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?What does it mean to live in fragments? In Palestinian-American novelist Etaf Rum’s 2023 novella Mother Country — part of Amazon’s Good Intentions Collection — the New York Times Bestselling author of A Woman is No Man and Evil Eye dissects a young Palestinian woman’s innermost thoughts and deepest secrets as she writes her mother one final letter. In under 50 pages, Rum delivers an emotional literary work that equals the works of Ocean Vuong, Fredrik Backman, and Elif Shafak.
“Being a woman is the greatest curse, you told me once.” Written in letter form, Mother Country follows an unnamed narrator as she addresses her now-estranged mother. The two women have grown apart over the years, separated by both physical and emotional distance. The novella begins with the narrator preparing to travel to reunite with her mother, reminiscing and unpacking decades of generational trauma caused by her family’s departure from the motherland. She reflects on her tumultuous relationship with her mother, who she spent most of her life trying to please.
“My hope was always to come back to you, my mother country.” The novella’s title, inspired by Dalida’s 1979 classic hit Helwa Ya Baladi, encapsulates its essence. This is a story of regret, yearning, and a nostalgia for what never was. How does one envisage a future when haunted by the past? What is the price paid for what goes unsaid? These are the questions posed by the author, and attempted to be answered by the narrator.
While the novella in its entirety is undeniably gripping, it’s the final chapter that delivers the real emotional blow, prompting the reader to turn back to page one and begin the experience all over again from an entirely different perspective. Rum writes with unapologetic determination, and while the prose is far from floral or descriptive, it is raw and honest, inviting the reader to take part in what feels like private correspondence never meant to be read. Despite having received wide acclaim for her two full-length novels, we’d argue Mother Country is Rum’s crowning achievement.
WHERE TO FIND IT- You can find Mother Country as an ebook and audiobook on Amazon — and if you’re a Kindle Unlimited member, you can read it at no cost.
