An Emotion of Great Delight
Publisher,Egmont
Publication Date,
Format, Paperback
Weight, 420 g
No. of Pages, 256
It's 2003, several months since the US officially declared war on Iraq, and the American political world has evolved. Tensions are high, hate crimes are on the rise, FBI agents are infiltrating local mosques, and the Muslim community is harassed and targeted more than ever. Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down.
She's too busy drowning in her own troubles to find the time to deal with bigots.
Shadi is named for joy, but she's haunted by sorrow. Her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best friend has mysteriously dropped out of her life. And then, of course, there's the small matter of her heart--
It's broken.
Shadi tries to navigate her crumbling world by soldiering through, saying nothing. She devours her own pain, each day retreating farther and farther inside herself until finally, one day, everything changes.
She explodes.
An Emotion of Great Delight is a searing look into the world of a single Muslim family in the wake of 9/11. It's about a child of immigrants forging a blurry identity, falling in love, and finding hope--in the midst of a modern war.
Something that I really enjoyed about the story is how powerful it is. Every emotion that Shadi feels you feel it too as you read her words, packed with anger and hope. Tahereh's writing style has always been of my favorites. Her way with words is so distinctive and I always enjoy reading her work.
This book had me sobbing from page one.The main character Shadi is going through extremely stressful/melancholy events such as the death of her brother and her dying father.Futhermore, she has started feeling more and more isolated from not only her family but her best friend Zahra.Her whole world is collapsing and she's struggling to keep everything from falling apart.This book was a very intense/emotional read ( perfect for Tahereh Mafi fans) and I absolutely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good cry.
This made me cry tears of sadness and happiness, of loss and love. stories around family, faith, and fondness always pull me in and this one held me so strongly under the grey clouds.
Tahereh's writing is extremely beautiful. The story is described in a great detail.