There were some really cool descriptive paragraphs at the very beginning that I thought I would share. I find in class discussion that we tend to congregate towards the middle of readings, so I thought adding content from the beginning would vary it up.
"The snow falls and, yes, the hand stretched into the flakes' path is a hand asking back a season now lost."
"The sound of the doorbell runs through him like an electric current, jolting him out of his funk."
"Kaukab knows her dissatisfaction with England is a slight to Allah because He is the creator and ruler of the entire earth - as the stone carving on Islambad airport reminds and reassures the heartbroken people who are having to leave Pakistan - but she cannot contain her homesickness and constantly asks for courage to face this lonely ordeal that He has chosen for her in His wisdom."
Questions:
Do the "seasons" in this book refer to time periods of their lives? Is that time period now lost?
Does her loneliness include a lack of Allah's presence?
The third passage you chose reveals a lot about the guilt and contradictions that Kaukab experiences in England. She believes that her life and the places she goes have been chosen for her by Allah, but she is miserable, which contradicts her her religious integrity- her unhappiness suggests that Allah does not know what is best for her. Throughout the book, Kaukab finds any doubts about Allah’s wisdom disturbing and blasphemous, so when her own emotions contradict her religious beliefs, she is understandably upset. This connects to Kaukab’s dream where she sees herself being hanged, but also being an executioner: she feels like a victim of the eroding of religious principles, but also guilty because she is afraid she is contributing to it.
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