Picked up from the Wildlife Thrift Store.

This book was amazing. When I read the synopsis I thought it might read as white western appropriation of Muslim culture and religion, but the first few chapters assuaged my fears. Lilly seem very genuine, and all the supporting characters in her life well rounded. I was struck by the contrast between Lilly and Amina in regards to how much they embraced or did not embrace English culture. Lilly made a very conscious effort to hold onto her Muslim roots, but Amina was an excellent foil in that she slowly started abandoning it.
The prose in this book is beautiful. There were so many passages that struck a chord with me, but this one was my favourite:
"It is not simply what one remembers, but why. There are sites of amputation where the past is severed from the body of the present. Remembering only encourages the growth of phantom limbs. And it is not simply what one remembers, or why, but what to do with what one remembers, which of the scattered pieces to carry forward, what to protect and preserve, what to leave behind."

From Goodreads:
"Like Brick Lane and The Kite Runner, Camilla Gibb’s widely praised new novel is a poignant and intensely atmospheric look beyond the stereotypes of Islam. After her hippie British parents are murdered, Lilly is raised at a Sufi shrine in Morocco. As a young woman she goes on pilgrimage to Harar, Ethiopia, where she teaches Qur’an to children and falls in love with an idealistic doctor. But even swathed in a traditional headscarf, Lilly can’t escape being marked as a foreigner. Forced to flee Ethiopia for England, she must once again confront the riddle of who she is and where she belongs."

Thank you- received this today! Will add to my TBR.