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A review by tasleemreads
The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The Beauty of Your Face is my favourite and the quickest book I have read this year. Sahar Mustafah is an amazing author who represented the Muslim community with authenticity, love and pride. I see myself in this book, I read of my own struggles relating to faith, identity and belonging within Mustafah's words. It is truly a fantastic body of work that represents faith as it really is; a journey with many ups and downs and not a stationary destination.
Afaf, the protagonist, struggles with her faith, her identity and the clash of her two cultures; the Palestinian culture she is raised with and the American cultures she lives in. Afaf and her family each have their own struggles to find their identity in America. Her mother, Muntaha, longing to return to her homeland, her father, Mahmood, struggling to accept this and losing his dream/sense of self, the children; Nada, Afaf and Majeed, struggling to find love and acceptance.
Although Afaf's was the main storyline, each character had a purpose, depth and growth throughout the novel that was independent of the protagonist.
I LOVED the inclusion of Arabic, with no translation, within the novel. It was an amazing addition and naturally belonged within the book. Readers who didn't understand Arabic could research this and perhaps come across information to develop their understanding of Islam. Not sure if Sahar Mustafah did this as a form of Sadaqah Jariyah, but may it be accepted as such and may Allah bless her for doing so and for this great book.
I recommend this book to everyone! Especially my fellow Muslims as this book represents journey within faith in its truest form.
Afaf, the protagonist, struggles with her faith, her identity and the clash of her two cultures; the Palestinian culture she is raised with and the American cultures she lives in. Afaf and her family each have their own struggles to find their identity in America. Her mother, Muntaha, longing to return to her homeland, her father, Mahmood, struggling to accept this and losing his dream/sense of self, the children; Nada, Afaf and Majeed, struggling to find love and acceptance.
Although Afaf's was the main storyline, each character had a purpose, depth and growth throughout the novel that was independent of the protagonist.
I LOVED the inclusion of Arabic, with no translation, within the novel. It was an amazing addition and naturally belonged within the book. Readers who didn't understand Arabic could research this and perhaps come across information to develop their understanding of Islam. Not sure if Sahar Mustafah did this as a form of Sadaqah Jariyah, but may it be accepted as such and may Allah bless her for doing so and for this great book.
I recommend this book to everyone! Especially my fellow Muslims as this book represents journey within faith in its truest form.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Islamophobia, and Mass/school shootings