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3.5 

An Emotion of Great Delight

By Tahereh Mafi
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi digital book - Fable

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Publisher Description

From bestselling and National Book Award–nominated author Tahereh Mafi comes a stunning novel about love and loneliness, navigating the hyphen of dual identity, and reclaiming your right to joy—even when you’re trapped in the amber of sorrow.

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.

39 Reviews

3.5
Thinking Face
Diverse charactersLikable charactersMulti-layered charactersEasy to readTragicRealistic settingComing of ageHeartbreakingFlat charactersUnsatisfying ending
““I didn’t know how she could love a complicated man without it complicating her love. I didn’t know how her mind sorted and prioritized emotion; I didn’t know how she’d landed here—looking incandescent—after all we’d been through.” I really liked this one, Tahereh Mafi's writing is beautiful beyond words. Although I'm from a country where the majority are Muslim, I'm not one myself so I can't comment on the representation. However, I didn't like the fact that it took a lot of time for the main character to actually realize how her so-called best friend, was in fact, an asshole. This whole storyline bugged me a lot because whenever she mentioned her best friend or ex-best friend, it was super clear that she was not a good friend. Like, abundantly clear. And not only she didn't realize it, but she kept making excuses for her behavior towards her. But yeah, this was a moving story.”
“Este libro fue una ola de emoción, y más cuando las emociones de la protagonista son las tuyas. Hacia rato que quería leer este libro, A Very Large Expanse of Sea es de mis libros favoritos, y este libro no se quedó atrás. En este libro seguimos la historia de Shadi, y su viaje a través de una situación bastante dura, nos va mostrando pequeños fragmentos de su vida que la han alterado. Situaciones que van desde la discriminación por ser de ascendencia musulmana, la muerte de su hermani, la enfermedad de su padre, la depresion de su madre, etc. Vemos su viaje emocional a lo largo del libro, tratando de entender todo lo que está pasando en su vida, aprendiendo a lidiar con todas estas emociones. Fue una ola de emoción, si hay algo que me gusta de Tahere Mafi, es como logra hacer que conectes con el personaje. Logre conectar basta te con Shadi, y creo que muchas personas que se sientan perdidos en la vida también pueden conectar con ella. Este libro nos habla sobre las emociones, es bueno sentir, necesitamos sentir. Toca temas como la discriminación, la depresión, nos habla de esa sensación de no saber si estamos haciendo bien las cosas, si lo que estamos haciendo realmente vale la pena. Fue un libro que disfrute de principio a fin. Aunque me hubiera gustado un final diferente, sigue siendo un libro maravilloso. Al final no se si acabe el libro o el libro acabo conmigo.”
“This book was depressing…and frustrating and…whatever dude! The writing itself was good, but the story…I don’t know.”
“Thank you to Libro.fm's ALC program for the audiobook. This was one of those stories where almost everything that could go wrong for a character does, and then in the midst of the tragedy a romance blossoms. There was a lot that I found very moving about this, particularly the parts of the story that centred around Shadi and her family's relationships in the aftermath of both September 11 and the death of Shadi's brother. The many layers of grief and loss explored were beautifully done. I especially found the relationship between Shadi and her father a complex and emotional one. However, there were some things that just didn't quite work as well for me, one of which was the romance and the issues surrounding it. I'm rarely a fan of romances that experience their first moments of passion only as a result of one person being in an emotional crisis and needing support. I also always worry about YA's that depict young people not talking to anyone about their problems and shouldering burdens that just aren't theirs, resulting in such severe emotional distress. Additionally, there is a LOT going on here for what is a fairly short book, resulting in what felt like a rushed ending. So it made me cry (obvs) but I also have some reservations outright recommending it.”

About Tahereh Mafi

Tahereh Mafi is the #1 international bestselling and National Book Award nominated author of over a dozen books, including the Shatter Me series, the Woven Kingdom series, A Very Large Expanse of Sea, and An Emotion of Great Delight. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages. She lives in Southern California with her husband, fellow author Ransom Riggs, and their daughter. You can find her online at taherehmafi.com.

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