Saffron Dreams discussion
Review of Saffron Dreams
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Shaila wrote: "Thanks for that gracious review, Ellen.Shaila Abdullah
http://www.shailaabdullah.com
"
You are most welcome, Shaila!
Saffron Dreams is a beautiful story about a young Pakistani woman who is both an artist and a writer and considered the "ugly" of three daughters. She's not looking for love and is surprised to find that a man she meets in the New York Public Library startles her with emotion while she's on a trip to the United States. Upon returning to Pakistan, a matchmaker shows the young woman and her father pictures of two available men and one happens to be the young man from the library.
The couple marry and move to the states, living in Brooklyn. The husband, who is also a writer, takes a job working at Windows of the World, the restaurant atop one of the Twin Towers, and the wife writes freelance business articles and paints. When the husband is killed on 9/11, the wife faces a new journey, finding herself pregnant with a child who will be born with multiple birth defects and having to find her way in a new world, as a new kind of woman.
The story is haunting and sad and beautiful and rich and loving and fascinating. Through my editor, I've been lucky enough to meet (via email) Shaila (pronounced Shella) Abdullah, the author of Saffron Dreams. Shaila is a beautiful soul, filled with love and beauty and talent and wonder and spirit and soul. Not only do I recommend Saffron Dreams, but also pick up Shaila's short-story collection, Behind the Cayenne Wall. I've read two of the stories in this book, and they, too, are rich with emotion and quite haunting.
Ellen Black