By Leila Aboulela, Grove Press, Black Cat Publishing, Paperback, 290 pages
A a lively portrait of three women who embark on a journey of self-discovery while grappling with the conflicting demands of family, duty, and faith.
When Salma, Moni, and Iman take a road trip together to the Scottish Highlands, they leave behind lives dominated by obligation, frustrated desire, and dull predictability. Each wants something more out of life but fears the cost of taking it.
When the women are visited by the Hoopoe, a sacred bird from Muslim and Celtic literature, they are compelled to question their relationships to faith and femininity, love, loyalty, and sacrifice.
About the author:
Leila Aboulela was born in 1964 in Cairo, to an Egyptian mother and a Sudanese father. She moved to Sudan at the age of six weeks and lived in Khartoum until 1987. She is the author of five novels, with a title in The New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year.
