Sadness Is a White Bird by Moriel Rothman-Zecher, The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn JouKhadar. In A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum tackles the sensitive and devastating problem of domestic abuse and women’s oppression in Palestinian culture. We’ve been taught that silence will save us.
She probes the dark and the daunting as she tells the story of a Brooklyn teenager navigating the wishes of a family who want her to marry.” Every day for one year, I wrote the novel for two hours before the start of my work day.
Do you believe there is some way for women to reclaim such a misogynistic phrase and subvert the ideology? The Los Angeles Review of Books is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Are there any other sentimental elements in the novel that readers may not be aware of?
My main priority was speaking on behalf of women who felt voiceless and unheard, which meant I had to tell their stories, even if those stories were uncomfortable to tell. Isra recognizes Scheherazade as a woman whose voice was her weapon and that her story should remind readers of “the strength of a single woman.” Was writing this novel empowering to you as storytelling was to Scheherazade? We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to … By Etaf Rum. At first I kept censoring myself out of fear of violating my community’s code of silence, making us “look bad,” and further confirming stereotypes, but that resulted in a story that was stilted and inauthentic. Etaf Rum’s debut novel is a must-read about women mustering up the bravery to follow their inner voice.” (Refinery 29) “Rum writes of the complexities inside the lives of Arab American women. And do you feel female writers shoulder that sense of responsibility differently compared to male authors? The title is inspired by a phrase you were told by your elders whenever you wished to make your own choices, rather than follow the societal guidelines for women—a woman is no man. What are the potential risks of such secrecy?
How long did you work on the writing process? What books can you recommend to readers who want to read about the Palestinian diaspora? In what ways is such silence harmful to Isra and other women and girls? One of the characters owns a bookshop named Books and Beans, a name clearly inspired by your successful Instagram project. Does it make their lives better or worse? Etaf Rum's A Woman Is No Man is a shattering, revelatory tale of immigration, womanhood, and the cyclical impact of violence and oppression. 1521, Los Angeles, California, 90028, United States, http://lareviewofbooks.org permission to email you.
I knew I wanted to write a story about mothers and daughters, and the intergenerational conflicts of that, esp from an immigrant perspective. I wanted to be clear about the fact that the dark aspects of the novel are rooted in the patriarchal culture and have nothing to do with the doctrines of Islam. For a few years now, she’s been sharing great literature on her Instagram feed, @booksandbeans, and tirelessly advocating for up-and-coming authors.
Her debut novel is A Woman is No Man (2019). Was your writing process affected by the awareness of this possible disapproval? Yes, absolutely. A Woman Is … Rum’s novel is also the story of one young woman’s journey of defying the limited path chosen for her by working towards claiming agency for herself. It was a very disciplined process and intense time, but I learned so much about myself as a writer in the process—which was needed since this book was the first thing I’ve ever written. Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Palestinian immigrants. Subscribe to LARB's FREE Weekly Newsletter: By submitting this form, you are granting: Los Angeles Review of Books, 6671 Sunset Blvd., Ste. Find more details here. Etaf Rum's new novel, A Woman is No Man, may violate a code of silence in the tight-knit and often closed Palestinian American community of Brooklyn in … She also runs the Instagram account @booksandbeans. When I found out she was writing a book of her own, I …
Stay tuned! ETAF RUM Discussion Guide 1. Deya, who wants to be a storyteller, tries to understand her past through books and stories in an attempt to rewrite the limited narrative of her own life—in a way, that is how I felt when writing this book.
Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Palestinian immigrants. This is a topic that Rum admits she was scared to approach because it would upset her community, a challenge she feels female Arab writers often face. A Woman Is No Man is her first novel. Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Palestinian immigrants.
64 | The Moor's Account and A Very Large Expanse of Sea →. She teaches college English literature in North Carolina, where she lives with her two children. You'll then be redirected back to LARB.
She teaches college English literature in North Carolina, where she lives with her two children. A Woman Is No Man is your debut—congratulations! According to Rum, the novel, while fiction, relies heavily on autobiographical details.In fact, Rum’s life so closely parallels her characters’ lives that the narrative effectively blurs the line between fiction and memoir.. Did you face any challenges or surprises in the publishing process? Rum takes us inside a world where few of us have been before: the lives of conservative Arab women living in America. 2.
Ep. Some links are affiliate links. $26.99. I wanted to show how the idea of the American dream is often sought out by immigrant families, but more specifically the breadwinners of these immigrant families, which are mostly men. Fans of fiction that explores multicultural identity, and universal themes of loss, displacement, and transformation such as The Kite Runner, Americanah, and Everything I Never Told You will be drawn to this powerful novel.
She teaches college English literature in North Carolina, where she lives with her two children. Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Palestinian immigrants.
Donate $5000 to help LARB continue to push literary boundaries and, along with all the perks listed above, we’ll credit you as a donor on our website and in our Quarterly Journal. Where I come from, we keep these stories to ourselves. Yes, the distinction between culture and religion was very important to me, especially in a time of Islamophobia. The book club questions for A Woman Is No Man will have spoilers so check out my spoiler-free review first. I think people of color in general, and especially women of color, have the responsibility of representation when deciding to tell their stories. Donate $2500 to support LARB’s public events series, increasing community access to our ongoing literary conversation, and, along with all the perks listed above, we’ll gift you two VIP tickets to an event. Book club questions for A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum discusses in-depth this story about three generations of Palestinian-American women. How does emigrating to America affect them? Was making this distinction important to you? Four LARB-selected books + access to conversation on each book with LARB editors + all the perks of the print membership.
The answers to these questions are often disheartening. Coming to America, or even being born there, doesn’t hand female characters the kind of liberation or freedom that is so central to the American narrative. A note to our readers. Donate $1000 to help foster our ongoing commitment to visual art, and you’ll receive, along with all of the perks listed above, credit for supporting LARB’s relationship with the visual arts. 7,910 Followers, 412 Following, 418 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Etaf Rum (@etafrum) For the next step, you'll be taken to a website to complete the donation and enter your billing information.
Save $20 when you subscribe for a whole year! Or did the different voices emerge later? Etaf Rum’s debut novel, A Woman Is No Man, was originally published in 2019. You explained in an author’s note in the early reader’s edition that you were violating your community’s code of silence by writing this story. Donate $500 to help us pay writers, ensuring that LARB continues to publish brave new voices, and you’ll receive, along with all of the perks listed above, four titles from our publishing wing, LARB Books. Did you always plan to write a multigenerational family saga? Cultural Complications: A Q-and-A with Etaf Rum on “A Woman Is No Man”.
A Woman Is No Man is her first novel. She teaches college English literature in North Carolina, where she lives with her two children.
- Sumaiyya Naseem. Etaf Rum’s debut novel A Woman is No Man, takes us where few have gone before: into the lives of conservative Arab women living in America.Told through the perspective of three generations of Palestinian-American women, this is a story of immigration, desire, betrayal, the impact of violence and womanhood within this strict Arab culture. Donate $250 to support the print edition of our Quarterly Journal, and you’ll receive an annual subscription to the journal, along with all of the perks listed above, plus a limited edition tote. Etaf Rum is one of the most thoughtful, dedicated #bookstagrammers in the game. I’m the eldest daughter of Palestinian immigrants, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and like my characters, books and storytelling are important to me—so, in some sense, this novel is also a love letter to books, to Palestinian women, and to Brooklyn. Print Quarterly Journal + a limited-edition tote + all the perks of the digital membership. On the one hand, they want to tell a true and authentic story; but on the other hand, there is the fear of representing an entire culture with that story, which is an unfair burden. ETAF RUM: I wanted to write an authentic story about the lives and struggles of many Arab-American women, especially since our voices are underrepresented in …
Absolutely, and this belief is what I hope to convey to readers, especially those who grew up in similar circumstances and who were taught that women’s lives are more limited than the lives of men and that women are prescribed a certain way of living that men are exempt from. Save $10 when you subscribe for a whole year!