I have tried reading this book numerous times and it just was not for me. I ended up DNFing it. The concept was great but I didn’t love any of the characters and didn’t feel like the plot was going anywhere. I wanted to love this book but just couldn’t get into it. I stopped reading it about 30% of the way through. I would pick up another book by this author as I think it would be good, just needed some more development.

Leila Aboulela never fails to weave a magical story,This was a wonderful read a book of female friendship a look at the Muslim religion and a journey these three friends took .Highly recommend A totally absorbing thoughtful book, @betgalley@groveatlantic

The first book I have read by Leila Aboulela, an author I’ve wanted to read for some time, being someone who grew up in one culture and has experienced life in another, of the variety that interests me, the opposite of the colonial visitor.

There was a time when literary insights into other cultures came predominantly from male explorers of anglo-saxon cultures, now we are increasingly able to read stories of how it is to be a woman coming from an African or Eastern culture or country, living in the West, a blend of the richness in perspective of what they bring and the fresh insights of their encounter with the place and people they have arrived to be among.

Bird Summons was all the better, for telling a tale of three women. They share in common that they belong to the Arabic Speaking Muslim Women’s Group, although they’ve each grown up in different countries. Within their group and from that element they have in common, they challenge and learn from each other.

We witness how their attitudes shift and change as they transform, within this environment they’ve adapted to. One can not live elsewhere and stay fixed in the past and even when one adapts to a new present, it is necessary to continue changing and moving forward, no matter what challenges us from the outside.

Salma has organised a trip for the members of the group to visit the remote site of the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold, the first British woman to perform the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, to educate themselves about the history of Islam in Britain, however rumours of its defacement cause some to have doubts, whittling their numbers to just three.

“The attempt of the women to visit Lady Evelyn’s grave is a way of connecting more closely to Britain. Because Lady Evelyn was a Muslim like them, they see her as one of them and it gives them a sense of belonging.

She was also more independent than they are, stronger, more confident, more able. She was a Scottish aristocrat and therefore vastly more entitled than they would ever be. She represents the figure of a leader which is something that they need.” Leila Aboulela

Sometimes adversity offers a gift and rather than an overnight visit, they decide to stay a week at the loch, a resort on the grounds of a converted monastery, from where they can leisurely make their way to the grave.

Each of the three women has a pressing life issue that over the week consumes them, that the other women become aware of, leading them to have a strange, hallucinatory, spiritual experience. As their journey unfolds, they explore how faith, family and culture determine their lives, decisions and futures.

As they travel we get to know their characters, their lives, how attached they are to the place they now call home and the pressures and influences on them that come from the cultures they have left behind. They live at the intersection of a past and present, of who they were and who they are becoming. This holiday will be transformational for all three of them.

“Salma, Moni and Iman are weighed down by their egos, though it might not be apparent to them at first. Like most of us, they see themselves as good people, justified in the positions and decisions they have taken.” Leila Aboulela

Salma was trained as a Doctor in Egypt, leaving her fiance, for David, a British convert who would bring her to Scotland, something her family approved of and she was excited to do, despite being unable to practice her profession. Though successful in her current job as a massage therapist, when Amir starts messaging her, she begins imagining the life she might have had, obsessively checking and replying to the messages.

Moni left a high flying career, her life now revolves around caring for her disabled son Adam, consuming her and pushing her away from her husband who wants them to join him in Saudi Arabia, something Moni rejects because of how she believes Adam will be perceived, an outcast.

Iman is young, beautiful, unlucky in love and a poor judge of character, the men she has married were stunned by her beauty but possessive.

"Surrounded by adulation and comfort, like a pet, she neither bristled nor rebelled. She did, though, see herself growing up, becoming more independent."good

And then there is the Hoopoe. The wonderful bird that’ll take some readers on a side journey to find out more. The bird comes to Iman in a dream, recounting fable-like stories.

"It spoke a language that she could understand. It knew her from long ago, it had travelled with her all those miles, never left her side, was always there but only here in this special place, could it make itself known."

It is one of only three birds mentioned in the Quran, and symbolises tapping into ancient wisdom, probing one’s inner questions for the answers being sought.

The appearance of the Hoopoe late in the novel heralds a period of magic realism, that reminds me of the experience of reading The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree. It comes as a surprise when the woman’s reality shifts, as they shape-shift and are tested within the experience. It is disconcerting for the reader as we too experience the women’s confusion, but I recognise it as part of the cultural experience, of an aspect of traditional storytelling bringing a mythical message-carrying bird into contemporary social relevance.

“The Hoopoe in classical Sufi literature is the figure of the spiritual/religious teacher who imparts wisdom and guidance. However, the Hoopoe’s powers are limited. The women must make their own choices.”

It is a wonderful book of three international women, their journey, which they believe to be a pilgrimage to an important site, which becomes an inner voyage of transformation.

Highly Recommended.

This is women's fiction at its best. A great book to recommend to anyone who isn't familiar with the Muslim religion or experience and wanting to try something outside experiences like their own.

This is a novel about female identity and transformation (even the style and genre of the novel itself shifts and changes direction). Three Muslim women go on a holiday together in order to undertake a pilgrimage to Lady Evelyn Cobbold’s grave (the first British woman convert to Islam that performed the pilgrimage to Mecca). “Every holiday was a test. Every holiday was a risk.” Indeed, this novel is a journey the characters physically and spiritually undertake and like all journeys will emerge transformed (very literally at one point). Aboulela’s character development is excellently executed, with great depth, symbolism (I loved the idea of the phone beginning to stink) and intuition and beautiful, translucent prose. The narrative initially is straightforward, with flashbacks/references to the past that feed into each character’s motivation. However, upon the appearance of the Hoopoe (a wise bird and spiritual bird that tells Sufi-like tales) to Iman, it begins to unravel and spin out of control, mirroring the woman’s own identity breakdown (as well as the relationships between them) and epiphanies. Aboulela uses the forest surrounding as a place of testing and magic, where the woman explore the realm of the unknown as they try to find their way back to themselves, freedom and independence. The final magical dream sequence was breathtakingly brilliant.

At first glance of this new book, the premise caught my eye with three women going on a road trip together up to the Highlands in Scotland. These three women: Salma, Iman, and Moni are part of the Arabic Speaking Muslim Women’s Group, who when everyone else in the group backed out, travel together to visit and pay homage to Lady Evelyn Cobbold’s grave at her Highland’s 15,000 acre Glencarron Estate. For those unfamiliar like I was with Lady Zainab and her notable importance, she is believed to be the first British Woman to perform Hajj as detailed in her book “Pilgrimage to Mecca”.

These three women are very different individuals, but are each struggling with their own personal battles and issues while sharing a common bond of living as immigrants in their adopted home of Great Britain. Salma, the unspoken leader of the group, is from Egypt and married to a Scottish husband with four children. She is unable to use her medical degree in Scotland, so has to settle for being a massage therapist instead. Further leading to her insecurities, she feels like an outsider in Scotland and even in her own family, despite living what seems to appear on the outside to others a blessed life. Thus, a nostalgia for her past leads her to flirt with the idea of having a liasion with a former flame from her university days in Egypt. On the other hand, Iman is a beautiful, much younger, and three-times married woman who grew up in war torn Syria and in poverty. However, the beauty that has always afforded her protection and attention, also has stifled her independence and freedom. The current of her life’s direction is controlled by the tides and pulls of her husbands, friends, and family. She also is in the midst of fertility struggles, with her one true desire always being to have a baby. Finally, the third member of this traveling trio is Moni, (real name Manahil), a Sudanese woman with a MBA who grew up in a well to do family. However, since having a child born with a disability , she is now unable to strike a balance between motherhood and being a wife. All her waking hours go to care for her 5 yr old son with CP due to a father who is emotionally absent, who doesn’t acknowledge his son, and is a non-participant in his care. Their significant relationship tension and strain reaches an all time high when he gets a job in Saudi Arabia and wants Moni and his son to join him, but Moni doesn’t want to leave the NHS that’s providing the best medical options for their son.

Being away from their families and amidst the untamed beauty of the Highlands allows each woman space to explore alternative realities and to navigate to whom and how they will return home. The author attempts to embellish their virtual escapes and dreams with heavy symbolism and far-fetched out of this world imageries that could err a bit on the freakish side. On the milder side of all of these, there is a wardrobe that has a never ending, never diminishing costume supply for Iman to daily imagine in and explore who she was or could be. For Salma, she catches glimpses of a mysterious runner in a red shirt and her cell phone literally gives off an odiferous and dank aroma from the inappropriate dalliances it is being used for. Lastly, for Moni there is a young boy with the same name as her son who like him doesn’t speak, but he is able physically so he can share and engage in activities with her that her son can not. However, it’s when these three main characters morph into other beings that the book takes a hard left and in turn spoils the book for me.

Although I was not a big fan of these sharp shifts in the book plot and alternate realities, I can appreciate learning and gaining awareness of the background of Lady Evelyn Cobbold and her role in the history of Islam in the UK as well as new knowledge of other various beliefs, tenets, and symbols such as the Hoopoe bird. I had never heard of it before or remembered it if I had, and it played a predominant role in the story. It was a source of parables to help enlighten Iman in particular. A Hoopoe was an important bird mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, possibly a messenger of communication between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Therefore, I speculate much of the title of this book can be attributed to the role the Hoopoe bird plays in the book. If you would like to educate yourself on these unique areas drawn attention to in the book, head to your local library or independent bookstore to pick up this new culturally significant book.

I love studying other religions and cultures and I was excited to read about three woman and their journey to the funeral of a woman that converted to Islam. Instead it was three separate stories of three separate women. All three have drastically different lives and none of them really have the time for the poorly edited time line of the travel. I would much rather have read the stories of Salma, Moni, and Imam as individual Islamic women.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

Wow! This book was not what I expected. When I read the synopsis I was expecting a road trip story about three friends who had all emigrated to Scotland. I was prepared for culture shock, misunderstandings, and some laughs. But what Ms. Aboulela provided was so much more!

This story was a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage of the mind, and of the soul. Three friends, Salma, Moni, and Iman end up being the last three standing of their travel group who end up making the trip into the Scottish Highlands to see the grave of Lady Evelyn Murray, the first white Muslim woman to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Along the way they learn about themselves, each other, and their friendship.

These three friends all emigrated to Britain-one from Egypt, one from Syria, and one from Sudan. Each running away from different demons, each running towards their own salvations. As with most friendships, each person has their role, the mother figure, the martyr, one that everyone thinks cant take care of themselves, the pretty one, the practical one, etc. Along the way, we learn what roles these women play in each other’s lives and as the cracks begin to develop and as they begin to question their own existence, their own reality, their own choices, the strain on the friendship begins to grow.

Once they arrive at their cabin, strange things begin to happen to each woman. A bird, a hoopoe, visits one and tells her stories that often have double or hidden meanings, much like fables or scriptures. She begins to question her choices and wonders if everything is as it seems. The women start to see how their lives could be or could have been, if they had gone down different paths, made different choices.

Finally, the day to trek to the grave comes and the women must hike to it. A pilgrimage to the grave of a woman who showed no fear and didn’t care what the world around her thought. A woman who was true to herself. During their pilgrimage to the grave, the hoopoe appears to women this time as a group and they are shown what they need to see. I know that sounds funny, but I don’t want to give anything away.

This is a beautiful story. I had never heard of Lady Evelyn before but now, having read a bit about her, knowing how strong her character was and what an inspiration she was to these three women-Lady Evelyn didn’t fit in with those around her, and neither did these three women, and yet they loved their families and their lives. The pilgrimage they made may not have been the Hajj, but the clarity and understanding that they gained from it was still monumental.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for allowing me to read such a beautiful story.

I received a reviewer copy of Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela from the publisher Grove Atlantic from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Three Muslim women Salma, Moni, and Iman set out on a trip to see the grave of Lady Evelyn, a woman from the UK who was a devout Muslim and even made the trip to Mecca. All three of the women though are escaping from some aspect of their life. Salma feels like an outsider in her own family and is carrying on a flirtation with a college boyfriend over text messaging. Moni has a disabled son and taking care of him has become her entire world. Iman is a young woman who has been married several times and yearns for independence. Throughout their trip they will all be challenged and make difficult decisions that bring them closer to their faith.

What I Loved: I enjoyed the aspects where the characters were overcoming challenges and supporting each other. I liked the chapters where Moni in particular learns to take a step back from her parenting and rediscover what makes her a person.

What I didn’t like so much: There was too much magical realism in this book for me. I couldn't keep track of it and it felt weird to me. I thought I'd be reading a book about three friends going on a road trip and facing their problems and to an extent it was like that but also the magical realism interspersed in between distracted and took away from it being a contemporary fiction book about Muslim women friendship. I also have to admit most of the time the characters were unlikeable and their fights often times seemed ridiculous. I wanted to really love this book but at the end of the day it was not for me.

Who Should Read It: People who love magical realism and books that try to teach them lessons.

General Summary: Three women struggling in their faith go on a trip and find their way back to their religion.

I was drawn to this book because of the female friendships being a major part of the storyline. However, I had to force myself to finish this after the mystical elements began. The author would have had a much better book if she focused on the relationships between the characters and the effects of their shared dissatisfaction with various aspects of their lives.

Salma, Iman and Moni are three Muslim women who set out on a road trip to Scotland to visit the grave of Lady Evelyn, the first western women to embrace Islam. This getaway, disguised in the form of a pilgrimage, is also meant for them as a form of escape from their daily lives which all three of them are increasingly disenchanted with. Salma, a trained doctor from Egypt, cannot practice medicine in the UK and is compelled to work as a massage therapist. Iman, a Syrian refugee is hoping that a marriage would change the course of her fate, but has had three failures so far. Moni, a former banker, is seemingly the most accomplished of the three; but she has had to put her life on a back burner to care for her son who has cerebral palsy. The women struggle as much with the harsh realities of life; as with the existential questions of faith and belonging. It remains to be seen if the trip untangles some knots for them.

The concept was refreshing, it tried to show Muslim women who were not completely subservient to men; or at least even if that’s what they were expected to do; they tried to resist and reason with it. Moni’s character has been beautifully developed; the toll that raising a disabled child takes on her has been brought out painstakingly. Iman is often caricaturish, and therefore sometimes comical and sometimes annoying. I really didn’t understand Salma very well; her situation needed to be explored more.

I think what did not work very well for me was the attempt at magical realism. It’s something that needs to be handled delicately. Towards the end; the real and the magical got tangled haphazardly.
I discovered #leilaaboulela on bookstagram and enjoyed her previous works. I think her depictions of vulnerable, but strong Muslim women is very astute.
Overall: 3.5/5
#netgalley #birdsummons

I deeply enjoy Aboulela's ownvoices. She evokes details of Muslim life that feel odd to me (culturally Catholic) but I imagine are very relatable. In a way, each of the characters of Bird Summons are archetypes but Aboulela's craft enlivens them into fully fledged very real characters. I enjoyed the references to the hoopoo but the slight descent into magical realism felt jarring and I felt left without resolution.

The premise of this book was very appealing to me and, as the book unfolded, I realized that it was more than just a "road trip" for three Muslim women.

I was eager to experience their culture and their beliefs through this peek in to their lives;
I was curious as to what the trip would expose about their hopes, dreams and fears; and,
I was hoping for some understanding on my part about what values we share, despite different life experiences.

Leila Aboulela tried to do all of that in this novel, but it didn't succeed in doing it for me. I found each of the three characters appealing ,or sympathetic ,in her own way but the book's use of parables was too literal for me.
The magic and the mystique of the stories told could have, should have, carried the reader toward an understanding of the lessons they were intended to impart. What should have emerged as thought-provoking tales, just landed flatly on the page as a narrative lesson.

Similarly, when the women were experiencing some strong emotion or life-altering event--it was explained to us as just that. I need a little more magic in my literature---if a story has a talking bird, for goodness sake let him sparkle, and let him shine. Don't provide a literal translation of his thoughts and actions.

I wish the editor had worked harder with the author to keep the concept, but improve the execution. I could have loved this book. I could have enjoyed reading the story and embracing the parables. I could have cried about the women's struggles and celebrated their growth. Instead, I was glad I made it to the book's conclusion.

NetGalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in return for a candid review.

In Bird Summons, Leila Aboulela’s latest novel, three Muslim women go on a Scottish road trip. What was to have been a Muslim women’s group bus trip to the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold ends up as three women—one Egyptian, one Sudanese, and one Syrian—confined in a car and spending a week in a rented cabin on a Scottish Loch before hiking to the grave of the first British woman to complete the pilgrimage to Mecca. While this might sound like a light-hearted road trip, it is anything but. Starting as friends, Salma, Moni, and Iman are soon accusing each other of going against religious tenets and traditions and struggling to keep their conflicting beliefs under control before their planned pilgrimage falls apart.

Mother of four and married to a Scottish convert to Islam, Salma has never reconciled her medical school education in Egypt with her career as a massage therapist in Scotland. Once on the road, she finds herself flirting via text message with Egyptian medical school boyfriend from two decades ago. Somewhat younger, Moni from Sudan has given up a banking career to care for her young profoundly handicapped son and has decided to refuse to join her husband who has recently begun a new job in Saudi Arabia. Still in her early twenties and in her third marriage, beautiful but dependent Iman from Syria has failed to have the child she craves and now wants nothing more than to become independent and strong. In Scotland, she decides to abandon her hijab.

My membership in an interfaith book club held at a Turkish cultural center and comprised of young and old members of diverse cultures and beliefs no doubt plays a role in my love for Bird Summons. While reading, I couldn’t help imagining the lively discussion this novel would prompt.

The Hoopoe bird, messenger in the Quran, was new to me but a captivating character in itself, with its mix of tales intended to teach, warn, and save. I must admit that one fantasy element initially bothered me although giving away its nature would be a spoiler. In the end, though, I decided it Abouleleh knows what she is doing.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic, NetGalley, and Leilah Abouleleh for providing an Advance Reader Copy of this thought-provoking new American edition.

I think this is a fascinating and engrossing story even if sometimes it's a bit uneven and confusing.
I liked the three women, I was happy to travel with them and share their thought and their feelings.
I liked the style of writing and the characters.
It was an interesting read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A fascinating story about how three Muslim women try to analyse their lives and their futures.

One of the joys of being a book reviewer is discovering different stories and different authors. This is not a book that I would have chosen to buy at a bookshop but I am so pleased that I was given this book to review.

It tells the story of three Muslim women who go on a pilgrimage to the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold who is buried in a remote part of Scotland. She was one of the first members of the aristocracy to convert to Islam and is a real person.

The three ladies, Salma, Moni and Imam are friends but very different in their attitude to life and their religion. Salma has been happily married to David for 20 years with four children having left her native land as a qualified doctor. She has been unable to practise in Great Britain but has become a masseuse and made what is on the surface a happy life for herself. Moni is also married but is looking after her severely disabled son, Adam, devoting all of her time to him much to the dismay of her husband Murtada. He can hardly bring himself to acknowledge the boy, as he calls his son, and is unhappy that Moni and Adam will not join him in Saudi Arabia where he is working. Moni, however, does not think that Adam's care would be as good in Saudi Arabia and is refusing to leave. Imam is in her twenties but already on her third husband who at the start of this book leaves her due to financial problems. All Imam has ever wanted is a baby but seems unable to conceive.

These three women are friends and also bound together by their faith but as their journey progresses everything changes and the book is really about their journey not only to the grave but also about their lives and their future. Their decisions are helped by the arrival of a mystical bird, called the Hoopee bird who tells them tales full of symbolism and magic. The three women all come to new decisions about their lives and we are also told about their future lives after their return from their journey which has been both a physical and mental one.

This book was beautifully written, very descriptive and gives a keen insight into problems that can beset anyone but in particular women who are Muslim. I could not relate to some of the mysticism but it was a very enjoyable book to read and I would be interested in reading more of this author.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to dive into this one judging by the description (and that stunning cover!). I’m not very familiar with Islamic culture so I was looking forward to learning more about it with this book.

Unfortunately it seems that I share an opinion with other reviewers on this book. I really had trouble connecting with the story or its characters. There are 3 main characters, and all 3 of their backgrounds are thrown at us within the first chapter, which made it take a long time for me to remember who was who in the story. I think I would’ve enjoyed this book a lot more if it was written from one of the characters’ perspectives, or at least have each chapter focus on a certain character. There were parts where the character in focus would shift just from paragraph to paragraph.
I sadly really struggled to finish this book for those reasons, but I do appreciate what the author was going for here. I did enjoy learning more about the Muslim culture.

I received an e-ARC copy of this book through NetGalley.
I am so sorry this book was not for me. I really tried several times to get into the story, but I really could not connect with the characters. I was not really able to understand them and that made me not care for the plot at all.

I am very sorry not to rate this book with a better ranking. I found the idea astonishing and was truly enthusiast to read about ladies with such difficult lives. Yes, to adapt to another country, to another culture, to endure what life throws at you as a woman, about love, motherhood ... Really, the topics are great. But, and unfortunately, there is a but. Firstly, I don't always recognise in the characters the essence of the strength built by ladies who have to endure such circumstances. I happen to be friend for many, many years with quite a few ladies with the same life events. Also, I'm a descendant of immigrants from Europe (who isn't actually ?). Secondly, I have the feeling that the people around them are all understood as hostile, and this breaks my heart. Thirdly, the mixture of folklore and spiritualism appeared to me very streessful. I found the tone pessimistic. I don't see the world through pink glasses, still, this book is quizzical. I truly respect the work of the author, the style is good, the choice of vocabulary is perfect, there is a lot of work and dedication. I waited several days to be sure to be as honest as possible about my review,
All opinions are mine I got a copy from Net Galley.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

WONDERFUL BOOK! I can't state that enough that this book is truly wonderful. There is so much I want to say, but all I can really state is you must read this. It must go on your TBR it must be read. It is such a well written novel and the story is just so full of heart.
Leila Aboulela is such a great author, she has such a descriptive way of writing that just draws you in and makes you feel a part of the story.