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An Unproductive Woman (2012)

by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali(Favorite Author)

4.15 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1475294158 (ISBN13: 9781475294156)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Createspace

review 1: An Unproductive Woman is billed as “women’s fiction,” and it is (centering as it does around domestic life and emotions), but it might be even better categorized as a work of “inspirational fiction.” The theme of forgiveness pervades the novel. The template is similar to that of much Christian fiction, except, of course, that the characters are Muslim (in a polygamist, highly patriarchal culture). The object is reconciliation and the spiritual growth of the characters, and we see an eventual improvement in them. You have your stock almost-too-devout-to-be-true character in Asabe. (She does reach a breaking point, however, when she strikes her husband’s junior wife, that shows her imperfection, but she is given plenty of excuse for that.) You also have your ... moreclear antagonist in need of spiritual transformation (Sauda), and your more nuanced protagonist who is meant to be sympathetic but also clearly in need of spiritual transformation (Adam). I say the reader is meant to sympathize with Adam (while loathing parts of him), but I had some trouble doing just that. For much of the book, the regret that haunts him is expressed in anger and unkindness and desperation rather than in repentance. Asabe loves her husband Adam, but it is unclear why. He’s angry and self-centered and sometimes unkind to her, but she tells us she loves him. If it were just a matter of time and familiarity and family affection and duty, that would be understandable, but I never felt like I got a clear sense of why she was attracted to him as a man, and she claims to love him in that sort of romantic way. I think Asabe is in some sense supposed to be the ideal model of a Muslim woman –submissive (without being a complete doormat; she leaves Adam once and stands up for the weak), forgiving, faithful, devout, and assured that whatever her current troubles or mistreatment, Allah is still to be trusted. I had no sense of what country this book was taking place in for quite some time. Perhaps the author mentions the country toward the beginning, but if she did, I missed it. The country's name does come up a few times closer toward the end, but I would have liked more scene-setting in the beginning. As with many Old Testament stories, An Unproductive Woman gives one a concept of why polygamy is such a bad idea through the depiction of its inevitable perils, jealousies, and pain. The author lets us into the characters’ heads, but I never felt like I could fully relate to any of them. There are many characters, and some are better developed than others. We are given a backstory for everyone, even if he or she is introduced relatively late into the novel. The writing is generally good, though the author sometimes states the obvious instead of letting the reader grasp it from context. I found it fairly easy to read the book, though there were moments when the pace slowed. I think this book might be just the book for a Muslim reader seeking inspirational fiction, but perhaps a bit less so for the secular westerner wanting to read a work of literary fiction about another culture (though it may satisfy some of that audience too). Think less Khaled Hosseini and Juhmpa Lahiri and more…I can’t think of a representative Christian fiction author, but that’s the comparison I’d go for. This is not to say An Unproductive Woman is overly didactic – it’s not, though the religious messages are clear enough. It’s just to say that there is a clear spiritual message and object in the novel that is more in keeping with inspirational than literary fiction. Note: I received a free copy of this book from Story Cartel in exchange for an honest review.
review 2: An interesting story. It was entertaining, but not realistic. The entire focus of the book is on pregnancy, childbirth, nursing children that you didn't give birth to, emotions and relations between rival women and the one man that they all seem to think is worth fighting over, and hoping that people you have abandoned will someday come back into your life. A lot of fairy tale wishing going on, though it is entertaining for sure. I'm not much into fiction though, so for someone who enjoys fictional stories, it might be a good choice. less

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