There are authors whose voices are hard to forget. Etaf Rum is one of them, and her debut novel A Woman is No Man stayed with me for a very long time. When I´ve heard about her new book, Evil Eye, published last year, I couldn´t wait to read it.
The wait was worth, as I was offered another beautiful companion, featuring complex strong women characters and complex family situation. Yara, the main character is a young American-Palestinian woman, married with young children, a teacher and an artist. Through the story, she is slowly taking agency of her life and destiny, trying to overcome family and generational trauma, through a different personal narrative.
The most important character in Evil Eye, Yara mid-30s, is going through a step-by-step process when she will decide to create her own story. She may be afraid to leave behind her 10-year relationship and start a more independent life as a divorcee. But living separated from her aims and personal achievement dreams - trips to foreign lands, create her art - is more frightening. With a therapist´s support, she will take the brave decision to start breaking up with the trauma her late mother lived with. A destiny where women voices are not heard and their desire of being someone, doing something of their own is labelled as ´too emotional´.
Yara´s character is very elaborated and so is also her relationship with her estranged husband. The dynamic between the two and the ways in which she realized her own wishes was my favorite part of the story, as it is followed with high sensibility and attention to the smallest details that may usually intervene in a couple.
I loved this book, as well as the topic and Evil Eye is eye opening both in terms of topic and its approach. I just hope that it will not take too long until Etag Rum will write a new book.
Rating: 5 stars
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