3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
My trip to Adele has three different sets of central characters all suffering from difficulties in life. They are united in their love for Adele. The book follows their journey to attend an Adele concert in Vienna as part of her recently released album ‘25’. First off, we are introduced to Elias. Elias is a young man who falls in love with a prostitute named Malika. When Elias discovers she is a minor of only thirteen years, he panics and flees to Rome. Malika tries to learn English by listening to Adele’s songs so that she can talk with Elias. This happens eight years back from the current setting. Now, after a session with a fortune teller, Elias decides to go back Marrakesh in search for her.
Next,we are introduced to Nadia and Waleed, a mother-son duo. Nadia is a doting single mother who is battling her ex-husband in court to secure freedom for herself and her son. Her son adores Adele and she wishes to take him to attend the concert in Verona. After some terrible incidents, her vindictive ex-husband puts her in a difficult predicament and she has to attend the concert without her son.
Finally, we have Mariam and Yaser, a married couple who are going through a difficult time in their marriage. Their counsellor suggests them to find a special moment together, to revive and feel it again. Yaser had first proposed Mariam with an Adele song playing in the background. So he buys tickets for the Adele concert.
I enjoyed how the three stories are beautifully woven around the concert. The book has depth and life. Each chapter is named after an Adele song and at the end of every chapter has lyrics from that song. Those words convey melancholy and meaning, as if they were specially written for the characters in the story. I especially loved the final chapter which combines the three stories together beautifully.
The characters are well-written and enjoyable. My personal favourite is Nadia. In a man’s world, she stands up against her ex-husband. She defies tribal and social customs to fight for her son. That takes a lot of courage. Elias’ story was a bit confusing until he explains who Malika really is. Yaser is an atheist and Mariam is very religious. A lot of their issues arises from this difference. Yaser finds it hard to adjust with Mariam, but after a while I felt that he was too whiny.
The authors’ writing style is engaging and easy to follow. The book is a translation from their original work in Arabic and contains some grammatical errors. I believe conversation between some characters are a bit too formal than was intended. This could be attributed to the literal translation. Overall, the book is a pleasant read. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
******
My Trip to Adele
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like AYISHA_ASH's review? Post a comment saying so!
