The Shaytan Bride is an utterly compelling memoir of how we forge a path between the Scylla and Charybdis of tradition and modernity; obligation and independence. Written in searing prose that commands one's attention, this brave book heralds the arrival of a bright new literary voice.
Arif Anwar, author of The Storm
Sensuous and affecting, The Shaytan Bride wrestles with the enduring questions of how one might reconcile duty with desire, divine will with personal agency. Sumaiya Matin asks us to accept, with tenderness, all the earnest mistakes we have made, and also those mistakes others have made at our expense. Her story stays with you long after you've closed the pages of this remarkable memoir.
Shyam Selvadurai, author of Funny Boy
The Shaytan Bride is a powerful look at the price women pay for living their truth. With breathtaking lyricism, Sumaiya carries readers through her harrowing journey of coming back to herself. A must-read.
Julie S. Lalonde, author of Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde
Sumaiya Matin's The Shaytan Bride is a stunning testament to what it means to be a South Asian Muslim woman navigating the intersections of faith, tradition, colonialism, and classism. Matin writes with the grace and fire of a poet, weaving myth and lived experience into an account that intentionally avoids the lure of false dichotomies. While not a rescue story, The Shaytan Bride is a compelling tale of what happens when the stories we've been told and those we tell ourselves have the power to sink us or save us.
Sheniz Janmohamed, author of Reminders on the Path
Matin weaves words poetically making the Bangladeshi Muslim woman’s experience accessible and relatable to the reader. A poignantly told coming of age tale, The Shaytan Bride’s exploration of familial obligation coupled with a passion for independence perceived as rebellion, makes this book a must-read for a widespread audience.
Taslim Burkowicz, author of The Desirable Sister
The Shaytan Bride is a powerful and extraordinary account of a young woman's journey of finding herself as she navigates through love and violence, trauma and healing, and faith and family. Through beautiful, lyrical language, Sumaiya invites us into some of the personal moments of her life and the depths of her heart, sharing her experience of being forced into a marriage for falling in love with someone her family did not accept, and how she forges her path and emerges triumphant, self-assured and transformed. Rich with historical, political references and concepts of Islamic spirituality, this book beautifully contextualizes the experience of one individual within the larger socio-political landscape of post-colonial South Asia and neo-colonial North America. A must-read!
Silmy Abdullah, author of Home of the Floating Lily
Matin’s struggle to balance her faith and her love beget philosophical questions and poetic epiphanies that reverberate in the reader’s mind.
Chatelaine
Sumaiya Matin's The Shaytan Bride is a stunning testament to what it means to be a South Asian Muslim woman navigating the intersections of faith, tradition, colonialism, and classism. Matin writes with the grace and fire of a poet, weaving myth and lived experience into an account that intentionally avoids the lure of false dichotomies. While not a rescue story, The Shaytan Bride is a compelling tale of what happens when the stories we've been told and those we tell ourselves have the power to sink us or save us.
Sheniz Janmohamed, author of Reminders on the Path
Matin weaves words poetically making the Bangladeshi Muslim woman’s experience accessible and relatable to the reader. A poignantly told coming of age tale, The Shaytan Bride’s exploration of familial obligation coupled with a passion for independence perceived as rebellion, makes this book a must-read for a widespread audience.
Taslim Burkowicz, author of The Desirable Sister
The Shaytan Bride is a powerful and extraordinary account of a young woman's journey of finding herself as she navigates through love and violence, trauma and healing, and faith and family. Through beautiful, lyrical language, Sumaiya invites us into some of the personal moments of her life and the depths of her heart, sharing her experience of being forced into a marriage for falling in love with someone her family did not accept, and how she forges her path and emerges triumphant, self-assured and transformed. Rich with historical, political references and concepts of Islamic spirituality, this book beautifully contextualizes the experience of one individual within the larger socio-political landscape of post-colonial South Asia and neo-colonial North America. A must-read!
Silmy Abdullah, author of Home of the Floating Lily
A memoir that every feminist should read.
I've Read This
Rich with historical and political references, The Shaytan Bride beautifully contextualizes the experience of one individual within the larger socio-political landscape of the Bangladeshi community.
The Miramichi Reader
A true-life memoir written with the craft and natural flow of a work of literature… Emotional, candid, and profound, is highly recommended.
Midwest Book Review