Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewMemorable, vivid, and subversive at times, the stories bring to life a type of female experience seldom seen in immigrant narratives.
* New Canadian Media *
A genuine and compelling narrative … The Syrian Ladies’ Benevolent Society is smart, elegant, and a necessary contribution to the overall literature challenging so many suffocating cultural stereotypes in Canadian society.
* The Miramichi Reader *
The material in these stories often does more than just flirt with dark subject matter, but the author’s empathy and sharp understanding of human frailty nevertheless injects The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society with the vibrancy of life. The book opens with a reference to fire, and Estima is a valiant recorder of the heat that burns us, inside and out.
* That Shakespearean Rag *
In writing across cultures, borders, and centuries, Estima credits her ancestors with direct inspiration: ‘I hear your voices in my veins; you will not be forgotten.’ Neither will Estima's enthralling writing.
* Shelf Awareness *
Across the varying settings and time periods, what remains consistent is Estima’s detailed and evocative prose as she weaves a haunting tale of how the pain of loss—whether of our home, our loved ones or our sense of self—reverberates across generations.
* Maisonneuve *
Years in the making, [The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society] reveals a writer who is sure of her subject and craft … Precise and sensitive.
* Literary Review of Canada *
