title: Celestial Bodies by: Jokha, Alharthi published: 2018 read: 2021-03 preview

A book about Khawla. She’s one of the three daughters in an Oman family. Mayya marries Abdallah after a heartbreak; Asma marries from a sense of duty; while Khawla waits for her beloved who has emigrated to Canada. The book also tells of Abdallah and his relationship with his cruel father. His story about masculinity that contrasts with the experiences of the women in his life.

I knew nothing about Oman culture, and now I know a bit. Very little bit, and many of the stereotype expectations are fed. Differently put, the traditions in the society are reflected well. But above all is the warmth in the family. The parents accepting the quills of their daughters, growing up in a changing, in a freeing world. And it is hard for everyone, but somehow, their togetherness, their relationship, it survives, it heals. In the story, the development of women’s roles in such a society is central.

Khawla waited for her lover’s letters as if they were moonlit nights… Each word he wrote was like a star she could hold in her hands.

and

Oman may have been changing around them… but they carried their history within them like seeds waiting to bloom.

Loving book, but also not the easiest book.