This was hard to get into. I was so looking forward to it but it started off slow. I just couldn’t get into it but I appreciate the arc. Thank you.

This novel offers deep insights into the state and society of Kuwait during the last 30+ years. Told in two parallel story arcs, it retells historic events and offers glimpses into a possible near (by the time of the original publication) future of the country.

The larger parts are set back in time, starting in the mid 1980s: The narrator and his group of friends grow up as neighbours, classmates and dear mates, even though the different sects they belong to cause tensions between their families from early on. Navigating through childhood and adolesence, these tensions grow, while the world surrounding them changes, too: Be it the Iran/Iraq war, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the following gulf war (Desert Storm) or 9/11 - politics, war and an ever changing society are a huge part of the narrative. The second arc finds the narrator in the year 2020, wherein the sectarian tensions have lead to a civil war within the country - a war the now grown men wanted to avoid by creating an underground group that tried to unite the diverse country and its inhabitants.

Sadly, I couldn't really connect with the book. The historic events and all the tidbits that offered information on Kuwait's diverese society and moving history were really interesting - but other than that, the story couldn't draw me in. I couldn't connect to any of the characters, they just didn't come alive for me.

Also, the changing timelines, something I usually like, didn't work for me here at all. Part of this might be due to the fact that my knowledge of Kuwait, especially of its cultural and political system and key players, is pretty much non existent - I researched it during reading, but it was too much (plus, I didn't feel that it would've improved my reading experience that much, given the story itself didn't catch me).

Relentlessly dark and depressing with absolutely no hint of hope. At many times, people sacrifice themselves seemingly arbitrarily and it's all just a depressing mess.

I feel the need to say as a disclaimer that I know nothing about Kuwait, its history or its culture. After reading Mama Hissa's Mice, I can say that I know a little more, but have only really touched on a fraction of this beautifully diverse culture and nation. However, this novel not only highlights this diversity and celebrates it, but serves as a warning to what can happen when diverse countries turn to hate instead of striving to understand those who are different.

The book tells of a potential Civil War in the near-future, 2020 to be exact. It shows neighbors, previously in a relatively peaceful community, breaking down and fighting each other based on religion and ethnicity. The Kuwaiti's Ministry of Information saw the bleak premonitions in the book as a threat rather than a call to action and banned the book, despite its popularity.

I found the writing style to be a bit dense at times, but because I was so invested in the characters and where the story was going I kept up with it. I don't think it's going to be a breezy book for most people to get through and I am not sure that it will have a universal appeal. However, for anyone who is interested Kuwait, its history, its culture and the warning this book provides it is a good read.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Mama Hissa’s Mice transports readers to Kuwait, providing insight into the political, cultural, and religious tensions during the years leading up to the Persian Gulf War, the post-war period, and the present. Born in 1981, Saud Alsanousi, the Kuwaiti novelist and journalist, is roughly the same age as his narrator and possibly drew, at least somewhat, from his experience.

With most chapters divided between two time period—the past and the present, Mama Hissa’s Mice is narrated by the central character as he grows from childhood to early middle age. We see him grow from innocence to experience, from having few concerns other than riding his new bike and playing games with friends to organizing a small group of activists trying to bring unity to a tragically divided nation. The first half of many chapters feature the young narrator while the second half of the chapter switches to the older adult narrator. Changes are clearly marked to avoid confusion.

Alsanousi portrays a broad cross-section of Kuwaiti society peopled by minor characters such as Haydar, the Iranian grocer; Mushtaq, the Pakistani tailor; Adnan, the Syrian butcher; Jabar, the Egyptian restaurant owner; Abu Fawaz, the Kuwaiti bookstore owner; and Abu Sameh, the Palestinian ice cream seller, and, of course, the unforgettable Mama Hissa. Representing a variety of religious beliefs influenced by families and destined to stir up conflict among the group of childhood friends as they become adolescents and young men, the narrator, Fahd, Sadiq, Dhari, and Ayub must decide what is more important, their individual beliefs or their country’s welfare. The story slowly unfolds, and readers must patiently wait for the narrator to reveal important details and connections.

Although I came away from the novel with a far greater understanding of Kuwaiti culture and the Gulf War and found myself engrossed in the character’s individual beliefs and struggles, I was left wishing the Mama Hissa’s Mice contained a glossary. Overall, Sawad Hussain did an outstanding job translating this Arabic-language novel into smooth, idiomatic English, while bringing Kuwaiti culture to life. Yet, probably wanting to retain the cultural atmosphere, she used a substantial number of Arabic words, usually without explaining their meaning. Granted, most of these words do not hinder readers’ understanding of the story. For instance, some of the words are clearly foods or food-related. With my years visiting Lebanese in-laws, I have learned a few of these words such as “samak” (fish) and za’atar (a spice blend). I was even delighted to understand when Mama Hissa issued a command (“Yallah!”) to the young narrator, and somewhat disappointed when that was one of the few times that the translator followed it with a synonym that fit the context (“Out!”). Yet “Yallah” appeared several times later in the novel when it was not translated and when other possible meanings such as “hurry up” or “let’s go” suited the context. Whether the Arabic word identified a food or conveyed more critical meaning, a glossary could have added depth to the readers’ cultural experience and understanding.

For anyone who enjoys historical novels or learning about other cultures, Alsanousi’s Mama Hissa’s Mice is well worth your time. It opened my eyes to a little known time and place and also enhanced my understanding of today’s Kuwait.

Thanks to Amazon Crossing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this Advance Reader Copy.

I’m afraid I found this very difficult to get on with, confusing and hard to relate to. I understand it’s considered an important book and it’s had some very positive reviews, but the narration jumps about in time and place and although I could follow the central thesis about sectarian strife, as a whole it was frankly beyond me. It’s set in Kuwait and follows the lives of three boys as they grow up in turbulent times (the Iran-Iraq War, the Iraq-Kuwait War), opening slightly in the future in 2010 when we meet one of the boys, now a man, caught up in the turmoil. It’s a story about friendship across the religious divide, and the enmity between different religious factions, all important topics, of course, and more relevant than ever today, but I found the narrative hard to follow, and there was so much (deliberate?) repetition that it became tedious trying to follow what was going on. I accept that I might have been missing many of the cultural and political references but a good novel will always have a universal appeal and an ability to transcend cultural barriers and sadly I don’t think this one does.

This book tells a compelling story set in Kuwait. It starts on one street and telescopes out. It reveals the conditions that existed before the Iraq Invasion and the aftereffects. The narrator, as a boy, a young man, and later an older man, tenderly recounts the steadfast friendships he cherished in his neighborhood. “Friendship” is inaccurate here as the intimacy is almost as close as those in a family. And it is that proximity which makes the ensuing conflicts, disagreements, and misunderstandings all the more painful and powerful. Amid differences based on religious sects, on ethnic or national origins and on perceived loyalties, he engages in ceaseless questioning and hungers for stories. Stories, heard, read or written, become a vehicle for how he navigates relationships across the street and through local and national turmoil.

The plotting is intricate and, at times, dense. Metaphors and events, multi-layered and multi-faceted, pack the book. While the writing (translated into clear and clean English) appears straightforward, the story arc is complex and contains much depth. A radio station exemplifies the confusion of life in Kuwait. It is simultaneously viewed as pro-government or anti-government, favoring one sect or favoring the opposing sect, and promoting one ideology or contradicting that set of beliefs. Given this environment, the narrator's questioning and hunger for stories cannot be satisfied but he persistently tries to makes sense of his world.

I enjoyed this glimpse into the work of a capable Kuwaiti storyteller.

I thank AmazonCrossing, via NetGalley, for providing this ARC.