A review by anisa9
Zeina by Nawal El Saadawi

3.0

Very mixed feelings about this book (debating between 3 starts to 2 stars) I feel like a lot of the ideas and conflicts were repeated so often it became redundant. I wouldn’t say it’s a plot driven book, but it does pick up its pace at moments. The prose is beautiful but the characters were two dimensional and weren’t engaging. There is a lot of jumping between perspectives and maybe that isn’t for me. I found that the ending wasn’t as impactful, and almost predictable. The ending only picked up in the last 10 pages and it felt slightly disconnected from the rest of the story. Nonetheless the characters’ conflicts with religion and morality was really interesting and reflective of their society. I just wish that instead of circling around the same issues and same dilemas throughout the entire story, something more was presented.