Focusing on British novels about the Muslim immigrant experience published after 9/11; this book examines the promise as well as the limits of 'British Muslim' identity as a viable form of self-representation, and the challenges - particularly for women - of reconciling non-Western religious identity with the secular policies of Western states.Introduction 1. Islam and British Literature 2. Rethinking Hybridity in Monica Ali's Brick Lane 3. Subaltern Desire in Leila Aboulela's Minaret 4. Mimicry in Fadia Faqir's Cry of the Dove 5. Cosmopolitanism and Transnationalism in Camilla Gibb's Sweetness in the Belly 6. Resisting Disorientation Notes Bibliography Index
Santesso offers another compelling interventioninto the gaps of many studies of contemporary Anglophone literature: theirtreatment of everyday religious faith and practice, particularly for diasporicMuslim women. & through an examination of narratives of disorientation,Santesso suggests that a more complex and textured portrait emerges ofimmigrant Muslim women. (Emily Johansen, Contemporary Women's Writing, Vol. 10(1), March, 2016)
Esra Mirze Santesso is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Georgia, USA, where she teaches postcolonial literature. She has published a wide range of articles on contemporary British literature, Muslim diasporic identity, and Turkish literature and film, including an interview with Orhan Pamuk.