To close out July, Kendra and Sumaiyya discuss The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar and A Burning by Megha Majumdar.
Read moreEp. 91 | Fight Like a Girl
For July’s theme, Kendra, Sumaiyya, and RuthAnn share books around the theme Fight Like a Girl.
Read moreEp. 86 | A Pure Heart and Love from A to Z
To close out our month on Marriage Stories, Kendra and Sumaiyya discuss A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib and Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali.
Read moreEp. 85 | Marriage Stories
For April’s theme, Kendra, Sumaiyya, and Joce discuss Marriage Stories!
Read moreQ&A | Yara Rodrigues Fowler
Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler is a story that takes place in Britain and Brazil, following an unnamed narrator as she navigates her ethnic and cultural identity and a sense of belonging to both cultures. While the novel is narrated primarily from the from the point of view of the protagonist, other female voices, members of the narrator’s family, also narrate their stories to create a wider picture of a family. Stubborn Archivist is one of those novels that you can’t easily put a label on: to some Stubborn Archivist may be a #MeToo novel while to others it’s a mother-daughter story or a bicultural identity narrative; the undeniable link is, of course, the female protagonist whose voice comes through beautifully. The novel ends mid-sentence, perhaps indicative of the unfinished nature of her life story. We spoke to Yara Rodrigues Fowler about her brilliant debut and the ways it pushes the boundaries of storytelling. - Sumaiyya Naseem
Read moreQ&A | Layla AlAmmar
The Pact We Made by Layla AlAmmar is a novel that brings a much needed voice from the Middle East. Set in Kuwait, the narrative depicts the dualities in the experience of being a modern woman in a patriarchal system. In the story, Dahlia is living two lives; as a working woman in the outside world, and a daughter whose parents are bound by the dictates of patriarchy. As she edges closer to the age of thirty, she is faced with the brutal societal expectation to get married, just as her other friends have, while also dealing with past trauma that she hasn’t fully come to terms with. Layla AlAmmar’s novel is a brilliant and brave new story from Kuwait that offers a wider, more nuanced and complex picture of living in urban cities of the Gulf. We spoke to Layla AlAmmar about her novel, writing in Kuwait and her character’s distinct interest in art. - Sumaiyya Naseem
Read moreEp. 76.5 | Reading Women Award Honorable Mentions
To kick off Reading Women Award season, our co-hosts Sachi Argabright, Jaclyn Masters, and Sumaiyya Naseem share their Honorable Mentions for 2019!
Read moreEp. 76 | Our Women on the Ground and The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing
To close out our month on Cross-Cultural Dualities, Kendra and Sumaiyya chat about this month’s discussion picks.
Read moreEp. 75 | Cross-Cultural Dualities
For October’s theme, Kendra, Sumaiyya, and new Reading Women contributor Bezi discuss books that features characters experiencing cultural dualities.
Read moreEp. 70 | The Night Diary and The Far Field
To close out our month about the Partition of India, Kendra and Sumaiyya chat about this month’s discussion picks.
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