If you
are going to read only one mystery book this year, make sure you pick Where
Sleeping Girls Lie. Don’t be deterred by the fact that it is in the Young Adult fiction book category. I could not put this outstanding novel down. It is
the kind of masterpiece that leaves me speechless, and there are many reasons
why I recommend it strongly.
Why I loved Where Sleeping Girls Lie
Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a refreshing read because the
author does not taint the novel with clumsy gender stereotypes that suit the
wishes of the patriarchy. The story has strong female characters who defy the
patriarchy in several ways. Characters don’t need to be perfect, but I
appreciate that they are relatable and interesting, and it is easy to feel a
strong sense of connection with them. Unlike Carthage by Joyce Carol
Oates, where the so-called “smart girl” turns out to be an insane product of
the patriarchy, the smart girls in Where the Sleeping Girls Lie challenge
the system through their wits, humor and determination. They are smart because
they can see what is wrong and they act accordingly. The female teenagers
somehow band together and confront injustice.
It is liberating to read Faridah Abike-Iyimide
after putting up with novels that claim to be different while falling flat into
a stream of prejudices and stereotypes. For example, in The Forty Rules of
Love by Elif Shafak the female characters (Ella and Rose) cannot be brave
without the feedback of men. (Rose is a sex slave but the author does not even
seem to acknowledge that Rose is a slave). Ella is constantly patronized by a
stranger. In The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak, the eccentric
ladies she presents turn out to be unreliable and cruel by the end of the novel
and the author makes sure that the reader feels more empathy for the rapist
than for the female characters she portrays. I find it disappointing and
disturbing. On the other hand, in Where Sleeping Girls Lie Faridah
breaks new ground. She sets the reader free from the trend of throwing the “smart”
women under the bus. Faridah shows how women can band
together to protect themselves. After I finished reading it, I continued
thinking about the outcome of the story and about how all the pieces fit
together.
Faridah
is a new kind of writer, free from the prejudices that influence other writers.
How liberating! How refreshing it is to meet this author!
Characters
and Plot
Like in Carthage, a female character disappears,
so the puzzle revolves around her disappearance and the chain of events that
ensue; there are many secrets to be discovered throughout the story…
Sade is
a sixteen-year-old new student in a boarding school in England: Alfred Nobel
Academy (ANA). Before joining ANA, she had been homeschooled. It is fascinating
to read about her new life in the school and how she connects with the other
students. The main characters have unique personalities, and Faridah makes them
jump out of the page, offering vivid settings and concise descriptions.
The
mystery starts with the sudden disappearance of a female high school student of
Asian ethnicity. Her name is Elizabeth Wang; she was Sade Hussein’s room-mate.
The teenager vanishes on Sade’s first night at ANA.
The gothic buildings of the school create a
dark, intriguing atmosphere. Each building has the name of a historical figure
from the past… Sade and her new friends navigate an oppressive system of racism,
misogyny, greed and corruption, but they challenge it in multiple ways.
Getting to know the characters well was a riveting
adventure. I appreciate how the author makes the suspense grow. She keeps the
reader actively engaged through the planting of enigmatic clues. Some of the
characters are teenagers I would be happy to befriend, like Basil, Persephone, Elizabeth
and Sade. Unlike Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, a novel in which all
the teenagers portrayed are shallow, uninspiring and boring, Faridah offers characters
that you are willing to meet in-person. (Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed reading Nineteen
Minutes, but I did not like the characters in that story).
As you read Where Sleeping Girls lie,
you may consider asking questions about the study of history:
Who do we celebrate when we study
history? Who do we honor?
Who do we ignore and why? How does a biased
selection shape our present? How does this impact our future?
How can we improve the study of
history to make it inclusive and relevant to our times? How do we learn new
perspectives to comprehend the past?
I
do not want to reveal too much because this book is amazing, thought-provoking
and incredibly relevant. I also appreciate that the ending offers hope, and we
need hope more than ever.
I dare say this is my favorite mystery
of the year and my favorite Young Adult fiction of the year. I am thankful that
the universe made me cross paths with this masterpiece. Encounters with books
are like little miracles that make us fall in love with the magic of reading.
I came across this book at my local library and I look forward to reading more works by this author.
A brief note about the author
Faridah Abike-Iyimide is the
award-winning, instant New York Times—and internationally bestselling author of
Ace of Spades. She is a graduate from a university in the Scottish
Highlands, where she received a bachelor of arts in English Literature. She
also has an MA in Shakespeare studies from Kings College London. You can learn
more about Faridah by checking her website:
Comparative
analysis between Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates and Where Sleeping
Girls Lie (along with some commentary on other recent
reads).
If you have already read Carthage by
Joyce Carol Oates, feel free to read this analysis.
It was fascinating to realize that these two
books landed on my desk at the same time. When I had to choose which one to
read first, I selected Carthage, but I did not know that Where
Sleeping Girls Lie would be more satisfying and even more
insightful. Unlike Carthage, it is also free of prejudices.
In both mystery novels a woman disappears. In
the case of Where Sleeping Girls Lie the female character who disappears
is a teenager. Both stories expose the normalization of male violence and how
the forces of the patriarchy shape the way people judge women and men
differently. In both stories there is a
conflict between two sisters…
Where Sleeping Girls Lie highlights
how patriarchal forces enable the abuse of women while Carthage suggests
that women are in part responsible for these abusive behaviors by doing nothing
to set themselves free from the abuser or by supporting and admiring violent
males. I think Carthage could have been instead an opportunity to expose
how the system does not believe women and how it puts them in danger, but Joyce
Carol Oates did something similar in We Were the Mulvaneys. In this
novel, Oates shows that Corinne Mulvaney condoned her husband’s abusive
behavior. I think there is a clear bias against the female gender in these two
novels. Why is the author so persistent when it comes to placing the onus on
women? The author is clearly interested in revealing the internalized misogyny
of her female characters. To make matters even worse, Corinne Mulvaney did not
provide support to her daughter after she was raped and even drove her away
from her home because she could not deal with the reality of the rape. I know I am digressing here, but it is hard
not to see the analogies.
Writing
about this brings to mind the tragic experience of Gabby Petito who reported
the physical abuse of his boyfriend to the police officers in Utah. She was
clearly asking for help. No support or help were provided. The abuser was in
control. She was considered the “crazy” one, even though she was the victim. Soon after she asked for help, she
was strangled by her boyfriend.
The most important differences between Carthage and Where Sleeping Girls Lie manifest in the ways in which the female characters respond to the demands and injustice of the patriarchy. In Where Sleeping Girls Lie the female characters can see the problems and advocate for change. In Carthage, women adopt a more submissive attitude, even when they can see some of the problems.
Religion appears to appease and comfort Arlette.
It helps her accept her reality and to forgive and be kind. The Catholic Religion
in Carthage is something that guides people to be kind to others, to be more
tolerant. The context triggers a compelling question: Can people be kind
without religion? Joyce Carol Oates shows that Cressida is non-religious and
inconsiderate, so the author here seems to associate religion with being kind
to others, which can be misleading. Women are expected to be charitable, and
religion appears to be the medium that facilitates this. Is the situation suggesting that religion is essential to
count on a moral backbone? This suggestion has the potential to implant a form of bigotry. Arlette’s
husband, on the other hand, is the one involved in politics. He is not
religious, but he tries to hide his lack of faith, and Arlette cannot fully
trust her husband, which reinforces the bigoted idea that without religion a
person cannot be trusted. Yet he is the one Cressida puts on a
pedestal.
Cressida
is labeled as a “smart” girl, but she treats her mother in condescending ways
and admires her father. Cressida’s attitude is a product of the patriarchy
despite her rebellious nature. Cressida
also suffers because she does not meet the beauty standards demanded by the
patriarchy. Unfortunately, the author does not care too much about sowing
empathy for Cressida either. Take a moment to read the reviews to confirm this.
You will read that some reviewers state that they would like to “throw Cressida
into the river.” Yet they express that they do feel sympathy for Brett
Kincaid. They are not bothered by the fact that he had physically attacked his
girlfriend, Juliet, and had hung out with rapists… What does this tell you
about the society we live in? Joyce Carol Oates paints “smart Cressida” as
mischievous and unreliable. Yet Cressida volunteered to help boys by tutoring
them in math. Then the boys labeled her as the “homely” one, which means “ugly”
in American English. From that point on, she refused to volunteer, which means
that being smart did not protect her from being overly concerned about the
opinions of others. Being smart as a woman did not protect her from being
objectified either. Her sister, Juliet, was considered “the beautiful” one, so Cressida
was jealous.
To make matters even more distressing,
Cressida was considered “too smart.” Think about that for a moment. I’ve never
heard of a man being accused of being too smart. Intelligence is celebrated,
irrespective of the man’s looks. Cressida’s father even warned her about the
possibility of being attacked because of her blunt remarks, hinting at the idea
that being smart was considered dangerous. I have already explained the
stereotyping of the “smart woman” here, so I will not delve into this again.
Feel free to read my post on this here.
Carthage is a very depressing novel in which
women adapt to their situations without really changing anything. They do what
women are expected to do: they are charitable, but Zeno is the politician. He
is the leader, the one with power, and the ending does not seem to muffle the
sharpness of the contrast between Arlette, the submissive wife, and Zeno, the
politician. There is some growth in most of the characters in Carthage, but
it does not make up for the stereotyping and prejudices that pervade the novel.
By the end of the novel Arlette may not be the subservient wife she was at the
beginning, but she is still docile in many ways. She is wise, but she is not
vocal. She acts in accordance with the words from the New Testament: “Let a
woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.”
Faridah does not let us lose hope for her female characters in Where
Sleeping girls Lie. She gives
them agency to have their own thoughts from the beginning of the novel. The
author trusts the smart girls. I do not see any signs of internalized misogyny here.
Faridah is a new kind of writer who believes in the power of her female
characters to understand and be vocal; they summon up courage amid
adverse circumstances and set creative solutions in motion. The author has
genuine faith in women and refuses to succumb to any type of prejudice. The
women and teenagers in this novel will surprise you... They are alert; they
know that things can change, and they work to make change happen…
