Book: The Gatekeeper’s Notebook
Author: Sahar Abdulaziz
Published: January 1, 2020
Pages: 307
Genre: Suspense
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Housekeeping
I received an ARC (advanced reader’s copy) of this book courtesy of Djarabi Kitabs Publishing for an honest review.
Review
I came into this book blind as I did not read the synopsis of it nor had I read anything by the author, Sahar Abdulaziz. However, after finishing The Gatekeeper’s Notebook, I NEED to read EVERYTHING else she has written because I’m now a fan.
The novel opens with the death of Kalila Rahim’s husband, Bashir, from a car crash. Before he dies, he revealed that he took a second wife without Kalila’s knowledge. Now instead of focuses only on her grief, Kalila must deal with the emotional and physical betrayal of Bashir confession. Kalila is trying to cope with her new normal while under the watchful eye of her friends, neighbors, and frenemies in this small affluent Muslim community in Poconos.
The Gatekeeper’s Notebook by Sahar Abdulaziz is told from multiple viewpoints, including the four women in Kalila’s life: Amara, Walaa, and Nafiza. Even though this story is told from multiple points of view, Kalila’s story drives the plot and action. Telling this story through this point of view is helpful because it allows the reader to see the character’s motivation, which is helpful especially with Amara to understand how/why she behaves the way she does.
The recurring theme is the connection and relationship the characters share with their spouses, community members, friends, neighbors and even themselves. The background theme that drives the plot is polygamy and secret marriages. Polygamy has taken over this small Muslim community with the pro and against side admittedly believing that they are right without truly listening to each other. Not a spoiler but the argument at the sister’s meeting with both sides going at it could have been taken from a community when polygamy is discussed. This community is realistic in its depiction of polygamy where the fall out can stretch and break both communities and families. But the discussion was not preachy about Islam or polygamy and both sides were presented fairly.
The characters were one of my favorite things about the novel as they were authentic and genuine while being complex. A lot of books that include Muslim characters tend to make them perfect model Muslims, but these characters were flawed, even the Imam’s wife, Nafiza. Some of the characters’ actions had me shaking my head in disbelief or picking my jaw up from the floor.
This novel was written from a Muslim perspective, but it can be enjoyed by anyone who loves suspense. However, it does include a lot of Islamic terms in Arabic such as As salaamu alaikum, Alhamdulillah, and Mashallah, but context clues are included that help defines the word and/or phrase. Plus, there is a glossary at the end of the book, which includes the definitions.
As a warning, there was a small handful of sex scenes in the novel, they were not graphic, but some readers may prefer to skip over those sections. Also, some of the characters use profanity.
The Gatekeeper’s Notebook by Sahar Abdulaziz is an has an intriguing suspenseful novel, which was fun to read. The story is a page-turner with an unpredictable ending. Also, there was no happily ever after ending with everything tied up neatly with a bow.
If you are in the mood for a suspenseful, fun, fast-paced novel with feisty characters, put this book in your ‘To-Read’ stack but please read it.
