"Harbors something remarkable beneath commonplace trappings...Lit up by a highly unusual sensibility and world view, so rarefied and uncompromising that it is likely to throw the reader out of kilter...Her delicacy of touch is to be complimented." --Chandrahas Choudhury, San Francisco Chronicle

"Absorbing...Though her writing is simple, even bald, Aboulela has vivid descriptive powers." --Ella Taylor, LA Weekly

"She draws Najwa's odyssey of exile, loss and found faith beautifully." --Publishers Weekly
"This simple near-parable of a story successfully combines a tale of inexperience and cultural confusion with an insider's view of the conflicts and complexities within the immigrant and Muslim communities. A low-key, affecting account of one bruised young woman's search for wisdom and solace." --Kirkus Reviews

"Clear and precise writing, sympathetic characters, and positive portrayals of Muslim religious practices lend this elegantly crafted novel broad appeal." --Starr E. Smith, Library Journal

"A novel that unpacks complex emotional baggage with deceptive sleight of hand." --Emma Hagestadt, The Independent (UK)

"The novel deftly oscillates between past and present as Najwa struggles to gain a grip on her 'real self". Aboulela is finely attuned to the nuances of cultural difference and her prose glistens with details of those things that define or unmake identity. . . . Aboulela's fidelity to her narrator's voice, as she struggles to find a foothold in an unstable world, makes for a disconcerting portrayal of how rapidly the ground beneath one's feet can slip away." --Tania Kumari, Telegraph

"The narrative is tranquil and lyrical...Aboulela describes the uncertainty and terror of the country's westernized elite in the 80s, and assembles a persuasive description of why a fundamentalist politics emerged...In a narrative of complex reversals, Aboulela takes a huge risk in describing her heroine's religious conversion and spiritual dedication. She succeeds brilliantly. This is a beautiful, daring, challenging novel." --Mike Phillips, Guardian

"Her prose moves with the steady pace of someone who knows her faith, and knows she must not falter...Often delicate and evocative." --Jonathan Falla, Scotsman

"Aboulela writes poignantly of the exile's diminished life in the West." --Anderson Tepper, Vanity Fair