Three Muslim women set out on a journey to the Highlands, to visit the grave of a 1930s pilgrim. They are members of an Arabic Speaking Muslim Women's Group in the Scottish city where they live, and Salma is disappointed that only Moni and Iman from their much larger group have come along.

Evelyn Cobbold was a real life Scottish aristocrat who spent much of her childhood in North Africa and travelled through Libya with a female friend in 2011, before officially converting to Islam in 2015 and taking the name Zainab. She was the first Muslim woman born in Britain to participate in the Haaj pilgrimage to Mecca.

This novel, however, is the story of a smaller scale and very personal journey for the three women involved, as they leave behind family ties for a few days (including a week at a hotel). All three have time to reflect on relationships and choices, as the story unfolds through their conversations, private thoughts and flashbacks. They revisit their past decisions and consider what the future might be.

Controversially, the story takes a rather fairytale direction with a kind of Muslim magical realism, including a talking hoopoe.

This is Leila Aboulela's fifth novel and the third I have read, and it feels very different from Lyrics Alley (set mostly in Sudan) and The Kindness of Enemies (with the story moving between different time periods and places). I am not sure I expected this novel when I started reading but I found it really interesting and beautifully written. ( )

Three women, joined by friendship and their London Muslim Women’s group decide on an expedition to the Scottish highland to see the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobb, the first English woman to make the Hajj to Meccah. At first, they had thought to have a busload of women from the group; but due to opposition from spouses and some controversy over the grave itself, only the three friends ended up going.

The Hoopoe bird is mentioned in the Quran as a messenger; it is valued (according to Wikipedia) as being communicatve. It is also sacred in the Celtic literature of the Scottish.

The Hoopoe appears to all three of the women: Salma is the leader of the group, happily married to an Englishman but contacted by her first love in Egypt – was she mistaken when she left him?

Moni is the mother of a profoundly disabled son. Her husband wants her to join him in Egypt, but Moni believes that her son can get better care in England than in Egypt. Her life revolves around her son. After seeing the Hoopoe, she is also visited by a small speechless boy with her son’s first name and which other people cannot see.

Iman is startling beautiful. She has been married twice before and currently has a spiritual non-legal marriage to a third man. The third man’s parents demand he leave Iman. He meets her briefly on the trip, delivers her possessions and gives her the news. She is at a loss what next to do with her life; a magical cupboard provides her with a great many costumes that she tries out on her search.
All three women must make choices, and, as they change, their friendships also change.

Although I enjoyed the very diverse stories of the three women, something left me feeling ultimately a bit unsatisfied. 3.5 stars ( )

Reason read: ANC, This book was written by British, Sudanese author Leila Aboulea and is a tale of 3 Muslim women and their visit to Scotland. It shows the struggles that women grapple with regardless of their culture as well as within their culture. It is full of magical realism. ( )

This book cover randomly caught my attention when I was browsing and I decided to give it a try.

We follow three friends, Salma, Moni, and Iman, from a Muslim Women's group who are taking a trip to the Scottish Highlands. Each individual has their own personal struggle that overshadows the trip and threatens to disrupt their friendship. This road trip paves the way for a spiritual journey the women weren't expecting.

I appreciated that this book provided a small window into a culture I am less familiar with. ( )