Nova Scotian author Charlotte R. Mendel has written a different kind of novel with A Hero (2015, Inanna Publications). It is different in that it concerns the lives of an extended Muslim family living in an unnamed post-revolutionary Muslim country. While the family is Muslim, it could be any family living anywhere, from the inner city to the suburbs. In fact, as I started reading the book, it seemed to me like a Muslim version of “All in the Family”. That is not meant to take anything away from the story Ms. Mendel has conceived. There are similarities: a conservative, outspoken family head, his timid, loving wife, and his younger, more liberal, if not outright activist children and in-laws.
Meet the Family
But this is no TV comedy. It is an under-the-microscope study of a family (considered middle-class by their countries standards) living in close conditions under the tough-loving oversight of Mohammed, the family patriarch. The rest of his family consists of his wife Fatima, their children Abdul and Ali (twins), daughter Zayna and baby Naaman. Then there is: Mohammed’s older sister Rana, her husband Hamid and their only child, a son, Mazin. Finally, there is the activist Ahmed, Fatima’s younger brother.
Sources of Tension
There are several sources of tension at play against the backdrop of a post-revolutionary regime that is having increasing difficulty in subduing revolutionaries (like Ahmed) who want the next government to be a democratic one, and they want it now. Rana supports Ahmed, and would like to participate in the demonstrations too, but women are not allowed. This causes problems between siblings Rana and Mohammed and since it is his house, his word is law. There are also other issues covered in the text, like the use of the niquab, women’s rights, and political and religious freedom. Using a middle-class conservative Muslim family allows Ms. Mendel to cleverly cover all these topics to beneficial effect throughout A Hero.
What is a Hero?
This is the question posed by some of the characters, particularly young Zayna, the self-appointed spy of the family who listens at the doors every night so she can try to understand everyone’s feelings to keep household life harmonious as her father would like it to be. Of her father, Zayna thinks: “It must be very hard to behave well when everybody thinks you are unreasonable.” She scribbles all these thoughts in her journal every night. Also in her journal are four criteria for what she believes a hero is:
Someone who fights for what he believes in
Someone who protects his family from harm
Someone who is noble
Someone who helps others even when it puts them in danger
Actually, each character in the book meets one or more of the criteria, from Ahmed on one end of the scale to the women on the other. It makes for a remarkably interesting read to see how each character develops and reacts to the worsening conditions outside the home. Ms. Mendel accomplishes this character development by making each one the main subject of a chapter so we eventually get to see the family through varying perspectives. Especially insightful are the chapters pertaining to the women. As noted earlier, Rana is the most passionate and outspoken one in the house, but timid Fatima and Zayna, the little facilitator, become more fully developed as we get to know their intimate thoughts and personal feelings.
Conclusion
I liked reading this book, if for no other reason than getting an insight into a ‘moderate/progressive’ Muslim family (Mohammed even prohibits Fatima to teach religion to their children). Living amongst daily demonstrations, machine gun fire, and killing in the streets is something we, in this part of the world have difficulty understanding. A Hero excels in both these areas and as such is a worthwhile read.
About the Author
Charlotte Mendel is a mother, author, teacher, and a modest homestead farmer. Her first novel, Turn Us Again, won the Atlantic Book Award for First Novel, the H.R. Percy Novel Prize, and the Beacon Award for Social Justice. Her second novel, A Hero, was shortlisted for the 2016 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist in the 2016 International book Awards, in the General Fiction Category.
Her first YA book, Reversing Time, was published by Guernica Editions in the fall of 2021. Another literary fiction book, A Hostage, was published by Inanna in 2023.
Book Details
Publisher : Inanna Publications (May 15 2015)
Language : English
Paperback : 286 pages
ISBN-10 : 1771331933
ISBN-13 : 978-1771331937