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A review by unfiltered_fiction
Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book is absolutely what it claims to be - the Muslim Bridget Jones.
I probably wouldn't have picked this book up if I'd known it was written in diary format, as I usually find this style of narrative quite cringeworthy and frustrating, but that's not the case here. Sofia has a lively, funny, and engaging voice, and this book is a delight to read.
The book captures so many issues beautifully - it's filled with female friendship, dealing with family and work pressures, multicultural living, handling racism, and developing your own faith in a way that feels right and comfortable to you. It's much more than just a romcom - although I did very much enjoy the romance arc of the book. Sometimes it can feel like the major themes aren't dipped into very deeply, and it's more of a surface-level skim, but that feels completely well suited to the genre and the tone of the book. It's not designed to be heavy hitting, just to encourage a little extra consideration in the reader.
Plotwise, things are pretty predictable. The writing is good, but occasionally short sections don't make an awful lot of sense, something which feels like it could've been rectified during editing, but it's not a major problem.
As some other reviewers have mentioned, there's a fair amount of fat-shaming, which is one aspect of the Bridget Jones-esque writing mode that I really could have lived without. It would have been good to see the book engage critically with how fat shaming culture exists within Sofia's community, but instead it feels very internalised, and she just comes across as self-loathing in this particular respect, with a frustrating lack of character development.
The insights into Muslim faith are particularly excellent, because the book focuses so closely on Sofia's own, personal faith. The author does an excellent job of reminding the reader that everyone's religious experience is a highly individual thing, and that you can't learn well through stereotyping and generalisms.
The characters absolutely drive this book. I particularly loved Sofia, her family, and her girl gang. Her work circle and her final love interest feel a little underdeveloped, but I have hope that we might find out more about them in the next book, which I started immediately after finishing this one!
I probably wouldn't have picked this book up if I'd known it was written in diary format, as I usually find this style of narrative quite cringeworthy and frustrating, but that's not the case here. Sofia has a lively, funny, and engaging voice, and this book is a delight to read.
The book captures so many issues beautifully - it's filled with female friendship, dealing with family and work pressures, multicultural living, handling racism, and developing your own faith in a way that feels right and comfortable to you. It's much more than just a romcom - although I did very much enjoy the romance arc of the book. Sometimes it can feel like the major themes aren't dipped into very deeply, and it's more of a surface-level skim, but that feels completely well suited to the genre and the tone of the book. It's not designed to be heavy hitting, just to encourage a little extra consideration in the reader.
Plotwise, things are pretty predictable. The writing is good, but occasionally short sections don't make an awful lot of sense, something which feels like it could've been rectified during editing, but it's not a major problem.
As some other reviewers have mentioned, there's a fair amount of fat-shaming, which is one aspect of the Bridget Jones-esque writing mode that I really could have lived without. It would have been good to see the book engage critically with how fat shaming culture exists within Sofia's community, but instead it feels very internalised, and she just comes across as self-loathing in this particular respect, with a frustrating lack of character development.
The insights into Muslim faith are particularly excellent, because the book focuses so closely on Sofia's own, personal faith. The author does an excellent job of reminding the reader that everyone's religious experience is a highly individual thing, and that you can't learn well through stereotyping and generalisms.
The characters absolutely drive this book. I particularly loved Sofia, her family, and her girl gang. Her work circle and her final love interest feel a little underdeveloped, but I have hope that we might find out more about them in the next book, which I started immediately after finishing this one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming