Sadly I didn’t like this book
I felt exceptionally bored.
I preserved for about 120 pages but sadly then gave up on it.

What's the book about?

While on her deathbed, Bilal's mother asks him to build a mosque in their rural village. Bilal has plans to fulfil his mother's dying wish, which horrifies his wife Mariam. His neighbours and friends are also concerned. As outrage sweeps his sleepy remote town, battle lines are drawn. Bilal's mother's lifelong dream reveals deeper schisms in their community than he could have imagined. Soon, Bilal is forced to choose between community and identity, faith and friendship, honouring his beloved mother's final wish and preserving everything he values.

My thoughts:
A thought provoking and enjoyable read. A little different from her previous books but still focuses on the themes she's brilliant at covering of family, mixed cultures, family roots and identity.

We are talking about mid-life crisis, grief, laughter and, let's say it, weird characters. And these characters are in complex situations, with complex psyches and complex contexts. Not the novel for me, but I see how others might enjoy it. Three stars are more like an average out of thin air, rather than a blow-by-blow review of the entire novel.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

I loved this book. It felt fresh and modern and heartwarming at the same time. The characters all grew to be lovable and I finished it in a few days, lovely to curl up with a cup of tea in the afternoons and escape!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was quite a pleasant story, the characters were likable. It’s nice to read something a bit different. I wouldn’t say it was a life changing book, but average for me.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Bilal & Mariam live in the county village of Babbel's End. Although they are the only Muslims there, they feel they have managed to fit in well to their village. When Bilal's mother dies, her last wish is that he build a mosque there. Needless to say that does not go down well & soon the village is fiercely divided.

I found this book quite hard going to start with. The characters were interesting, if a bit stereo-typed. It is Bilal's aunt, his Khala. that kept me reading. I loved her to bits. Taken from her city life to Babbel's End, being only able to speak Punjabi ( but attempting to master English) she attempts to make a friend of all, whether they want to be or not. The book throws up a lot of questions. How accepting are we of the 'other'? It is easy to declare you are not a racist if you ever encounter a situation where your fixed ideas come face to face with other beliefs.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik

What I liked most about Malik’s entertaining third novel is the way she asks questions about significant issues, without demonising any of her engaging cast of characters. What is home? Does economic progress change who we are? When we speak or write about religion and culture, are we driven by underlying attitudes? How can we identify our unconscious biases?

Bilal and his family have become well-integrated residents of Babbel’s End, since moving there from Birmingham eight years ago. As low-key Muslims, they easily pass under the radar of difference. The local accountancy business Bilal has set up provides much needed employment, and he has served on the parish council. Although his journalist wife Mariam speaks Punjabi and eats halal, the long-standing inhabitants of this English country village see them as being like everyone else. Most importantly, Haaris, Mariam’s son from a previous marriage, is happy and doing well at school. However, when Bilal announces his intention to fulfil the last wish of his recently deceased mother, by building a mosque in the village, their adopted community turns against them.

The outcome of this shift in alliances is new friendships being formed and old ones falling apart, amid an outbreak of calamitous misunderstandings. To add to the general confusion, Mariam’s ex-husband reappears, disrupting the peace of her marriage to Bilal. What’s more, Bilal’s Aunty Rukhsana suffers an accident and comes to stay with the family while she recovers. This rich mix is truly delightful, and at times laugh-out-loud funny.

Some of the characters may be a little stereotypical, but no more than is necessary to create convincing comedy. The book is easy to read, and gets under the reader’s skin. The pace of the story is fast, moving on swiftly from the latest personality clash to the next risky action and back again. I continued to think about the book when I was not reading it, and wondering how the latest twist would be resolved.

I thought the sensitively drawn character of Bilal was very interesting. Unused to analysing his feelings, his mother’s passing propels him into an emotional storm he does not have the intellectual tools to resolve. He starts to question his faith, as some people in the Christian community of Babbel’s End have already been doing. When his mosque-building proposal is met with rejection, not only of the project but of himself and his family, he is surprised and appalled. On one hand, the reader may wonder what he expected the response to be. On the other, they will admire him for his innocence and kindness.

The person who does most to resolve the differences within this formerly harmonious community is Rukhsana, the aunt who helped Bilal’s mother to bring him up, after his father’s desertion. Initially introduced as Khala (Aunt), that is what she continues to be called by everyone in the village, because they form a fixed idea that it is her name. Inspired by her new surroundings, after living for fifty years in Birmingham, for the first time ever she attempts to learn English. She is supported in this by her affectionate great-nephew Haaris, who hopes to teach her Mandarin next. This is the source of some of the best comedy in the book, because Rukhsana tries to link her limited English vocabulary to her observations of people’s body language, leading to hilarious misinterpretations.

Rukhsana, even though she has led a sheltered life, understands the behaviour of the non-Muslim villagers much better than Bilal and Mariam. Wisely, she compares the proposed building of the mosque to the work of Christian missionaries in Africa, which shocks her nephew because it has never occurred to him to convert people. A gentle, kindly woman who writes poetry in secret when she is not preparing delicious Indian sweets, Rukhsana does not understand why people who live in such a beautiful green Paradise cannot get along. The friendships Rukhsana forms with women of her own age during country walks, in spite of ill-fitting wellington boots and a fear of dogs, are key to resolving the issues raised by Bilal’s well-intentioned gesture.

At the conclusion of the story, all loose ends are tied neatly and the characters paired up, in a style reminiscent of Shakespearean comedy. I’m concerned by some of the partnerships Malik has decreed for her creations. One couple, in particular, I’m sure will be tearing out their own hair, or their partners, within days. But who am I to spoil the fun?

This was a well written and fascinating read. It has some very fascinating characters and a good insight into village life.

This is an engrossing and engaging book about community and belonging and faith. Bilal and his family have been living in a picturesque English village for years. They're part of the community, or at least they are until Bilal tries to fulfill his mother's dying wish - that a mosque be built in the village. Soon the community is split and the arguments expose other issues within the village and in Bilal's marriage. I enjoyed this - there are a lot of books about village life, but not from this point of view. It's lovely.

Set in a small village on the edge of Birmingham, Bilal and his family live and feel at home here.

When his mother dies, her last wish is for a mosque in the village.

So, Bilal approaches his neighbours as he wants to build a mosque. Suddenly, he is treated differently and some outright hostility, he’s now made to feel an outsider and he begins to question his life and faith.

Beautifully written and such a thoughtful, sensitive look into prejudice and wanting to belong.

A moving and thought provoking read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of This Green And Pleasant Land

Bilal Hasham, or Bill as he is called locally, thought of himself as one of the community where he and his family have lived in Babbel’s End for the last eight years. He has been involved with village projects, being part of the church and even a member of the parish council but now he is doubting what true acceptance really means. Have the people that he has called his friends really felt the same as he has over the years or was it just for show.

Bilal is just one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet but when he is at his mother’s bedside in Birmingham, her last wish is for him to build a mosque for her back at Babbel’s End, something the village committee and residents are appalled at! People who he had called friends turn on him, while others take up a cowards way to show their disapproval. What is the true cost of the mosque going to be for Bilal and his family and the village where they live?

There are some cracking characters in this story, people that I had to smile about that I could ‘recognise in my own village. There is nothing like village life, which is the total opposite of town life where people walk on by. Being part of a village is knowing everyone’s routines, quirks and schedules. Life revolves around the village hall and church. Poor Bilal’s confidence in himself had been shattered but he gets a determination and strength in him that had never stirred before.

I felt so saddened for him, defensive for some of the villagers, disgusted by others and loved how language didn’t have to be a barrier where friendship is concerned. The story made me laugh out at parts so many times but it made me think too. It is a story that gets a message over about what is truly important. I loved the build-up and the ending of the story. A cracking way to round it all up.

I wish to thank the publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

This was an easy engaging read that I’m sure will help open the discussion about cultural differences, discrimination and the impact both of these can have on our lives.

Firstly i found it very interesting to follow the discussions/ arguements surrounding the building of a mosque and people views in general about religion. I felt the arguements were well rounded and covered the different opinions held by people. It seemed very realistic as I have sadly heard similar arguements in real life. It was interesting to see how the village was so affected by the discussions, though ultimately lovely to see how all the differences actually brought them closer in the end.

The book isn’t just about the mosque however and there were lots of other subplots to the story involving the other people in the village. I thought these were very interesting as it helped give the reader more of an understanding of the dynamics in the village and let’s the reader learn more about the individual villagers too.

Overall I really liked this absorbing read which kept my interest throughout. There were definitely some memorable moments in the book which I will remember, especially Bilal digging a grave to lie in when thinking. I think it’s an important book for everyone to read as a lot of the issues and opinions discussed are ones that people hold today. For this reason I think it would make a great book club read as there would be lots to discuss.

Huge thanks to Tracy for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Zaffre for my copy of this book.

The book begins sadly with the death of Bilal’s mother Sakeena, he has a lot of guilt around her death as he felt that he had been, some what of an absence son. She dies at a relatively young age and she asks him to promise that he will build a Mosque in the little village of Babbel’s End, a suburb of Birmingham where Bilal and his wife Miriam have lived in the the village for eight years. Bilal had embraced life in the village even with it’s prejudices.
Bilal then finds out that his Aunt (Khala) Rukhasana has had a fall and needs looking after, when Miriam suggests that she should stay with them he is apprehensive. Khala is very reclusive and has lived in Birmingham since coming from Pakistan many years before and she. Before she died Sakeena dug a grave in the garden where she lived that she lay in and when he goes to collect Khala he visits the grave. Bilal is a kind man although he has regrets and he brings Khala to Babbel’s end and she is scared by how open and big it feels compared to her little flat in Birmingham.
Miriam, however is anxious as her ex husband is back in the country and he wants to see more of his Son Haaris. Then Bilal starts digging a hole in the garden in the middle of the night and her anxiety increases further. Reverend Richard has also suffered crisis of faith and Babbel’s End helped him to overcome this and he is a very open minded person and friends with Bilal, but will Bilal’s suggestion cause a rift in their friendship.
This is a really enjoyable and enlightening read and the writing is wonderful and the reflects so much of the issues of communities. I liked the different characters and particularly enjoyed learning more about Muslim society and the challenges that the family experience through other people’s prejudices. I live in a small village and the small mindedness of the bush cutting incident really resonated with me. The story is honest, sad, hopeful and so reminiscent of the culture in our country today. I loved it and I will be reading more of this author’s books.

I have wanted to read This Green and Pleasant Land ever since it came out in hardback in 2019 because it has an intriguing plot. 

On her death bed, Bilal’s mum asks her son to promise her that he will build a mosque in Babbel’s End, the quintessentially English village where Bilal lives with his wife Mariam and step son Harris. Bilal is an accountant, sits on the parish council and is well respected within the community. When he announces his plan to the village, to say it divides opinion is an understatement. The story then follows Bilal’s quest to fulfil his mother’s wish and highlights the barriers he comes up against, mainly from some of the villagers.

This Green and Pleasant Land is full of strongly constructed characters, each with their own stories to tell. I adored Bilal’s auntie, Rukshana. She charmed everyone in the village with her kindness - even those who were reluctant to challenge their own beliefs. I liked Reverend Richard too. Casting him as Bilal’s best friend created an interesting dynamic.

Through Bilal, his family and the villagers, Ayisha Malik skilfully and tactfully explores faith, religion, identity, the meaning of home, what it means to be British, community, unity in times of division and much more. She also challenges preconceptions. I can imagine some of the content will ruffle a few feathers and rightly so.  I think its more important than ever before to read this book.

Through This Green and Pleasant Land, Ayisha Malik also shows the power of words. At one point, I got so irate with the ignorant attitudes of the villagers that my heart rate must have been high because my Fitbit registered an aerobic workout! 

I loved every bit of This Green and Pleasant Land. It's a powerful and emotive story told with compassion, humour, but most of all, with a big heart. Thank you Ayisha Malik for your brilliant writing and for telling this story.

Having loved the author's previous books, I was looking forward to reading this and it did not disappoint. Bilal and Mariam are a Pakistani couple settled in Babbels End, a village near Birmingham. Bilal's mother's dying wish is that he builds a mosque in the village. At first he ignores this, but as time goes on, and cracks appear in his marriage, he begins to think there is merit in the idea. At the same time, his aunt comes to live with them to recuperate after a fall. Khala (meaning aunt) has an effect on everyone who meets her - unassuming, speaking no English, yet making herself understood, and making an unlikely friend. Shelley, former headmistress, runs the village council and is strongly opposed to the mosque. Huge cracks appear in the community and a large cast of characters take sides. When it comes to it, will the village pull together? A real treat of a read, with laughs and tender moments. #netgalley #thisgreenandpleasantland

I have a little confession to make. Although I have a couple of Ayisha’s books on my ever increasing to be read mountain, I haven’t actually got around to reading one…….until now that is. I read the synopsis for ‘This Green & Pleasant Land’ and I was immediately intrigued. So without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down to read. What a read this book is too. I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of ‘This Green & Pleasant Land’ but more about that in a bit.
I was quite surprised with just how quickly I got into this story. I must admit that to start with, I wasn’t sure about the book but by the time I got to the end of the first few pages I knew that I was going to be in for one hell of a light hearted and fun read. My instincts were spot on too because this really was a fun but also an educational sort of read. This was one of those books that I had to binge read over the course of a few days but that was ok because it meant that I could prolong my enjoyment of the story. I became so absorbed in this story that I lost all track of time and I managed to shut out all other distractions, which is pretty unusual for me given that I am usually easily distracted and I find it hard to concentrate for any great length of time. I think I became addicted to reading this book partly because I had taken so well to the characters and I cared about what happened to them and also, I enjoyed reading about how two very different cultures can co-exist or not as the case may be.
‘This Green And Pleasant Land’ is superbly written. The author certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into the story with ease. I also loved the way in which she describes village life, the typical villagers and also the fact that parish council meetings can sometimes be lively but mostly boring. I found myself nodding along as I learned more about the different characters and about the parish council. I live in a village and I happen to be on our village’s parish council. I loved the way in which the author described coming to terms with the loss of a parent and the conflicting emotions that such a loss can bring with it. I was gripped by the story from start to finish.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘This Green & Pleasant Land’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Ayisha’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I like Ayisha Malik. She’s a regular and entertaining contributor on the Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast, which I always enjoy, so I was interested to check out her fiction. Also ‘This green and pleasant land’ has a nice blurb by Jonathan Coe, who I love.

And it was actually quite good. There are memorable characters, a solid story, humour, pathos, truisms about life, death, relationships, faith, home, change etc. Lots of boxes ticked. What would have made it really good rather than quite good would be reducing the word count by at least a third. It’s just too long. Why do stories that can be told in 250 pages so often bloat into 400?

Anyway, the story. The endearingly timid central character Bilal, or Bill for the purposes of assimilation in Middle England, is ordered by his mother on her death-bed to build a mosque in his picturesque monocultural village where nothing ever changes. Needless to say, this idea goes down like a lead balloon with the locals, and his reluctant quest to fulfil his mother’s dying wish forms the main plot. Although a well-liked and thoroughly innocuous chap, his plan becomes a lightning rod for both ‘normal’ prejudices and outright anti-Muslim hostility. His humdrum life is thrown into turmoil, his wife wants to leave him, and he is plagued by existential despair and indigestion.

At the same time, his mother’s sister comes to visit, and for me aunty Rukhsana was the real star. Everyone in the book has a journey, and hers is the most surprising and affecting. There’s quite a lot that’s ho-hum about this novel - the writing is fairly ordinary, and it lacks tension and pace for the aforementioned reasons - but there are some wonderful touches and the unfurling of this loveable character is definitely one. Her outsider’s view of the village and its conflicts gives the novel much greater emotional depth and social-observation nuance. I admit I’m always going to be more engaged by a solo middle-aged woman making a new life for herself story than domestic dramas or marital crises. But Rukhsana’s gradual development elevated the book from gently satirical culture-clash village tale to a moving and insightful work. I’m not going to bother with Ayisha Malik’s first two rom-com novels, however if she writes more like this, but giving her wit freer rein, allowing more bite to her satire, developing her aptitude for character and using fewer words I’ll definitely be interested.

A pleasant enough book with some interesting themes and insights but I did feel too many of the characters were stereotypes, living in a fantasy English village.
Thank you to netgalley and Bonnier books for an advance copy of this book.

You can read the synopsis and recognise instantly how timely this novel is. After reading it, I can also tell you that it is very moving. The loneliness that Bilal feels during his period of grief won’t be new to those of us who know it. The shock at thinking you know your neighbours and realising you really don’t, won’t be new to those of you who know that too.

The complex themes of identity, home, Britishness, friendship, love and loss are covered well so while diversifying our feeds are at the forefront (as they should always be), you can add this to your list of books to read. I will say that at 400 pages, it is a long one and I did feel that it dragged a little but perhaps it needed to be that long in order to really delve deep into the complex notion of what it means to be a British, brown Muslim in a community full of people who are not.