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A review by damalireads
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I really liked Lamya! Appreciated the look into her life across multiple countries, figuring out how to assimilate and realizing that may be impossible when you're fighting an uphill battle of racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and transphobia (oh my!). She has a lot of heart behind her writing and I think remaining anonymous actually added to the story. I would say if you have any curiosity about this book, definitely give it a try!
I will say, I didn't find the writing in this memoir to be very strong. The structure felt very formulaic. Most issues or problems had a 1:1 solution, and I didn't feel very present in the story. Some analogies were stronger than others, and sometimes felt forced. I feel like her ideas were creative enough to warrant an equally creative writing style but I didn't get that. To be fair, that could partially be due to my disconnection with religious stories from the Quran + my own qualms with how memoirs are written.
Overall, I'm glad I read this & learned some tings.
I will say, I didn't find the writing in this memoir to be very strong. The structure felt very formulaic. Most issues or problems had a 1:1 solution, and I didn't feel very present in the story. Some analogies were stronger than others, and sometimes felt forced. I feel like her ideas were creative enough to warrant an equally creative writing style but I didn't get that. To be fair, that could partially be due to my disconnection with religious stories from the Quran + my own qualms with how memoirs are written.
Overall, I'm glad I read this & learned some tings.