Saffron Dreams [Paperback]

Shaila Abdullah (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2009

Saffron Dreams is a tale of love, tragedy, and redemption from the award-winning author of Beyond the Cayenne Wall...

You don't know you're a misfit until you are marked as an outcast.

From the darkest hour of American history emerges a mesmerizing tale of tender love, a life interrupted, and faith recovered. Arissa Illahi, a Muslim artist and writer, discovers in a single moment that no matter how carefully you map your life, it is life itself that chooses your destiny. After her husband's death in the collapse of the World Trade Center, the discovery of his manuscript marks Arissa's reconnection to life. Her unborn son and the unfinished novel fuse in her mind into one life-defining project that becomes, at once, the struggle for her emotional survival and the redemption of her race. Saffron Dreams is a novel about our ever evolving identities and the events and places that shape them. It reminds us that in the midst of tragedy, our dreams can become a lasting legacy.

Praise for Saffron Dreams

"Eloquently written, a must-read for any one interested in exploring the lived experiences of Muslim women in the United States."
--Ali Asani, PhD, Professor of the Practice of Indo-Muslim Languages and Cultures, Harvard University

"Saffron Dreams is an unflinching look at the societal pressures of widowhood, the role that art can play in the healing process, and the impact of media bias and stereotyping on the Muslim American community in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks."
--Sandhya Nankani, Literary Safari

"Following Arissa's story makes the reader realize how little most of us know and understand the world of Muslims, and how incredibly wrong so many of our perceptions are."
--Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson, Reader Views

"Shaila Abdullah's Saffron Dreams is a fascinating look at how events can quickly change a life forever. The thread of Muslim beliefs in a modern world, and especially how women balance ancient and modern traditions, is a fresh and different viewpoint."
--Sandie Kirkland, Rebecca's Reads

About the Author
Shaila Abdullah is a Pakistani-American author and designer based in Austin, Texas. Her first book, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, is an award-winning collection of stories about Pakistani women struggling to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. For more information, please visit www.ShailaAbdullah.com.

Saffron Dreams is Book #5 of the Reflections of America Series from Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Like Abdullah's story collection, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, this work provides a remarkable, inevitably hopeful glimpse into the daily life of Muslim woman living in America. Highly recommended."
--Library Journal

"As I read some of the bleakest parts of the novel, I was unable to remain dry-eyed and chances are it will have the same impact on many other readers, which in itself speaks volumes of its success." --Dawn Newspaper --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Modern History Press; 1st edition (February 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932690735
• ISBN-13: 978-1932690736
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #808,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Noted as "Word Artist" by critics, Shaila Abdullah is an award-winning author and designer based in Austin, Texas. Her creative work focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of Pakistani women and their often unconventional choices in life. Abdullah's 2009 novel, Saffron Dreams is taught at several universities and explores the tragedy of 9/11 from the perspective of a Muslim widow. She received a grant from Hobson Foundation for that body of work. Her debut book, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, is a collection of stories about Pakistani women struggling to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. The author has received several awards for her work including the Golden Quill Award, Norumbega Jury Prize for Outstanding Fiction, DIY Award, Reader Views Award, Written Art Award, and a grant from Hobson Foundation. For more information about the author and to sign up for news and updates, please visit www.shailaabdullah.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite!, February 1, 2009

By 

Teri A. Davis (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saffron Dreams (Reflections of America) (Hardcover)

Exquisite. That best describes the book, SAFFRON DREAMS. The story is from a woman's perspective with true pain, ambition, desperation, duty, and love all mixed together.

Arissa Illahi is a Pakistani-Muslim artist and writer whose childhood was spent in an affluent family in New York City. Her mother is overly flirtatious with her uncle and her parents eventually split. She meets an interesting man who she would like to meet again and regretfully, doesn't until her parents contact a matchmaker and show her the pictures of prospective husbands. There he is and their life together begins.

All is not perfect as they do have the everyday problems and challenges of being overly educated and not being able to find profitable careers to match. Her husband works as a waiter in one of buildings that are part of the World Trade Center. In his free time, he is writing his first novel, which he hopes, will allow him to become a full-time author.

Arissa discovers that she is pregnant and her life changes. Her husband was working on the morning of 9/11 and he did not escape the tragedy that occurred. Arissa has to deal with his death, being pregnant, finding a job to support the baby and herself, and also, how to be a Muslim in New York City at this time. To add to this challenge, she discovers that her child will be handicapped; it is just not known yet to what degree.

SAFFRON DREAMS possesses a strength of dreaming, reality, and a personal voice in literature. You truly feel you are Arissa as her life continues daily. She wants to be a good mother, continue her faith, rely on her family, and also to fulfill her husband's wishes of completing his novel. There just isn't always enough time for everything.

Shaila Abdullah is a Pakistani-American author currently living in Austin, Texas. She has also written, BEYOND THE CAYENNE WALL which is a collection of stories about Pakistani women and the changes and challenges in their lives. SAFFRON DREAMS is truly an exquisite novel. The care of the characters, complete with flaws exposed, makes this a reflective and insightful read for everyone.

REVIEWED BY TERI DAVIS

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Written 9/11 Story of Muslim Widow, February 2, 2009

By 

Tyler R. Tichelaar "Superior Book Promotions ... (Marquette, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Saffron Dreams (Paperback)

Shaila Abdullah's "Saffron Dreams" is a moving, sensitive and eye-opening novel about Arissa Ilahi, a young Pakistani woman living in New York City, who loses her husband in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Towers. While the novel has scenes in Pakistan prior to the 9/11 attacks, the focus of the novel is Arissa grieving for her lost husband, Faizan, her efforts to get her life back together in a country whose people are becoming intolerant and prejudiced against Muslims, and being a single mother to a newborn son with multiple disabilities. Along the way, Arissa learns to find support in loved ones, especially her in-laws, and to sever dysfunctional relationships, even with family members. Despite many difficult decisions she must make for the independence of herself and her son, Arissa remains strong and hopeful.

The September 11th attacks are wounds still healing in the United States. Readers of "Saffron Dreams" will better understand the grief experienced by those who lost loved ones during that critical time. The novel also offers insights into Islamic, particularly Pakistani, culture and the difficulties faced by immigrants to the United States in their efforts to assimilate yet retain parts of their culture. As Arissa notes in the novel, immigrants come to love both lands as their own.

"Saffron Dreams" is as American a novel as any written because the immigrant experience is an integral part of the American story. The novel is part of Modern History Press's "Reflections of America" series, and its young female Pakistani narrator provides a unique perspective on how Americans are still trying to cope with and interpret the events of September 11th and the wars that have followed. While the story is not as full of dramatic conflict as other recent Middle-Eastern immigrant novels such as "The Kite Runner," the internal conflict of Arissa is just as moving and perhaps more meaningful to readers who will see in Arissa someone not so unlike them, someone who simply wants a better life for herself and her child.

At the background of the novel is the theme of the value and importance of each human life. Arissa is determined to carry on her husband's legacy, to make sure his life is remembered and valued. At the urging of her mother-in-law, she decides to complete her husband's novel, "Soul Searcher." Equally, Arissa makes the decision to give birth and raise her child despite his disabilities. Through it all, she learns to value her own life, not allowing prospective lovers, dysfunctional family members, or Pakistani and American culture to control or define her future or identity. Arissa's story shows the individual importance and value of each person. Her voice is so distinct the reader is surprised to recall that "Saffron Dreams" is a novel rather than a personal memoir.

Author Shaila Abdullah was born in Karachi, Pakistan but now lives and works as a freelance writer in Austin, Texas. While she did not experience the terrorist attacks of September 11th firsthand, her experience as a Muslim woman who immigrated to the United States speaks for many men and women who have left their native lands to seek a better life in the United States despite the additional difficulties it can cause. Abdullah's previously published short story collection "Beyond the Cayenne Wall" received laudatory reviews for its depiction of Pakistani women struggling to define themselves as individuals against the barriers imposed by the traditional wall that separates the acceptable from what is considered sinful in their societies. Like the veil the Pakistani women wear, the wall prevents them from exploring who they really are.

Now in "Saffron Dreams," Abdullah returns to her topic of Pakistani women with an in-depth portrait of one woman trying to reconcile her new freedoms with her Pakistani culture and the prejudice of many Americans toward the Muslim religion. "Saffron Dreams" captures the tone and emotions of the early twenty-first century, while leaving the reader much to think about in terms of what it means to be an American, what the future of America may be, and the hope that exists in future generations. Abdullah's writing offers a new and intriguing perspective on the American experience, one I hope to continue enjoying in future novels from her.

-- Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of "The Marquette Trilogy"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A much-needed perspective, January 23, 2009

By 

Sandhya Nankani "www.literarysafari.com" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Saffron Dreams (Reflections of America) (Hardcover)

We have read numerous stories in the mainstream media about the widows of 9/11. Not so many about the Muslim victims. In her novel "Saffron Dreams," Shaila Abdullah fills a void in that literature by providing the perspective of a pregnant Pakistani woman who loses her husband--a writer with a masters in literature who worked as a waiter in the Windows on the World restaurant--on September 11. Inspired by the true story of Baraheen Ashrafi, a Bangladeshi woman who was widowed two days before the birth of her second child, Abdullah's novel follows her main character on her journey through the five stages of grief as she reconstructs her life in a worldthat views her as a perpetrator of the violence, not as a victim.

Intertwined with flashbacks to Arissa's childhood in Pakistan, this novel provides a valuable insight into secular, upper middle class Pakistani society. A much-needed perspective in the void of the American Muslim experience, this is an unflinching look at the societal pressures of widowhood, the role that art can play in the healing process, and the impact of media bias and stereotyping on the Muslim American community in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.