Reviews

Muneera and the Moon by Sonia Sulaiman

criticalmiss's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed this collection of short stories, based on Palestinian folklore. The prince story looking for a wife to tell him stories was my favourite. The stories felt allegorical. I did have an issue as it seemed like there was some editing issues (wrong words used at times, spelling errors etc) which pulled me out when reading. I enjoyed it enough that I am interested in reading her next book released in 2024, Thyme Travellers 

carturo222's review against another edition

4.0

I reviewed this book for the Hugo-winning blog Nerds of a Feather:
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2023/02/review-muneera-and-moon-stories.html

kriste_reading_journey's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

holli_g_reads's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

3.75

beesreadingshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

amermanda's review against another edition

Got about half way but didn't hold my attention

edebell's review against another edition

informative mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Beautiful little stories of life, survival, hope, and asexuality. Immerse into the realms of gods, saints, spirits, magic - and metaphor - with this lovely collection of stories drawn from waters as old as stories.

The durability of history will prevail.

claire_de_lune92's review

dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

I loved this thoughtful collection of short stories so much. Favourites were Muneera and the Moon, Handala, From Whole Cloth, and Witches of Ascalon #freePalestine

amye's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

solly's review against another edition

3.0

A nice speculative short story collection! Quite hit-or-miss, as short story collections often are, but there were a few stand outs for me:
- Handala. The Olive, The Storm, and the Sea was likely the strongest short story in my opinion. A boy who can't grow up until he returns home faces arrogant Greek Gods.
- Rumanye made me think of The Magnus Archives and I really liked it. An archival assistant gives a statement about the strange artefact from Storage that sent them into a Palestinian fairy tale.
- From Whole Cloth: asexual m/f negociation of intimacy.
I also liked the other queer stories: Autumn Child, Muneera and the Moon, The Mandrake Loves The Olive. As well as the horror-ish story What the Ghouleh Said on Thursday of the Dead.
But about half of the stories didn't do anything for me, either because of the writing or the fact that they were a bit more forgettable. Overall, still very enjoyable!