The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is a delicious novel. Something in it tugs at my very core, lets me feel all of the horrible shameful cathartic and free-ing things. Some women are hungry. I’m hungry. Amina is hungry. She isn’t satisfied with the life of a struggling mother, lending out her ship to a former crew member. It doesn’t mean she resents her sweet daughter, that motherhood isn’t the greatest part of her life. Amina is hungry. She yearns. She has ambition, she has goals, she dreams. She wants the open seas, adventure, success, and fame. Amina was waiting for her chance, for Salima to drop by her door and request something tantalizingly impossible. In her truest heart, it is exactly the intrigue she needed: the chance to defy expectations by achieving the unachievable.
I had marked down a lot of quotes to include in this review, but I returned my book to the library too early! Agh! But also… I love the public library. I don’t want to have overdue fines or worse, deprive a fellow SMCL patron of reading this book.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi speaks to ambitious women, women who yearn for greatness. What’s wrong with being ambitious? What’s wrong with having aspirations and working hard for them? Why is it such a crime for a woman to want more than to be a mother, more than to be humble, sweet, patient? Women can be hardworking, dreamers, and money makers. Amina has the same struggles as any woman of today. She has the same struggles as I do. The world expects us to be small and modest and patient. I’ll never be petite, uncomplaining, or tidy. Why should we? Can we not love, fit into some traditional gender roles, while defying others? Can we not lust over demonic men? (and non-demonic men?)
Shannon Chakraborty also did amazing historical research. I loved learning about the richness of this part of the world: the mix of cultures, blended traditions, diversity! Usually when I think of the Middle Ages, I think of dank European castles and bland food. The medieval ages of the Indian ocean have a unique flavor, rich clothing, and varied religions. Chakraborty’s notes in the end of the novel were excellent to read & I appreciated the further suggestions for reading.
My one gripe was the conclusion of the tale. Giving Amina a quest felt a little heavy handed: okay, we get it, there will be more books! She will do more cool things! Get more magical artifacts! It could have been a little more subtle.
