Clapton’s reading group members were positively inclined towards this year’s issue of the “CITY READS LONDON” initiative, where London’s reading groups receive free copies of a London-based novel. But we weren’t overly convinced by it! Some thought it was repetitive in places, and could have done with more editing – a common theme in our group, when it comes to the more recently published novels we read. (Is the art of editing in crisis? Or is it just us??)
With Ayisha Malik’s “Sofia Khan is not obliged”, the advertising (“a Muslim Bridget Jones’ Diary”) seemed spot on – a light read, easily and flowingly written, easy to digest, slightly fluffy romanticism with a couple of deeper topics thrown in, especially regarding the protagonist’s attempt to find balance between two cultures. But whereas Bridget Jones’ Diary was an exciting innovation at the time, “Sofia Khan...” couldn’t completely live up to the hype. In the feedback forms that we sent back to the CityReads charity, nobody ticked the box that asked: “I feel inspired to read more books by writers like her”! But at least two (of four) respondents said that they “learned something new about living in London as a Muslim” and about Muslim women’s experiences, so I would call that a success, in terms of what the book set out to do, at least partly.
The content of the book was interesting, but maybe the most telling comment by one of our members was that in romance, no matter what culture you’re from, or living in, everyone has the same human problems.
I’ll add more comments regarding content if I receive any from our members!
By Cordula
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