The Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

Book Review

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

✨BOOK FEATURE✨
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / General Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: June 7, 2022

THIS BOOK.

If you’re looking for a book that will give you allll the feels, look no further! This book will make you laugh. It will make you ugly cry. It will make you cherish your friendships and found family.

I don’t know that I’ve ever read a book that so perfectly captures the fierceness of female friendships - the ups and downs, the inside jokes, the unfaltering protectiveness, the laughter and the tears. The author, Salmael El-Wardany, truly knocked it out of the park with her stunning debut novel, which explores the dynamics between three twenty-something Muslim women as they navigate romantic relationships, familial conflict and their faith.

One of the (many) things I adored about this book was the way it spoke about interfaith relationships - both the challenges of such as well as the idea that ‘love conquers all.’ I also really enjoyed learning more about the Muslim faith and the different values, expectations and customs across continents. The book begins in England, but ventures to Cairo when one of the women moves to her family’s homeland. I’ve always wanted to visit Egypt, so it was quite fascinating to read about life in the bustling city of the nation’s capital.

I also really appreciated the underlying theme of what it means to be “good” and how women are so often expected to adhere to a limited framework in order to appease the expectations of others and remain in society’s good graces.

In the spirit of objectivity, it’s perhaps worth mentioning that the first chapter felt a bit more shallow than the remainder of the book. So if you tend to judge books by the opening chapter, give this one a couple more.

In summary, this is a captivating and beautifully written novel that you don’t want to miss! Expect to see this one on my top ten list at the end of the year…

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy & major props to Read With Jenna and The Today Show for choosing this gem as a summer selection. These Impossible Things is out now and available for purchase wherever books are sold. Click HERE to buy the book on Amazon (disclosure: Bookmarkparty receives a small (very small) commission on purchases made through affiliate Amazon links).

ALSO, if you're a fan of debut novels (like me!), I highly recommend you check out my list of Awesome Debut Novels for additional reading suggestions / more great book recommendations across genres. This list includes new release books from 2022 as well as older (but equally excellent) debut novels. 

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

TW: Rape, abortion, domestic violence, gaslighting 

Despite being chosen as a Read with Jenna / Today Show Book Club selection, I'm rather surprised that this book hasn't received more hype and/or accolades! I also haven't seen it featured very frequently on BookTok or Bookstagram, which is a shame because this book is truly wonderful. Ok I'm done raving now.... just do me a favor and pick this one up!

Side note on the featured photo: How about that view? I was fortunate to visit Portugal this summer and took this photo while visiting Sao Miguel island in the Azores (a collection of islands off the coast of Portugal). Truly incredible. 🤩