At Home In Japan

Author: Rebecca Otowa

Genre: Nonfiction

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Pages: 176

Date Started: 14 February 2022

Date Finished: 16 February 2022

This was an impulse pick from the library shelf. I did pick it up because of the cover too! A minimalist home with an umbrella captured my eyes and mind too!

The book is the story of the author Rebecca Otowa, who moved to Japan, married a Japanese man, and lives in his ancestral home in a village that is 350 years old. The author talks about the traditions, rituals for every event, season, lifestyle, honoring the elders, education, and so much more about her life in Japan for more than 30 years.

I felt so refreshed after reading this book. Ever since I visited Japan to hike Mt. Fuji, I have been interested in knowing more about traditional Japanese culture and how a Westerner would experience it. This book gave a great deal of insight into the life of traditional Japanese families.

This book is a collection of small essays along with beautiful drawings and personal pictures of the home and family of the author. The book is written from the perspective of a Westerner, and I could relate to much more. The author also talks about the mistakes she made (without knowing, of course), the traditions and rituals she did not like, and the ones she liked. It was interesting to know that some of the traditions in the Western world that are considered misogynistic are a way of life and a part of Japanese culture.

Overall, it was a good read and I enjoyed reading the experience of the author as a traditional Japanese wife-daughter-n-law, and a mother.

The Beauty Of Your Face

Author: Sahar Mustafah

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pages: 320

Date Started: 31 January 2022

Date Finished: 4 February 2022

This book was a random pick from the library shelf. I like to read books about immigrants and women who struggle and succeed. This book fits my mold of selecting a book.

The story is about Afaf Rahman, a daughter of immigrants from Palestine, living in Chicago. She is the principal of Nurrideen School for Girls. On an unfortunate morning, a shooter, radicalized by online hate groups attacks the school. Afaf is held at gunpoint and she takes us back to her memories.

Afaf remembers her childhood, her parents, the hate they faced in the United States, and as a teenager trying to make a mark and be visible in society. She is grateful that her father took her to pray and she finds peace and solace in religion and starts wearing hijab. Afaf not only believes in loving everyone but also in forgiving others who have erred.

Afaf sounded like a strong character throughout the book. A child trying to understand the relationship between their parents, to the adolescent who tries to fit into the friends group. As an adult, she is confident of what she wants and stands up for herself. I liked her character for being able to forgive the people she thinks have caused trouble.

The book was a good read overall. The storytelling kept me glued to the book, yet I failed to understand the motive! I could relate to Afaf in many ways. As a child, an adolescent, and a grown-up, she leaves her mark on the reader. Mustafah has done a great job of writing about the relationship of immigrant parents with their children, the children trying to find their identity while torn between the culture at home and outside, and as individuals when the kids grow up. I liked the way Mustafah wrote about Afaf embracing Islam. The turmoil she goes through before finding peace in religion is written very well.

Favorite lines from the book:

• Like her father, both men have aged, but their faces are different than Baba's. Lines of happiness etch their foreheads and crow's feet proudly stamp the corners of their eyes. Baba's face is a battlefield, wrinkles deep like trenches.

• Afaf doesn't notice anyone else from Hoover High School. It occurs to her that, aside from Kowkab, she is anonymous here. It suddenly feels like a chance to start over-the same as for Baba maybe.

• Two human beings living in such misery together have colored Afaf's belief in marriage. It seems far worse than deliberately being alone.

• So many things are possible as long as you don't know they are impossible.

• Does the loss of a child negate the existence of another?

• You lose a child, have a nervous breakdown, attempt suicide. And how do you go back to your life when you've failed at ending it? Do you simply wait for the misery to swallow you up one day?

• Had Mama suppressed other dreams of being someone else, not the mother of a lost child? Not the wife of a broken man? For the first time, Afaf sees Mama as a shattered woman.

• Religion doesn't make reality go away. But it shields us from the ugliness sometimes. Religion eases suffering.