Tag: Sofia Khan is Not Obliged

Ayisha Malik – The Other Half of Happiness | Review

February 24, 2017
Authors K-O (By Surname)Fiction

Title: The Other Half of Happiness

Author: Ayisha Malik

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 442

Rating: 4*/5

 

Ayisha Malik - The Other Half of Happiness

Ayisha Malik – The Other Half of Happiness

 

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

I’m already somewhat familiar with Malik’s work, because I’ve already read and reviewed her first book, Sofia Khan is Not Obliged. It was described as the Muslim Bridget Jones, but I’ve never read the Helen Fielding book or watched the Reece Witherspoon movie, so I like to think that I have a relatively clean palette for this.

The accompanying information with this, the sequel, described it variously as a book that “will resonate with any woman who’s looking for love” and “the feminist romantic comedy you’ve been waiting for”. Now, I don’t know about that – for the record, I’m pretty sure I’m basically a post-feminist – but I do know a good story when I read it, and I couldn’t give a damn about the genre or whatever labels you want to put on it. Yes, it has elements of romance. But it also has plenty of drama. Name a good book that doesn’t.

I think it’s easy to classify books like this as belonging to one genre or another, but I also think that the very best authors manage to merge a few of them together. Stephen King, for example, is thought of primarily as a horror writer, but that’s not all he is. Likewise, Malik is a romance writer, but not really. She just writes about life, and let’s face it – what is life without a little romance?

 

Ayisha Malik

Ayisha Malik

 

Now, you might have noticed that I’ve avoided going into detail when it comes to the plot. That’s largely because a lot of it relies upon what happened in the first book. What I will say, though, is that the plot flowed smoothly between the two instalments, and that there’s plenty of character growth still happening, which is always a worry when writers get to their second book. For example, Sofia’s mother always drove me up the wall, which is pretty much the point of her. That continued throughout the first book, but in the second, I started to come round. I wouldn’t exactly say that I like her, but I do have a lot of respect for her.

Overall, then, I think this is a good sequel to a good book, and I get the feeling that Malik isn’t finished yet. Sure, it’s not for everyone, but I think that if you’re a free-thinking sort of reader with no real preference when it comes to genres, there’s plenty to enjoy.

 

Ayisha Malik

Ayisha Malik

 

Click here to buy The Other Half of Happiness.

Ayisha Malik – Sofia Khan is Not Obliged | Review

September 23, 2015
Authors K-O (By Surname)Fiction

Title: Ayisha Malik

Author: Sofia Khan is Not Obliged

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 444

Rating: 9/10

 

Ayisha Malik - Sofia Khan is Not Obliged

Ayisha Malik – Sofia Khan is Not Obliged

 

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book has been described as the Muslim Bridget Jones, and I guess I can see that – I’ve never read or watched Bridget Jones, but I know what it’s about, and it is true that there are some similarities. This book is laid out like a diary, for example, and it follows the trials and tribulations of Sofia Khan as she attempts to write a book about Muslim dating for her work, even though she doesn’t particularly want to.

Personally, I loved it, despite it not being the sort of genre that I’d usually be interested in. Sofia was a pretty likeable character, and she was certainly three-dimensional – her extended friends and family all had convincing lives of their own as well, and despite the fact that there were loads of them, it wasn’t confusing. By the end of it, you feel like you’re a part of the family.

And one of the good things about it is that, while there is a Muslim flavour to it and whilst religion and racism are portrayed unflinchingly, it’s also a great piece of entertainment. As a reader, you don’t feel like the author is preaching to you, and you also don’t need to be a Muslim (or, indeed, religious at all) for it to be a pleasure to read. It also helps that the book’s laid out in such a way that you speed through it, and feel like you’re always making progress.

 

Ayisha Malik

Ayisha Malik

 

Books like this are important, because there’s a lot of shit going down in the world today, and Muslims take more than their fair share of the blame – that’s why racism is a problem in the first place. If more people read books like this, I think the world would be a better place… although there may also be a sudden spike in the number of people getting punched in the face by Muslim women in hijabs. But if they deserve it, maybe we can all just turn a blind eye to it.

Overall, then, this book comes highly recommended from me, even if this is a little different to the sort of stuff that you normally read. There’s something here for everyone really, because even if you can’t relate personally to Sofia, you can relate to the problems that she has in her day-to-day life. Because we’re not so different from each other, and this book highlights that fact perfectly.

 

Ayisha Malik

Ayisha Malik

 

Click here to buy Sofia Khan is Not Obliged.