hate, envy, anger and resentment are things that will always be with us for the mere reason that we are an animal species, and those things are in our nature. However, we are also human, and as human we have the power to fight against it. We have the power to shed tears, to regret the pain we cause and to try to make it right.
"Do you know, Deena, that there is an old Arab Bedouin saying: 'I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world.' That is jungle law. It is the way of the world when the world is thrown into chaos. It is our job to avert that chaos, to fight against it, to resist the urge to become savage. Because the problem with such law is that if you follow it, you are always fighting against someone... The only way to rise above is to rise above. The only way to respond to wrong is with right. The only way to deal with injustice is to be just"
In the end, this novel is about eliminating the lines that prevent us from seeing the humanity in others, from understanding each and everyone of us as part of the same species, as human beings with the ability to destroy and hate, but with the possibility of creating even more love, living in peace, accepting and respecting, being happy. We have the ability to cry for all the pain we've caused and turn it around, and that is where the sweetness of tears resides.
"A wise woman that I know once said that the tears we cry for others are tears of sweetness - to be appreciated as a sign of God's love, and sorrow, for all of the injustice that we lowly creatures, human beings who have not yet learned to be human, all of us, inflict on one another. It is a good thing, when we cry those sweet tears, she said. It is a good thing"
The novel is told through multiple points of view, all in the first person. Haji was successful in giving each character a different voice, never growing confused with who was narrating at any point in the story. Every character is relatable and likable, with their own story to tell and lessons to learn. The story, while dealing with very religious characters, never becomes preachy. On the contrary, it is a novel that encourages you to be open minded, to question laws and beliefs, to always look at the other point of view, to step onto the other person's shoes. Just like the well-known saying "there is always two sides to every story", The Sweetness of Tears captures all of the sides objectively. It is a book that deals with the war on Iraq without taking away the humanity of those who fought nor those who they were fighting against.
What I loved most about the novel is how it reminds us to be human. Many times we forget that we are all the same, no matter what culture or language or religion, we are the same species, living in the same world, and our lives our worth exactly the same. We are not so different as some would have us believe. Today, belief and religion can often be mistaken and lived with a certain fanatism that makes you think your truth is the only truth there is. If you hold on to such certainty it inevitably comes with the notion that others are wrong. As one character humbly puts it faith isn't about having all the answers:
"Faith is revelation. And in order to receive revelation you have to be open. Belief is about closing yourself off- a lie you tell yourself to make the world fit in with how you've decided it should be. Real faith is an action - a verb. It's truth unfolding. You have to let yourself be vulnerable to let that happen. You can't run away from it. You can't drown it out, covering your ears while you shout out declarations of belief. That's not faith. That's cowardice - a fear of truth, which is only scary when you're fighting to keep yourself from knowing it"
I love this idea that faith can't be something that we take and model to fit into what we would want the truth to be, what would be convenient for us to believe in, what would apease our conscience and validate the things we do when we forget the humanity of others. When we think that we hold such truths we are taking away the humanity of others, which is what is done in war. In order to fight a war we have to believe that the others are evil, that we are fighting for the good side to eliminate the bad. However, this is not the case. In war we kill. We kill humans who are just as important as we are.
"I didn't know what I knew now - that the line between good and bad would get so blurry. That other line - the one between us and them getting more distinct. It had to be, for us to be able to do what had to be done."
Hate, envy, anger and resentment are things that will always be with us for the mere reason that we are an animal species, and those things are in our nature. However, we are also human, and as human we have the power to fight against it. We have the power to shed tears, to regret the pain we cause and to try to make it right.
"Do you know, Deena, that there is an old Arab Bedouin saying: 'I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world.' That is jungle law. It is the way of the world when the world is thrown into chaos. It is our job to avert that chaos, to fight against it, to resist the urge to become savage. Because the problem with such law is that if you follow it, you are always fighting against someone... The only way to rise above is to rise above. The only way to respond to wrong is with right. The only way to deal with injustice is to be just"
In the end, this novel is about eliminating the lines that prevent us from seeing the humanity in others, from understanding each and everyone of us as part of the same species, as human beings with the ability to destroy and hate, but with the possibility of creating even more love, living in peace, accepting and respecting, being happy. We have the ability to cry for all the pain we've caused and turn it around, and that is where the sweetness of tears resides.
"A wise woman that I know once said that the tears we cry for others are tears of sweetness - to be appreciated as a sign of God's love, and sorrow, for all of the injustice that we lowly creatures, human beings who have not yet learned to be human, all of us, inflict on one another. It is a good thing, when we cry those sweet tears, she said. It is a good thing"
July 11, 2019
Ma, prekinula sam. Čak bih joj jednu zvjezdicu dala, ali... eto, ne znam.
Čudno mi je to, da je tako spetljala ovu priču. Toliko toga nadrobljenog, izmiješanog, toliko različitih priča, koje će se onda - znam to, jer tako to ide - sve povezati, ali to je tako bezlično i loše napravila da se pitam je li to ista žena koja je napisala "Molitvu moje majke" ("Writing On My Forehead"). Ta knjiga mi je bila tako sjajna.
Ovo je ništa. Možda je imala dobru ideju u glavi, ali je nikako nije uspjela srediti na "papiru". Šteta.
Čudno mi je to, da je tako spetljala ovu priču. Toliko toga nadrobljenog, izmiješanog, toliko različitih priča, koje će se onda - znam to, jer tako to ide - sve povezati, ali to je tako bezlično i loše napravila da se pitam je li to ista žena koja je napisala "Molitvu moje majke" ("Writing On My Forehead"). Ta knjiga mi je bila tako sjajna.
Ovo je ništa. Možda je imala dobru ideju u glavi, ali je nikako nije uspjela srediti na "papiru". Šteta.
November 5, 2024
Potresno.
June 29, 2011
It’s rare to read a book that truly touches me, especially when the subject matter is far removed from the reality that is my life, but The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji did just that, touched me. This isn't a sad story. It isn't filled with tragedy and sorrow nor is it filled with happiness and joy. It is, quite simply, filled with the ups and downs, the mistakes and corrections, as well as the joys that make up life.
The life and experiences of Jo March are at the core of this story. She realizes as a teenager that something is wrong because she and her brother have brown eyes but both of her parents have blue eyes. After confronting her mother she learns that her mother became pregnant as a teenager by another teenager, a Pakistani named Sadiq.
Sadiq was a privileged and spoiled young man in Pakistan. He was separated from his mother as a young child, and had a brief reunion with his mother in the United States as a teenager. The story also introduces his mother's story, Deena. Deena is raised as a Shia Muslimah in Pakistani shortly after the Partition (or separation of Pakistan from India). She is an idealistic young woman that is blessed with a common sense family. After her father's death she is engaged and then marries the son of her father's best friend. Regrettably her husband is bipolar and off his medicines and it isn't until after the marriage when she learns of his "problem." Her husband commits suicide shortly after the birth of Sadiq and his family blames Deena. After Sadiq is taken by his father's family, Deena remarries and moves to the United States where she finds happiness with her new family.
The lives of the characters intersect, gently influence, and overlap throughout the story. Deena befriends the teenage Angela on her visit to Los Angeles. Angela befriends Sadiq and they comfort one another resulting in the birth of Jo and her twin brother, Chris. Jo's exposure to different cultures through her maternal grandmother and mission work sparks an interest in language. Jo's meeting with Sadiq leads to her studying Arabic and Urdu in college, which leads to her work as a translator shortly after 9/11. Jo looks up Deena, her paternal grandmother, after she quits translating as a part of the war effort and visits Pakistan as a true civilian. Chris enlisted in the Marine Corps after 9/11, is sent to Iraq only to come home a broken man and attempts to kill himself.
As I read this tale of a fictional family, I was often moved to tears. The emotions felt by the characters seemed to come alive and jump off the page. Remember, I said this wasn't a tale of sadness or sorrow although there is sadness and sorrow in the tale. It isn't a tale of tragedy although there are tragedies throughout, but there is also happiness and joy. Religion is often in the background of this story, but it isn't a tale of Islam vs. Christianity, Shia vs. Sunni, or Us vs. Them, but more about humanity and our similarities as opposed to our differences. This, for me, was a story about self-discovery, acceptance and, ultimately, family. The following lines seem to sum up all that is felt and depicted in this wonderful tale:
"A wise woman that I know once said that the tears we cry for others are tears of sweetness – to be appreciated as a sign of God's love, and sorry, for all of the injustice that we lowly creatures, human beings who have not yet learned to be human, all of us, inflict on one another. It is a good thing, when we cry these sweet tears, she said. It is a good thing."
So if you read this story, and you should, don't worry if you shed a few tears . . . tears can be a good thing.
The life and experiences of Jo March are at the core of this story. She realizes as a teenager that something is wrong because she and her brother have brown eyes but both of her parents have blue eyes. After confronting her mother she learns that her mother became pregnant as a teenager by another teenager, a Pakistani named Sadiq.
Sadiq was a privileged and spoiled young man in Pakistan. He was separated from his mother as a young child, and had a brief reunion with his mother in the United States as a teenager. The story also introduces his mother's story, Deena. Deena is raised as a Shia Muslimah in Pakistani shortly after the Partition (or separation of Pakistan from India). She is an idealistic young woman that is blessed with a common sense family. After her father's death she is engaged and then marries the son of her father's best friend. Regrettably her husband is bipolar and off his medicines and it isn't until after the marriage when she learns of his "problem." Her husband commits suicide shortly after the birth of Sadiq and his family blames Deena. After Sadiq is taken by his father's family, Deena remarries and moves to the United States where she finds happiness with her new family.
The lives of the characters intersect, gently influence, and overlap throughout the story. Deena befriends the teenage Angela on her visit to Los Angeles. Angela befriends Sadiq and they comfort one another resulting in the birth of Jo and her twin brother, Chris. Jo's exposure to different cultures through her maternal grandmother and mission work sparks an interest in language. Jo's meeting with Sadiq leads to her studying Arabic and Urdu in college, which leads to her work as a translator shortly after 9/11. Jo looks up Deena, her paternal grandmother, after she quits translating as a part of the war effort and visits Pakistan as a true civilian. Chris enlisted in the Marine Corps after 9/11, is sent to Iraq only to come home a broken man and attempts to kill himself.
As I read this tale of a fictional family, I was often moved to tears. The emotions felt by the characters seemed to come alive and jump off the page. Remember, I said this wasn't a tale of sadness or sorrow although there is sadness and sorrow in the tale. It isn't a tale of tragedy although there are tragedies throughout, but there is also happiness and joy. Religion is often in the background of this story, but it isn't a tale of Islam vs. Christianity, Shia vs. Sunni, or Us vs. Them, but more about humanity and our similarities as opposed to our differences. This, for me, was a story about self-discovery, acceptance and, ultimately, family. The following lines seem to sum up all that is felt and depicted in this wonderful tale:
"A wise woman that I know once said that the tears we cry for others are tears of sweetness – to be appreciated as a sign of God's love, and sorry, for all of the injustice that we lowly creatures, human beings who have not yet learned to be human, all of us, inflict on one another. It is a good thing, when we cry these sweet tears, she said. It is a good thing."
So if you read this story, and you should, don't worry if you shed a few tears . . . tears can be a good thing.
January 1, 2013
I really enjoyed and appreciated what the author was saying but somehow I didn't fully appreciate her style. Something felt "forced" about this book. I'd be curious what other friends have thought....
September 7, 2018
4.5 stars. This book has layers of stories from three generations and touches many emotional topics about family, religion, war, even mental illness. I think fans of Khaled Hosseini's books would enjoy this book just as much. I really enjoyed the writing and dog eared quite a few pages with remarkable quotes.
August 5, 2011
This book started out being quite good, but by the end I'd just had it. It definitely could have used some editing and been shorter. The story is very good and the writing is wonderful. Why do authors have to ruin a perfectly good novel by getting too political? By the end, I felt like I was reading a Muslim textbook and trying to be convinced, that all religions are so similar and can't we just all get along? When the Iraqi translater said "they [the Americans] came for oil, they came for their own purposes," I threw the book across the room. The end was so annoying, Jo going to Iraq to find redemption for her brother? It was just ridiculous.
August 9, 2011
I loved this book!
It has an interesting story line, great multi-dimensional characteros and a lot of cultural information about Pakistan and Pakistani-Americans. Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective which allows the reader to see each one from both inside and out. There is an intersting dichotomy going on between Evangelical Christians of the missionary and televangelist ilk and the Muslims - both Sunni and Shia. All of it comes together in a fascinating story.
Highly recommend.
It has an interesting story line, great multi-dimensional characteros and a lot of cultural information about Pakistan and Pakistani-Americans. Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective which allows the reader to see each one from both inside and out. There is an intersting dichotomy going on between Evangelical Christians of the missionary and televangelist ilk and the Muslims - both Sunni and Shia. All of it comes together in a fascinating story.
Highly recommend.
March 15, 2011
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time.
An evangelical Christian family in California connects with Muslims in Pakistan and Iraq through Jo, a twin within the Christian family. The Christian Matriarch, Faith, is a dedicated missionary with compassion for the world but not so much for her family.
We meet the Muslim woman in a heartbreaking situation caused by Muslim (man's) law.
The "Sweetness of Tears" refers to tears cried for others.
An evangelical Christian family in California connects with Muslims in Pakistan and Iraq through Jo, a twin within the Christian family. The Christian Matriarch, Faith, is a dedicated missionary with compassion for the world but not so much for her family.
We meet the Muslim woman in a heartbreaking situation caused by Muslim (man's) law.
The "Sweetness of Tears" refers to tears cried for others.
August 10, 2011
"The Sweetness of Tears" is now one of my all-time favorite novels - and that's such a surprise because I chose it solely because I liked the cover art! This novel covers so much so beautifully, I cannot put it into words. What does family mean? Peace, war, forgiveness, truth, finding your path... it's all in there in an engaging story without ever once being preachy. Read this one and pass it on to your friends, your family, anyone who will read!
December 20, 2019
What an ambitious book!!! Outstanding portrayal of a culture that I should know about, but had absolutely no clue. My idea of Shiaa is mainly gathered from my mother whose ideas are gathered from her own mother that they are a bunch of savage barbaric people who hit themselves...
i never for one second stopped and thought about it except after reading that book. Wow they’re humans. I never even stopped and thought about how as a Sunni muslim, we have our own culture and our own traditions that may seem in the eyes of foreigners extremely bizzare. I related to this book on so many levels. Now i can say without doubt that I truly want to see the world. I want to travel and experience cultures that I have no idea about. I want to read more books like these. Books that tell me how humane my world can be sometimes.
I enjoyed Deena’s story the most. And I must admit there are some quotes that blew my mind. Now al I have to do is write my paper about this book and then everything will be fine.
i never for one second stopped and thought about it except after reading that book. Wow they’re humans. I never even stopped and thought about how as a Sunni muslim, we have our own culture and our own traditions that may seem in the eyes of foreigners extremely bizzare. I related to this book on so many levels. Now i can say without doubt that I truly want to see the world. I want to travel and experience cultures that I have no idea about. I want to read more books like these. Books that tell me how humane my world can be sometimes.
I enjoyed Deena’s story the most. And I must admit there are some quotes that blew my mind. Now al I have to do is write my paper about this book and then everything will be fine.
July 12, 2024
It's not bad, but it's not that good either.
I'd say it's "okay".
Scenarios felt forced and characters seem bland.
I guess, I had high expectations because it said that Khaled Hosseini praised this book.
I'd say it's "okay".
Scenarios felt forced and characters seem bland.
I guess, I had high expectations because it said that Khaled Hosseini praised this book.
April 5, 2012
This book has all the makings of a blockbuster for me. I loved the allegory of the Monkey and the Crocodile. They CAN be friends. The Shia/Sunni or Christian/Islam gap CAN be overcome. it's not easy, but when one looks upon the heart, it can happen.
Jo March is a twin being raised in SoCal by two wonderful Evangelical Christians. Slight problem, in high school science she her faith crumbles as she realizes this brown-eyed set of twins couldn't have come from two blue-eyed parents. She leaves for college and her mother confides who her biological father is
Another thing I loved is Jo's maternal grandma Faith. She ended up raising Jo's mother Angela by herself after her Vietnam Vet husband just took off. Grandma Faith is a nurse and goes on mission trips all around the world helping those less fortunate. She has little tolerance for fundamentalists who would rather give the poor/less fortunate Jesus instead of necessary shoes/clean water/vaccinations. She believes in loving through serving. I love this quote from her:
“Faith is revelation. And in order to receive revelation you have to be open. Belief is about closing yourself off -- a lie you tell yourself to make the world fit in with how you've decided it should be. Real faith is an action - a verb. It's truth unfolding.”
I held back a star because the last quarter of the book just dragged. Jo went and sought redemption for her returned home Marine brother off in Iraq. That part just felt really flat for me. I think it would have been a better book left out and just focusing the effects on the family. I'd classify it a bit as biased when it comes to the war on terror. It shows all the bad, none of the good. Every veteran in the book is SEVERELY broken. SEVERELY. All the vignettes and stories from Marines are about senseless and accidental killings of civilians. We see inside of Gitmo and interrogation techniques. We don't see any glimpses of my cousin or best HS friend meeting with village leaders to determine food/medical/educational needs and arranging for those provisions to try to break the hold of the taliban on the community. etc. The author says straight up, "They only came for the oil". {sigh}
The book was still very good. I loved watching these two families merge to become one. It was fascinating and delicious at the same time.
Jo March is a twin being raised in SoCal by two wonderful Evangelical Christians. Slight problem, in high school science she her faith crumbles as she realizes this brown-eyed set of twins couldn't have come from two blue-eyed parents. She leaves for college and her mother confides who her biological father is
Another thing I loved is Jo's maternal grandma Faith. She ended up raising Jo's mother Angela by herself after her Vietnam Vet husband just took off. Grandma Faith is a nurse and goes on mission trips all around the world helping those less fortunate. She has little tolerance for fundamentalists who would rather give the poor/less fortunate Jesus instead of necessary shoes/clean water/vaccinations. She believes in loving through serving. I love this quote from her:
“Faith is revelation. And in order to receive revelation you have to be open. Belief is about closing yourself off -- a lie you tell yourself to make the world fit in with how you've decided it should be. Real faith is an action - a verb. It's truth unfolding.”
I held back a star because the last quarter of the book just dragged. Jo went and sought redemption for her returned home Marine brother off in Iraq. That part just felt really flat for me. I think it would have been a better book left out and just focusing the effects on the family. I'd classify it a bit as biased when it comes to the war on terror. It shows all the bad, none of the good. Every veteran in the book is SEVERELY broken. SEVERELY. All the vignettes and stories from Marines are about senseless and accidental killings of civilians. We see inside of Gitmo and interrogation techniques. We don't see any glimpses of my cousin or best HS friend meeting with village leaders to determine food/medical/educational needs and arranging for those provisions to try to break the hold of the taliban on the community. etc. The author says straight up, "They only came for the oil". {sigh}
The book was still very good. I loved watching these two families merge to become one. It was fascinating and delicious at the same time.
July 26, 2016
Really likable book! The author starts with the "main" character (though there isn't fully one main character) and then as that character interacts with others, they each tell their story and you learn more background and get a broader perspective from the different points of view. I like how she builds the story through the reminiscences and current events experienced by different characters.
The story involves the intertwining of an evangelical christian family and a Muslim (part Shiite and part Sunni) family and in the telling, you learn a lot about both families, culture, and so on.
It is a beautiful story of family and love and loss and forgiveness. About learning to accept different points of view while still staying strong to what you believe.
Minimal swearing located in a specific setting which would involve swearing. And thank heavens they're active evangelicals and Muslims because that means no sex scenes either!
Note - I just read her first book, The Writing on My Forehead. I think this one is better and I'm glad I read it first, but the other has some interesting stories too, I just had a hard time feeling any respect for the main character and so it was harder to like the book.
NEW INFO - READ IT AGAIN
I just re-read this book after suggesting it for my book group. I had forgotten just how much I loved it. The author did an amazing job of bringing the reader into the hearts and faiths of many different people. I have little pieces of paper all through the book marking statements that I love.
I enjoyed the tiny look into the difference between Shia and Sunni
and the history. I am in a Sociology class and the focus right
now is on honor killings. How delightful to read this book about Muslim families who love and cherish. It was a much needed reminder after reading about the sadder and harsher aspects of those choices some make.
Deena is beautiful. I wish we all had a neighbor with her love and
wisdom in our life.
I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(Mormons)and I have a strong faith in Jesus Christ. I also believe
that people the world over love God and seek to follow him, even if through beliefs that are different than mine and even a different understanding of who He is. I really enjoyed her ability to portray people with very different faiths, strong believers, and their ability to actually act on their faith and accept others and the beliefs of others. It didn't mean their faith was diminished, or that they were turning their back on their beliefs, but that they extended God's love and acceptance to all and while I'm not managing to say this the way I would wish and hopefully don't come across preachy - she did it wonderfully and it's beautiful without being schmaltzy or saccharine. It was perfect. If everyone of faith could extend a little of this example the world would be such a different place. No more Muslim vs Hindu, no more Shiite vs Sunni, no more Catholic vs Protestant - no more fighting. People living and practicing their beliefs and allowing the same right to others. Sigh.
I'm so glad that I saw this one at the library and was intrigued by the title, just enough to give it a try. Now I need to buy it so I can underline the best parts and add it to my library.
The story involves the intertwining of an evangelical christian family and a Muslim (part Shiite and part Sunni) family and in the telling, you learn a lot about both families, culture, and so on.
It is a beautiful story of family and love and loss and forgiveness. About learning to accept different points of view while still staying strong to what you believe.
Minimal swearing located in a specific setting which would involve swearing. And thank heavens they're active evangelicals and Muslims because that means no sex scenes either!
Note - I just read her first book, The Writing on My Forehead. I think this one is better and I'm glad I read it first, but the other has some interesting stories too, I just had a hard time feeling any respect for the main character and so it was harder to like the book.
NEW INFO - READ IT AGAIN
I just re-read this book after suggesting it for my book group. I had forgotten just how much I loved it. The author did an amazing job of bringing the reader into the hearts and faiths of many different people. I have little pieces of paper all through the book marking statements that I love.
I enjoyed the tiny look into the difference between Shia and Sunni
and the history. I am in a Sociology class and the focus right
now is on honor killings. How delightful to read this book about Muslim families who love and cherish. It was a much needed reminder after reading about the sadder and harsher aspects of those choices some make.
Deena is beautiful. I wish we all had a neighbor with her love and
wisdom in our life.
I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(Mormons)and I have a strong faith in Jesus Christ. I also believe
that people the world over love God and seek to follow him, even if through beliefs that are different than mine and even a different understanding of who He is. I really enjoyed her ability to portray people with very different faiths, strong believers, and their ability to actually act on their faith and accept others and the beliefs of others. It didn't mean their faith was diminished, or that they were turning their back on their beliefs, but that they extended God's love and acceptance to all and while I'm not managing to say this the way I would wish and hopefully don't come across preachy - she did it wonderfully and it's beautiful without being schmaltzy or saccharine. It was perfect. If everyone of faith could extend a little of this example the world would be such a different place. No more Muslim vs Hindu, no more Shiite vs Sunni, no more Catholic vs Protestant - no more fighting. People living and practicing their beliefs and allowing the same right to others. Sigh.
I'm so glad that I saw this one at the library and was intrigued by the title, just enough to give it a try. Now I need to buy it so I can underline the best parts and add it to my library.
September 12, 2011
In her second novel, Haji gave me all of the emotional involvement that I was looking for in The Submission by Waldman, but didn't find, so it was very interesting reading these two books back to back. This paperback original is a three generational family saga that spans the globe from California to Africa to the Middle East and back again, and like The Submission, religion (particularly Islam and evangelical Christianity) and politics are the very heart of the novel. It's a story of both cultural prejudice & curiosity, family betrayals and forgiveness, and learning how to re-see your world when the truths you've always taken for granted are not just disrupted but completely uprooted.
Haji, who wrote the wonderful book The Writing on my Forehead, is a good writer who can get to the very heart of the matter--I never have trouble emotionally identifying with her characters and I trust her to take me on a ride that starts off difficultly but ends with redemption and satisfaction. I also love how much I learn when reading her books, whether it's food customs in Pakistan or religious traditions in Bangladesh.
In this book in particular I was also much drawn to some of her truisms about language and religion. Here are a few that I dog-eared:
In an observation during the Shia Muslim holy time of Muharram and Safar, commemoratingKarbala: "Later, louder voices intruded on the quiet scenes of anticipation that the older women had set, as younger women, for whom the call of piety was of less immediate concern than the social need to be seen as pious…" Lawd, how many churchgoers did I grow up with who would have fit that definition to a T?!
A missionary exasperated with questions about how many souls she has saved when she's more concerned with the lives she has saved: "I guess [language] says something about the importance of family in some cultures. Something we could all stand to emulate Instead of just talking all the time, about family values--only thing I ever saw being valued when I've heard those two words getting thrown around is the act of not minding your own business."
And the same character, later: "Real faith is an action--a verb. It's truth unfolding…you can't drown it out, covering your ears while you shout out declarations of belief. That's not faith. That's cowardice--a fear of truth, which is only scary when you're fighting to keep yourself from knowing it."
Haji, who wrote the wonderful book The Writing on my Forehead, is a good writer who can get to the very heart of the matter--I never have trouble emotionally identifying with her characters and I trust her to take me on a ride that starts off difficultly but ends with redemption and satisfaction. I also love how much I learn when reading her books, whether it's food customs in Pakistan or religious traditions in Bangladesh.
In this book in particular I was also much drawn to some of her truisms about language and religion. Here are a few that I dog-eared:
In an observation during the Shia Muslim holy time of Muharram and Safar, commemoratingKarbala: "Later, louder voices intruded on the quiet scenes of anticipation that the older women had set, as younger women, for whom the call of piety was of less immediate concern than the social need to be seen as pious…" Lawd, how many churchgoers did I grow up with who would have fit that definition to a T?!
A missionary exasperated with questions about how many souls she has saved when she's more concerned with the lives she has saved: "I guess [language] says something about the importance of family in some cultures. Something we could all stand to emulate Instead of just talking all the time, about family values--only thing I ever saw being valued when I've heard those two words getting thrown around is the act of not minding your own business."
And the same character, later: "Real faith is an action--a verb. It's truth unfolding…you can't drown it out, covering your ears while you shout out declarations of belief. That's not faith. That's cowardice--a fear of truth, which is only scary when you're fighting to keep yourself from knowing it."
December 5, 2012
Jo March was raised in a famous evangelical Christian family, but never felt that she totally embraced the faith of her family. When she was eighteen, she found out the truth about her parentage. This led her to persue a degree in foreign languages and to learn about the Muslim world. At first her language talents were used by a security firm interrogating prisoners after 9/11. She eventually traveled to Pakistan, learning about her Muslim relatives. She also visited with survivors of the war in Iraq that had connections to her family, including her American soldier brother. Jo found both wonderful and difficult people in all the cultures she encountered.
This book is about families, tradition, love, injustice, and forgiveness presented in a multi-cultural way. The sections about Pakistani traditions were especially fascinating. It was all wrapped up into a good story with engaging characters that held my interest. The book was not preachy, but it did hold the suggestion that the sharing, compassion, and understanding in this multi-cultural family could be broadened to this post-9/11 world in which we are living.
This book is about families, tradition, love, injustice, and forgiveness presented in a multi-cultural way. The sections about Pakistani traditions were especially fascinating. It was all wrapped up into a good story with engaging characters that held my interest. The book was not preachy, but it did hold the suggestion that the sharing, compassion, and understanding in this multi-cultural family could be broadened to this post-9/11 world in which we are living.
January 2, 2013
The Sweetness of Tears is an intelligently written, touching story of three generations. Jo, the main character, finds herself searching for her true identity when she tries to answer questions that arise in a genetics class. That search sends her on a journey of discovery not only in terms of parentage, but also one that transcends cultural and religious boundaries.
It is written from the angle of 4 characters, all narrating their story in first person, a style which some readers find hard to follow, but one that worked well for me. The beginning is very compelling, where 'the wall of doubt' needs to be climbed over, both in a literal and a symbolic sense. The characters are abundant, yet well defined, and their relationships are complicated but strong. Nafisa Haji has effectively conveyed the much needed message in today's changing world: that humanity and goodness is the universal language which needs no translation and is an all encompassing religion which is above all scholarly interpretation. This book kept me awake at night, wanting to know what happens next. I recommend it highly.
It is written from the angle of 4 characters, all narrating their story in first person, a style which some readers find hard to follow, but one that worked well for me. The beginning is very compelling, where 'the wall of doubt' needs to be climbed over, both in a literal and a symbolic sense. The characters are abundant, yet well defined, and their relationships are complicated but strong. Nafisa Haji has effectively conveyed the much needed message in today's changing world: that humanity and goodness is the universal language which needs no translation and is an all encompassing religion which is above all scholarly interpretation. This book kept me awake at night, wanting to know what happens next. I recommend it highly.
January 7, 2014
A merging of cultures, religions and personal experiences that won't leave my mind.
I was very impressed with the rendering of the Christian Evangelical tradition and with the elements within it that question the broader assumptions - particularly the vignette at the end of the book that does to smug Evangelicals what I have wanted to see for some time, and would still like to in real life.
My reading has been leading up to this book, so many aspects of it from Islam to life in Pakistan for women, in particular, are now part of my consciousness in a way that wouldn't be for many readers of my cultural context in Australia, who deem Islam to be 'incompatible with Western values' and have never become acquainted with any aspects of it. It would have confronted me 20 years ago.
Haji's previous novel affected me, and I think this one will have a deeper effect on me for the universal themes in it and the bravery of the characters.
If you seek to take your heart and mind to another place and be able to bring that experience back to your real world interactions, please read this book. It's a book of reconciliation, in so many ways.
I was very impressed with the rendering of the Christian Evangelical tradition and with the elements within it that question the broader assumptions - particularly the vignette at the end of the book that does to smug Evangelicals what I have wanted to see for some time, and would still like to in real life.
My reading has been leading up to this book, so many aspects of it from Islam to life in Pakistan for women, in particular, are now part of my consciousness in a way that wouldn't be for many readers of my cultural context in Australia, who deem Islam to be 'incompatible with Western values' and have never become acquainted with any aspects of it. It would have confronted me 20 years ago.
Haji's previous novel affected me, and I think this one will have a deeper effect on me for the universal themes in it and the bravery of the characters.
If you seek to take your heart and mind to another place and be able to bring that experience back to your real world interactions, please read this book. It's a book of reconciliation, in so many ways.
August 6, 2012
Liked this book. It was an easy read--a plot-driven novel. Very easy to get into. I read it quickly, anxious to find out what happened to the characters. I liked how it opened the world of Islam to its readers through the eyes of an evangelical Christian girl. This made it more accessible to me personally... easier for me to relate to than some other books I've read dealing with similar topics, because it was told from a perspective that I already understand. I also liked a lot of the themes the author dealt with, including faith vs doubt, grief vs anger, forgiveness, openness to other cultures, harmony of different religious traditions, the importance of not hiding from the truth, empowerment of women, love, bonds of family ties. Good read. I recommend it.
June 2, 2011
I received this book through a goodreads giveaway.
Another beautifully written book. Just gorgeous. A book about belief, doubt, faith, and love. A book about family and secrets. A book about Christianity and the Muslim religions. A book about truth and lies. This book opened my eyes because it was told in such a simple, elegant, beautiful manner. I was absorbed in it. I started to cry towards the end, at the pain within the pages. And then the hope in it. There was hope. I love the concept of the sweetness in tears. I love that concept so much. This book is well worth the read. I recommend it, definitely.
Another beautifully written book. Just gorgeous. A book about belief, doubt, faith, and love. A book about family and secrets. A book about Christianity and the Muslim religions. A book about truth and lies. This book opened my eyes because it was told in such a simple, elegant, beautiful manner. I was absorbed in it. I started to cry towards the end, at the pain within the pages. And then the hope in it. There was hope. I love the concept of the sweetness in tears. I love that concept so much. This book is well worth the read. I recommend it, definitely.
November 3, 2011
Kudos to Haji for writing such an amazingly heroic novel that's relevant to modern times. Haji tackles issues of family (secrets, blood-lines, and devotion), current events and relations between the USA and the Middle-East, faith and religion, as well as realistic views of a young woman coming into her own in the twenty-first century. Nothing seemed forced or unnaturally out of place in this story that told bittersweet tales from the past and present, and that intertwined the lives of Americans and Indo-Pakistanis.
A brilliant story of life, faith, and the choices we make that keep us hopeful.
A brilliant story of life, faith, and the choices we make that keep us hopeful.
June 10, 2012
Stick with this book through its twists, turns, explorations, and even the parts that trouble you or that you disagree with. Haji courageously grapples with the things we aren't supposed to discuss in polite company--religion, politics, war, peace, faith. But if we can't talk about these things in a meaningful and respectful and thoughtful way, then what is the point exactly? Ultimately, Haji's message is one of optimism and discovering the true meaning of faith--what it is to love God, to love your neighbor, to forgive, and to accept forgiveness. What is most important is that which connects us to each other--whatever we may call it and wherever we may find it.
October 19, 2012
A very touching novel, emphasizing the importance of faith tolerance.
We live in a world where not only people of different religions argue, fight, and look at each other differently (Ex: Muslims vs. Christians) but also people of different divisions within the same religion (Ex: Sunnis and Shi'aas)
This book brings a couple of those different religions and divisions together, and shows us the human side in them all.
It also talks about the mistakes and wrong decisions we all take, and how it's better to face their consequences instead of running away from them.
I. loved. it.
It made me cry a lot of "sweet tears" :')
We live in a world where not only people of different religions argue, fight, and look at each other differently (Ex: Muslims vs. Christians) but also people of different divisions within the same religion (Ex: Sunnis and Shi'aas)
This book brings a couple of those different religions and divisions together, and shows us the human side in them all.
It also talks about the mistakes and wrong decisions we all take, and how it's better to face their consequences instead of running away from them.
I. loved. it.
It made me cry a lot of "sweet tears" :')
June 23, 2011
This is a great book! It's great that you get different perspectives telling the story, it really opens it up and helps you to relate more to what is going on. Different perspectives give an insight into the story more so than it being told from one person. This book was quite enjoyable, and contained so much emotion that I felt as if I was being wrapped up and thrown into the book myself. This will definitely be a book that I will read again.
July 26, 2011
Raised as an Evangelical Christian, Jo March goes on a quest to find out who she is. Travelling from California, Chicago, Pakistan and Iraq, Jo explores her Muslim familial connections.
While I enjoyed the story, I found the way the author explained Islamic religious history too much like a lecture. The author's intentions are noble but the way the information was incorporated into the story did not flow easily. I loved the descriptions of cultural and religious traditions and rituals.
While I enjoyed the story, I found the way the author explained Islamic religious history too much like a lecture. The author's intentions are noble but the way the information was incorporated into the story did not flow easily. I loved the descriptions of cultural and religious traditions and rituals.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews