A Woman Is No Man

A Novel

By: Etaf Rum

Narrated by: Ariana Delawari, Dahlia Salem, Susan Nezami

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times Best Seller

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • Washington Post 10 Books to Read in March • Marie Claire Best Women’s Fiction of 2019 • Washington Book Review Difficult-To-Put-Down Novel • The Millions Most Anticipated Books of 2019 • A USA Today Best Book of the Week • An Elaine Newton - Summer Reading List Critic’s Choice • A Girls Night In Book Club Pick

“I couldn't put it down. I was obsessed with figuring out the mystery of this family." (Jenna Bush Hager, Today Show Book Club Pick)

Three generations of Palestinian-American women living in Brooklyn are torn between individual desire and the strict mores of Arab culture in this powerful debut - a heart-wrenching story of love, intrigue, courage, and betrayal that will resonate with women from all backgrounds, giving voice to the silenced and agency to the oppressed.

"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 naive 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.

Set in an America at once foreign to many and staggeringly close at hand, A Woman Is No Man is a story of culture and honor, secrets and betrayals, love and violence. It is an intimate glimpse into a controlling and closed cultural world and a universal tale about family and the ways silence and shame can destroy those we have sworn to protect.

©2019 Etaf Rum (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Three female narrators work together in this Palestinian family epic.... Listeners will become enmeshed in the overlapping ambitions of these fascinating women." (AudioFile)

“Sometimes heroism is loud and dramatic. Other times, it is daring to listen to that quiet voice within and having the courage to follow it. In this story, we see inside the lives of three generations of Palestinian women living in America, struggling and suffering to hear that voice. Etaf Rum has done a great service by sharing these voices with us.” (Shilpi Somaya Gowda, New York Times best-selling author of Secret Daughter and The Golden Son)

“Garnering justified comparisons to Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns... Etaf Rum’s debut novel is a must-read about women mustering up the bravery to follow their inner voice.” (Refinery29)

Powerful

This book was so heartbreaking and so powerful. This is the kind of book that will stay woth you forever.

Oppression of women is among us

Our world cannot continue without women, yet societies, religions and cultures continue to control and oppress the gender that brings life into our world.

Masterpiece

Such an eye opening book to me. Had it played in just 3 days. This book was beautifully written and read as well

Does a woman born without choices really have a way out??

This novel is told from 3 different woman’s perspectives. All part of a family whose culture dictates that a girl baby is basically worthless. A burden. Her only use is to marry a man not of her own choosing and produce hopefully make heirs. To the point that if she is unlucky enough to produce a girl, she is not allowed to breastfeeding feed so she can get pregnant again as soon as possible. And it is considered HER fault not the husband’s if she has a girl. The family escapes a horrible existence in Palenstine only to continue to hold on to these beliefs in America. A woman’s life consists of cooking and cleaning and raising kids. Reading is highly discouraged. It is a mans right to beat his wife This is certainly not an uplifting tail but very eye opening into these beliefs and more than that how they are passed down from generation to generation The only complaint I have about the audible version is I found the voice of Sarah annoying. A very good listen otherwise.

A sad, but engaging read

I normally do not like books with alternating narrators. But the voices that read each perspective were amazing and engaging. I would recommend this book 100%

fantastic!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The different voices made listening much easier as there are many characters to keep track of in this rich story.

Powerfully Disturbing

To be born a woman in the USA is such a blessing that it is important to be reminded that for many females around the world life is harsh at best.

While very compelling, I found the story repetitive and slow at points, with the same conversations repeated over and over. And, the ending missed the mark for me. But even with that, I recommend the book.

Wow!

This book had me feeling so many emotions! It was so well written, so powerful and thought provoking. I couldn’t stop listening.

Eye opening

The more I read the harder it was to understand how difficult it must have been and likely it still is for some Muslim women. I wanted to stop listening but couldn’t.
Thank you, Etaf Rum, for sharing this story.

hooked from first chapter.

Great read! Definitely heartwrenching. Recommend for anyone. Will have my own daughter read this book when she's old enough.