Bilal, his wife, Mariam, and stepson, Haaris,  are the only Muslim's living in the fictional English village of Babbel's End. On her death bed Bilal's mother's asks Bilal to build a mosque in the village.  So he sets about trying to do this, resulting in much outrage from some of the residents of Babbel's End.

This book is full of great characters - some of nice and some very nasty! My favourite character by far was Khala Rukhsana.  I think the book gives such an accurate (and sometimes uncomfortably true) depiction of village life. 

While it's in an easy and entertaining read, it actually makes you think a lot about race, religion, identity and grief. I would really recommend this book, especially to any one who likes a bit of satire.

A mosque in the middle of England's green and pleasant land - over my dead body says the Chair of the parish.  Demonstrates how a village, which sees itself as united is almost ripped apart when one of its residents wants to do something different. Heart-warming, delightful and charming.

This is a delightful read.  I did find it a little slow and difficult to,get into at the start but the wonderful eccentric characters with a touch of humour soon draw the reader in.  A book for our times with so many diverse ways of life and religious beliefs.  Describes perfectly the quintessential English village it is so easy to imagine all the people depicted and the village politics therein plus it also is thought provoking about one's own community.  I could imagine this being on television with a Vicar of Dibley type series.

This book was about a man, Bilal, who was tasked with the job of building a mosque by his mother. However, Bilal’s village does not want him to build a mosque.  This book was full of outlandish scenes, like Bilal laying in the ground or participating in a nativity scene. But this book is about acceptance. The characters were original and interesting. The book offered an insightful, although somewhat outlandish, look at what it means to be Muslim in a secular world.

This Green and Pleasant Land is an absolute must read! Overflowing with wit, warmth and charm, I was transfixed by this story of love, faith and belonging. So insightful and sensitive is Ayisha Malik's writing, that I was laughing one moment and in tears the next. This intimate and quintessential British village that many would simply overlook is beautifully brought to life. Each character is distinct and masterfully constructed, and what initially brings conflict and apathy also brings hope and unlikely friendships.

Malik has skilfully challenged the notion of preconceptions and prejudices and has delivered an essential and thoughtful read on the power of identity and what it means to be British in today's world. 

A standout book for 2020 and one that I'll be recommending year in and year out.

I found this book hard to get in to initially. I am so glad I persevered. So many threads running through the story, family relations, mother to son, nephew to aunt, husband to wife and father to step son. Add differing cultures in a small village. Conflict, unity, different perspectives and generations, arguing and finding common ground in the most unlikely friendships. I am very glad I read it to the end.

Bilal and Mariam have integrated well into the village of Babbels End. They love their life in. the quiet English village but then Bilal's mother dies.
On her deathbed she instructs Bilal to build a mosque in the village.
Mariam is horrified at the thought and the villagers are in agreement with her.
Poor Bilal - he wants to carry out his mother's wishes but doesn't want to upset the village.
Can he come up with a soloution that will please everyone?

This is a lovely story about Bilal who decides to fulfil his mother's dying wish of building a mosque in the rural village where he lives and what happens when he tries to do so.
I loved the descriptive text of the characters and the surroundings so much that I could easily picture it in my mind as I was reading.
This book has made me want to read more by this author.

A lovely book I enjoyed escaping from my world into theirs.Great characters characters that drew me really enjoyed.Will be recommending to my friends who will find it a reading treat,#netgalley#bonnerbooksuk

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is not my usual genre therefore am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I did thoroughly enjoy 'This Green and Pleasant Land', by Ayisha Malik, though I found it rather a slog at first. I was bemused by the idea of Sakeena's last wish to her son, Bilal and how he would go about implementing this wish - or even if he would. However, from this starting beginning, the storyline quickly becomes enmeshed in the lives of the characters within the local village and Bilal's thinking. There is little movement within the storyline for some time. 
However, once I had settled into the story and become familiar with the characters, I was able to enjoy the humour of the novel and the hilarious descriptions of everyday life in a British village. 
Even more intriguing, was the levels of racism displayed throughout the story - often in an offhand manner, as if the person concerned with did recognise their behaviour. 
An eye-opening story and one worth sticking with throughout.
I received a free copy of 'This Green and Pleasant Land', by Ayisha Malik from Bonnier Zaffre, via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book brought together so many elements I adore in a story. Is the book set in a small town in the British countryside? Check. Is there a large cast of memorable, small-town characters? Check. Is there a brown family who shakes everything up by deciding to build a mosque in the sleepy village? Check! One of the most impressive features of the story is the way it deals with a number of complex societal issues. It's not often that fear of change, bigotry, and racism is tackled in such an understanding and humane way. The author convincingly shares with us the thoughts and feelings of the various characters whose views land on different sides of the conflict. But if that weren't enough, the author also pulls us into a story covering the whole gamut of human emotion, including happiness, grief, love, doubt, friendship, forgiveness, and hope. I laughed out loud at times and shed some tears along the way. So far, this has been my favourite read of 2020.

This was such a fantastically written and insightful read. It’s such a brilliant  look into British Citizens that have Muslim backgrounds. I especially loved the exploration of the British Muslim family dynamic partly due to the fact that I come from a similar background, it was surprisingly nice to be able to relate to the characters in this way since I usually can’t (because I generally prefer YA fiction)

Definitely an author I plan to follow for future releases. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to review.

This was a lovely book to read. Idyllic place it all took place. Nice characters and well written. It flowed so well and was so easy to read. I just adored the whole book

I think I must reflect on this book because it beautifully written and it faces problems we are currently experiencing in Europe.
The cultural clash, the coexistence of different lifestyles and religions, the racism and the resistence to a world that is changing.
I loved the characters in this book because they're fleshed and relatable. You can read and think "This reminds me of so-and-so".
It's a beautiful reading experience and it's a lot of food for thought.
I liked the style of writing, the way the characters were developed and I liked the plot.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This Green and Pleasant Land is based in Babbel's End, a small English village, were Bilal and his wife Mariam live along with their son Haaris. Saqeena, Bilal's mother, on her death bed wishes that her son builds a mosque in the place where he lives. 

Bilal himself is not particularly religious, but as the idea starts to grow in his mind, it causes divides and frictions in his family and his community. I thought it was a very timely story, where English values are challenged and important questions are raised. It was interesting to see the views of the villagers to the idea of a mosque, and who took what side. I really liked the characters of Margaret and Tom they were  both were frank in their speech, and the character of Khala was endearing and sad, but had a strength that I loved. There were several laugh out loud moment.. I enjoyed this book and it left me with a lot to think about. A good read I think for anyone that wants a book with heart as well as one that isn't afraid to bring up a contentious topic

What a terrific read! And a book for these troubled times that we find ourselves in.

Magnificent. I loved it.

With heartfelt thanks to Ayisha Malik, Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for the ARC of This Green and Pleasant Land.

Set in the rural English village of Babel's End the main protagonist Bilal is tasked by his dying mother to build a mosque. The writing style is wonderful, there is great humour and there is also important comment on racism and intolerance. The character development is brilliant, not all the characters are likeable as prejudices emerge when the mosque is proposed. This is an important book, definitely recommend.

Thank you to Zaffre and NetGalley for an early copy of This Green and Pleasant Land. 

I really wanted to love this book; I have heard many people talking about it and it was high on my list for 2020 but unfortunately something did not click with me. I read the first 25% and then put it down and had no drive to pick it back up. A few days later I tried to start it again but think perhaps it is not the writing style for me. 

I hope that I will start this book again in the future and love it as I had originally hoped (sometimes it is the right book at the wrong time!).