Woman Is No Man (Rum) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[A] pleasing debut…. Rum’s short chapters crisscross timelines with the zippy pace of a thriller, yet repetitive scenes and unwieldy dialogue deflate the narrative. Though the execution is sometimes shaky, there’s enough to make it worthwhile for fans of stories about family secrets.
Publishers Weekly


Yanked away from the books she loves, Isra leaves 1990 Palestine for marriage to a stranger who takes her to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn… [and endures] the scorn of her mother-in-law, especially after birthing four girls. Years later, her eldest daughter, too, is scorned… because she wants to go to college.
Library Journal


First-time novelist Rum’s setting… is rare: a Brooklyn Palestinian enclave in which reputation matters above all else…. The daughter of Brooklyn Palestinian immigrants, Rum was often told "a woman is no man." Overcoming her fear of community reprisal, she alchemizes that limiting warning into a celebration of "the strength and power of our women."
Booklist


In telling this compelling tale, Rum—who was born in Brooklyn to Palestinian immigrants herself—writes that she hopes readers will be moved “by the strength and power of our women.” A richly detailed and emotionally charged debut.
Kirkus Reviews