Through the eyes of a woman caught between cultures and identities, Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb exposes the verity and beauty of Islam withThrough the eyes of a woman caught between cultures and identities, Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb exposes the verity and beauty of Islam with gentle prose that sweep its readers into the power of its themes. A story of loss and love, war and Islam, identity and truth, the novel shapes itself around the life of a nomadic young woman by the name of Lilly who when faced with a life of hardship, turns to the guiding light and permanency of the Qur’an. By providing a candid and poignant glimpse into the realities of a white Muslim woman, Gibb plunges into a world set against the backdrop of a roused and tattered Ethiopia and with effortless craftsmanship, draws out a story that aches with the polemic between modernity and traditionalism, the balance between earthly love and a love of God, and the struggle between losing oneself to humanity and finding oneself in religion. Lilly has never known belonging. As a young girl, she trails behind her nomadic, hippie parents like a deadened kite, waiting for that breath of wind that will take her somewhere she can finally call home. When her parents are tragically murdered in Morocco, the wind deposits her, eight years old and orphaned, on the doorstep of the Great Abdal, a Sufi teacher. Trained to revere the saints and find solace among mystical seekers, Lilly becomes enraptured with the rhythmic song of the Qur’an. Here, she finds Islam. Here, she finds home. When politics get the better of Morocco, Lilly stays true to her nomadic past and packs up her religion to embark on a pilgrimage to Harar, Ethiopia at the age of sixteen. But despite her religious honesty, her white skin betrays her in her travels. Her religious devotion means nothing in the face of her external appearance and the local sheikh of Harar she had hoped would welcome her into his home ultimately refuses to house her. Abandoned, she turns to the kindness of Nouria, a poor, single mother of four who provides her with shelter and comfort. She quickly adapts to Nouria’s decrepit lifestyle in a city where the hyenas whoop beyond thin walls and the stench of petrol wards off the flies, where the thin, contaminated stew is dinner and the begrimed floor is bed. In these dismal conditions, Lilly finds strength in Islam. Every week, she surrounds the shrine to celebrate life’s miracles alongside the other women of the village. Before long, the children are gathering in her presence to practice the Qur’an. And yet, Lilly cannot help but to feel disconnected from this city trapped in ancient ways and her identity as a white Muslim, a farenji, an outsider. Forced to “tiptoe so as not to leave footprints� on the foreign soil, Lilly struggles to ever fully belong in this place where young girls refer to circumcision as a party and midwives preside over doctors. That is, until she meets Dr. Aziz, “a black man with a Harari mother, a black man with a good education� (236) whose dark skin and modern ideals also brand him as an outsider. Compelled by his kindness and mystified by his innovative understanding of Islam, Lilly is drawn to Aziz and the two form a relationship in which they learn to challenge and accept. However, circumstances tear the two apart when Lilly must flee to London for both of their safeties. Even in London, her pale complexion cannot save her from being regarded as a foreigner. Still, she makes a life for herself as a nurse for the National Health Service and even finds time to reconnect displaced Ethiopians with their loved ones in the wake of the civil war. Although she attempts to adapt to her new lifestyle, befriending a fellow exile Amina and a kind Pakistani doctor, the past haunts her with thoughts of Aziz and a time when a rule-bound Islam gave her hope for the future. Ultimately, the novel paints this tale with stunning prose that develops into a memorable story and a sequence of powerful themes. Throughout Lilly’s struggle, Gibb portrays the power dynamic between a modern world and a traditional Islam, and exemplifies this struggle in her portrayal of women. Even Lilly, an orthodox Muslim, is consumed with shock and horror when she witnesses Rahile’s traditional circumcision, protesting “She’s too young!� (61). She could not believe “this was the party Rahile had been waiting for� (61), but tradition holds that an uncircumcised girl, a sharmuta, will never marry and bring only shame to her family (62). After all, to marry and have a family is all a woman is good for. “To have a girl who is advanced� (87), a girl who can think for herself and aspire for something more, is to be cursed. Not even a child in grave danger of infection can convince this society that perhaps a girl is worth more than circumcision and marriage. When Rahile becomes infected following her procedure, Lilly begs Nouria to see reason and allow her to take the child to the hospital. But, adhering to tradition, Nouria refuses; after all, “the doctor was the last resort in a community where midwives and faith healers and herbalists ruled� (64). The polemic between these two schools of thought strengthens when Dr. Aziz enters the story, challenging Lilly to abandon her “Listen and repeat� (55) understanding of Islam and see its practices from a more modern perspective. While accustomed to her orthodox version of Islam being dismissed as “rooted in superstition� (78), Lilly soon finds herself seeing an image of Dr. Aziz whenever she attempts “to meditate beyond the page� (78). Slowly, he pulls her away from her rules and scriptures. Slowly, she begins to see that perhaps tradition and modernity do not have to exist as contradictory poles. Maybe, just maybe, they can exist along a gradient, built on understanding and acceptance. Indeed, Dr. Aziz opens a whole world of contradictions for Lilly. Orphaned at a young age and forced into a nomadic lifestyle, Lilly’s first encounter with unconditional love is Islam. A woman without roots, Lilly finds solace in the Qur’an. “The world within the book [is] whole…it [is] the antithesis of the peripatetic life [she’d] lived with [her] parents; it [is] the antidote to their death� (55). For Lilly, Islam is a gift. Precious and all encompassing, it links us all. Her love for God, for the Prophet (may peace be upon him), is unmatched throughout the novel; as she says, “‘Only God can judge what is in another person’s heart’� (169). No other form of love could possibly be greater than the love one shares with God. At least, this is what Lilly believes before she meets Aziz. Suddenly, her concentration when studying the beloved Qur’an dwindles, replaced with images of a new love, an earthly love. As she falls for Aziz, somewhere along the way “need [becomes] superstition, tradition [becomes] voluntary, and then ritual further degenerates[s] into a subject of some embarrassment� (194). Over time, she loosens her grasp on the traditions of her first love, finding once again that perhaps religion does not have to exist in the strict limits of a binary. Perhaps, she does not have to choose between her love for God and earthly love. Yet, as her world changes, as she discovers earthly love and fights to hold on to all she has in the face of humanity’s cruelty, she can never forget her first love, her first home, her ultimate identity: Islam. Throughout the course of her life, Lilly faces unending trials. Exposed to the cruelty of the world and her fellow man as she lives in Nouria’s decrepit home and war and famine devastate Ethiopia, Lilly never loses her faith. Islam remains a familiar friend. Her roots twine around the words of the Qur’an; they stabilize her in the rhythm of the lines and chapters. It would be so easy for Lilly to submit to her hardships, to lose herself to humanity’s cruelness, and while at times, the world challenges her religion and beliefs, she never forgets that “to read the Qur’an with your family around you is to be home� (190). She never forgets where she first found herself and where she knows with certainty, she can always find herself again. In the end, Gibb crafts a story that traverses the pigeon-hole of another Islam-focused novel. With heartbreaking realism and hair-raising honesty, Sweetness in the Belly does not only provide a glimpse into the life of a Muslim woman; it gives us a glimpse into humanity, into ourselves. It makes us question our beliefs and ideals, the roots of our identity. It breaks down the binaries we create—the ones we use to divide modernity and tradition, our love for each other and our love for God—and garner an appreciation for their connected, overlapping nature. But most of all, it tells us this: we’re not alone. We are all just trying to find ourselves.
LOVED THIS BOOK! And highly recommend to those who are fans of Khaled Hosseini's works....more
You know that sequel syndrome where the 2nd book just pales in comparison to the first and is SOOO slow that you forget how enchanted you were by the You know that sequel syndrome where the 2nd book just pales in comparison to the first and is SOOO slow that you forget how enchanted you were by the original book....well, that is NOT the case for Bracken's sequel to The Darkest Minds, Never Fade!!! I don't know that I would say Never Fade was better than its previous counterpart, but I think they were definitely on the same page of heart pounding action and suspense! Even better, a whole host of new characters have been added to the mix, and they are oh so lovable. I am also consistently impressed with Bracken's wit to the point that I have to pause reading and share a humorous line with whomever is nearby because it is that hilarious! Seriously, some of the punchy, sarcastic lines in this novel are just SPOT-ON, having me laugh out loud and repeating the comebacks over and over in the hopes that I will remember to use them one day. And if not impressed with Bracken's humor-which, let's face it, will not happen-you will be bound to fall for the raw emotions that pour from the characters in these extremely hard times. For those who have read the first book, I only have three words. Ruby and Liam! Be prepared to have these two pulling at your heartstrings all over again, and don't be shocked when they aren't the only characters to do so! It should also be mentioned that the plot is pushed forward steadily, answering questions along the way and opening some new ones that will have you clawing for the next book the moment it's released. I, for one, have my claws at the ready!
Overall, this series comes highly recommended, especially to those who enjoy children/teens overcoming obstacles, dystopian novels, overbearing governments, kick-ass female leads, and supernatural powers. I would call this a must-read for everyone, though I do want to issue a warning that there is a fair mix of foul language and some of the imagery can get graphic, so keep that in mind when purchasing for some younger readers or anyone who is more sensitive to such subject matter. Otherwise, jUST READ IT! You won't be disappointed. ...more
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