Muslim experience in England

These two books play with the issues brought up by the clash between the Muslim beliefs and the contemporary values in the western world.

'Maps for Lost Lovers' portrays the story of  the Pakistani community in an unknown city in England. Jugnu and his lover Chanda have a different relationship according to the small community's ideas: Jugnu is a single grown man and Chandra is a divor cee living together without marrying. Suddenly, they disappear and later Chandra's brothers are arrested for murder. The narration display the following twelve months, gradually disclosing the several lives of various characters which live in a between-world, their ideas clashing with the British customs, their ancestral traditions, their ideas regarding honour and respect being challenged by the younder generation's actions.

'Minaret' narrates the story of Najwa, a Sudanese woman, who has become a maid in England. Her lefe in Sudan when she was young was full of wealth and parties, her beliefs and her father's position in the government challenge by her boyfriend's revolutionary ideas. Suddenly, her father is arrested and executed, and her life changes completely. Exiled in London, we gradually see her approach to religion in an attempt to fulfil the emptiness in her soul. This book portrays Najwa's interested journey towards her community traditional beliefs, finding friednship and understanding in other women.

Both books show an unkown reality by most western people, displaying a reality that is challenged by the clash of cultures, the younger generations trying to find a place in the world, a personal approach towards their parents' beliefs and their own feelings.

Ana Ovejero

mail: ana.ovejero@gmail.com

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