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Showing posts with label Samra Habib. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samra Habib. Show all posts

Sunday, November 8, 2020

We Have Always Been Here


Someone at the library recommended Samra Habib's memoir, We Have Always Been Here when they returned it.  I forgot what the title was, but came across it a few months later and so signed it out. I didn't realize it at the time (or honestly until after I finished reading it), but it won 2020's Canada Reads! 

We Have Always Been Here is a super quick read (I powered through it in one night). For the most part I really liked Habib's writing style (although I did get annoyed when the narrative seemed to jump forward a bit - I wanted some of those spots filled in more).  I enjoyed her descriptions of places, especially in Pakistan, and smells.  Her story is difficult to read at times - she struggled as both a queer and Muslim woman against the constraints placed on her by her family and community; it has taken her a long time to find her own path.

We Have Always Been Here is very much worth reading, especially in this era of heightened Islamophobia.