Sweetness in the belly
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Like Brick Lane and The Kite Runner, Camilla Gibb's widely praised new novel is a poignant and intensely atmospheric look beyond the stereotypes of Islam. After her hippie British parents are murdered, Lilly is raised at a Sufi shrine in Morocco. As a young woman she goes on pilgrimage to Harar, Ethiopia, where she teaches Qur'an to children and falls in love with an idealistic doctor. But even swathed in a traditional headscarf, Lilly can't escape being marked as a foreigner. Forced to flee Ethiopia for England, she must once again confront the riddle of who she is and where she belongs.
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Read this novel for no other reason than to be “whooshed” away by the stunning language and phrases the author evokes through the characters and their lives. If you happen to come away with a deeper awareness of Ethiopian history and culture, as well as Islamic and Muslim traditions–that's a plus.
Lilly's parents, British citizens, lead a life of reckless wanderings. While the family is traveling in Ethiopia, Lilly's parents are killed and Lilly is sent to stay with the Great Abdal, a teacher and leader of his people. She is taught to be a devout Muslim by Abdal and she learns much about literature and art by visits from a great teacher, Muhammed Bruce. Eventually she is sent to live with a young mother, Nouria. Lilly finds she can supplement the income of Nouria and her children by teaching the children the Koran. Lilly comes to know a handsome doctor, Aziz. As Lilly grows older, she and Aziz become friends and then fall in love.
The story brought together so many unexpected elements—a young British girl who becomes an ardent Muslim...a devout Muslim who risks it all for the sake of being with the man she loves...the complex ancestry of the doctor, with both desirable and undesirable parents—that it felt like a memoir. It has left me thinking about cultural identity and religious belief; thinking about a book even after finishing it is always a sign to me of an excellent read.
