LitPick Review
Author Yasmin Azad recounts her childhood growing up in Ceylon, now modern-day Sri Lanka, and how she and her family wrestle with maintaining traditional customs as the culture around them slowly changes. Most notably, she writes about the advanced education of girls in their Muslim community, and the Christian customs that trickle in and influence their evolving viewpoints.
Her father, Wappah, is considered a devoted patriarch who looks out for all of the women in his family. Though he’s overprotective, he has a special bond with the author. He had always wanted a daughter, and so he tends to frequently cave to her wishes as a result. Whether it’s buying her comics, fancy earrings, or a bicycle, his desire to please her comes in opposition to his desire to protect her from the dangerous gossip or situations that could ruin her chances of marrying young and well. Azad takes the reader from her childhood to adulthood, working in her subversive female family history and friendships to illustrate how she is able to break through the barriers of her culture to become something more than a young, submissive wife.
Opinion:
Stay, Daughter is a really interesting look at Muslim culture that breaks down the author’s story in a very literary way. She works in the rules and customs of her culture in a narrative formative, rather than spurting dry facts and emotionless situations. She also takes pride in her heritage while working in its injustices toward women, something many cultures can attest to. Because of this, she’s never judgmental of her culture as she is curious about how she can conform without losing herself in the process.
Young Yasmin understands the privileges she has over her older female relatives, while still shooting for more freedoms without disgracing her family’s reputation. She’s inquisitive and thoughtful about how to grow up in this society that keeps pre-teen girls from going outside until a marriage can be arranged but still lets them go to school to further their education with an understanding of the benefits it brings to a young wife who knows how to speak English and can better follow instructions in a cookbook.
Stay, Daughter can be a little dense and wordy at times, but reader attention always returns as a new topic comes up or a new story is told. I recommend this book to anyone who loves memoirs, finds it interesting and helpful to learn about other cultures, and loves stories about women who subvert the expectations of their culture to become something more than what they are expected to be.
