About the book, from HarperCollins:

“Where I come from, we’ve learned to silence ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence will save us. Where I come from, we keep these stories to ourselves. To tell them to the outside world is unheard of—dangerous, the ultimate shame.”

Palestine, 1990. Seventeen-year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. Over the course of a week, the naïve and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married, and is soon living in Brooklyn. There Isra struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law Fareeda and strange new husband Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children—four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear.

Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda’s insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. Deya can’t help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when Deya was only eight. But her grandmother is firm on the matter: the only way to secure a worthy future for Deya is through marriage to the right man.

But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family—knowledge that will force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, the past, and her own future.

About the Author, Etaf Rum:

Etaf Rum is a Palestinian-American New York Times Bestselling author. Her debut novel, “A Woman Is Man,” garnered attention as a Today Show Read with Jenna Pick, marking the beginning of her literary acclaim. With her latest novel, “Evil Eye,” recognized as an NPR Best Book of the Year, Etaf Rum solidifies her position as a leading voice in literary fiction transcending continents and histories.

Why I selected A Woman is No Man for the February 2024 Giveaway:

• This gnome wanted to share something a little different for the “month of love,” so I selected a book that centers on self-acceptance (and, in many ways, self-love), moments for reflection, and the importance of storytelling.
• Books and stories play a pivotal role in helping the characters – across multiple generations – escape from the realities of the challenges of their lives while also imagining the possibilities of different futures for themselves.
• This beautiful book views self-love and acceptance through the lens of the history, culture, fear, and trauma that can render conservative Arab-American (in this case, Palestinian) women so frighteningly invisible in our society.
• Although this book is a difficult read (I would suggest reading the content warning before diving in), it’s one that refuses to measure women against anything but their own hearts and stories.
• “It’s hard to belong anywhere, truly belong, if we don’t belong to ourselves first.” – Etaf Rum, A Woman is No Man

And please don’t forget! We are grateful to our friends at Vantage West Credit Union for sponsoring this month’s book hiding! They (and all of you!) have helped us make significant progress on our 2024 fundraiser, but we still have a ways to go 🙂 If you can help us, we would be so grateful for your support and donations! (And if you’ve already donated, thank you so much for supporting our work!!!)***

DONATE NOW TO KEEP THE BOOK HIDING GOING IN 2024!