Reading, writing, and living a wild bookish life
According to the Internet, an “incendiary” is either someone who starts fires (in a military context) or someone who stirs up conflict. Probably both of these definitions makes sense for this novel.
Before I get into anything, I’m about to tell you now that this post will have spoilers. I just can’t talk about this novel without actually spoiling it, so look away if you haven’t read the book yet!
I love fantasy stories. I love when there’s someone risking everything they have and love for the better of a group or nation of people. I love people who fight against adversity and maybe they don’t always win, but they don’t quit. And while stories like this one aren’t fantasy, it’s the heroism and strength of its characters that make you wonder if fantasy is based on real life.
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I started reading this book thinking that it would be another immigrant story, but when I started it was about time travel. However, thinking about it a little bit more, I can definitely say for sure that this book is about immigration. It’s just not the kind of immigration that you’re thinking.
This is a little bit different from what I normally do, but I was perusing Twitter when I saw this:
In my head, I was hyperventilating. I had heard Tahereh Mafi was going to move away from her high fantasy books to write something that felt much more autobiographical.
I knew that it would be about being Muslim American and the months and years after 9/11.
However, I didn’t think I would get to read an excerpt from the book. I didn’t think I would read it today, a few days after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the travel ban from Muslim-oriented countries.
It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.
Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.
But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.
You can pre-order this book now!
So I read the excerpt while slurping spicy noodles for lunch and right off the bat, I knew that this will be another amazing story about Muslim Americans that needs to be boosted on all social media platforms. Since this exclusive excerpt was shared on Entertainment Weekly, I’ll share the link to that article below:
Read an excerpt from Taharei Mafi’s newest book, A VERY LARGE EXPANSE OF SEA
Now, even though I’ve only read this excerpt and highly anticipating reading the rest of this novel, I do want to share some quotes and reflections that resonated with me. You can find these after the jump!
I really wanted to like this book, but for some reason I couldn’t even finish it. I’ll try to be honest in my review below, but I do encourage you to try and read it if it’s been of interest to you.
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My review of this book honestly doesn’t do it justice. I had a ton of thoughts here and I tried to boil it down to its essentials without spoiling too much. Here goes nothing.
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I approach this novel like it was another diverse read with a distinct voice from an Asian American author. What I got was a heck of a lot more. I’ve also got a cute trailer for the book I want to share. Check it out below!
