Bushra Rehman’s Letter to Librarians (11/2/22)

wcag heading

wcag heading

wcag heading

In ROSES, IN THE MOUTH OF A LION, Bushra Rehman writes a fiercely compassionate and unforgettable coming-of-age story about female friendship, queer love, and one girl struggling to reconcile her heritage and faith with her desire to be true to herself.

Today, Bushra Rehman joins us with a letter to librarians touching on the ways in which libraries inspired the book and gave her a safe space.

“Rehman beautifully conjures in her stellar debut a Queens, N.Y., Pakistani American community and a girl’s coming to terms with her identity…This deeply immersive novel heralds the arrival of an exciting new writer.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review


Dear Librarians,

Roses in the mouth of a lion cover page

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you . . . . for the work you do, for the safe havens you help to create for readers and writers. Like me, Razia Mirza, the main character of ROSES, IN THE MOUTH OF A LION loves libraries. As a child, she is free to roam among the wild grape vines and parking lots of Queens, but as she becomes a young woman, she finds her freedoms curtailed and the streets filled with men who terrify her. She finds safety in the Corona Public library and solace in books.

Razia tells readers, “The library was the only place I felt safe. There, the librarians sat close to the front doors at the circulation desk. As it became colder, they let some of the wandering men in, but only the ones who slept . . . I always smiled at the librarians, and they looked back at me, a little puzzled that a girl in salwar kameez could be so obsessed with reading. But like the sleeping men, I was one of the regulars.”

This was the 80s, and I doubt librarians would raise their eyebrows now. Despite their surprise, they welcomed Razia, and the library became the safest place she could exist.

As the harassment on the street escalates, Razia begins to experience strange dreams. She
believes she is being haunted by jinns. She’s afraid to tell her family, but she knows where she can find answers. The library. Razia has never been to the non-fiction section as she is always in the literature section, so she asks a librarian for help.

Together they wind through a maze of books and come to an aisle Razia has never seen before. There is a strange smell, books with curling binders, an eerie yellow glow coming from crinkly pages. Razia feels as if she’s stumbled into a forest, a dark hallway of trees. The librarian smiles and says, “Dewey put the supernatural first.” Razia doesn’t know what she means until she sees they are in the 000s-100s.

Most of ROSES, IN THE MOUTH OF A LION was written in my local library. I’m even writing this letter from the library now! I always come here when I want to be inspired, when I need the comfort of books.

It would mean so much if ROSES, IN THE MOUTH OF A LION could find its way onto library shelves, where readers, coming in from the cold, hiding from danger, or simply craving stories, could discover the story of Razia Mirza, a young queer Pakistani girl from Queens. It would mean the world if ROSES, IN THE MOUTH OF A LION could be featured in reading programs and reading lists. Perhaps it would help readers to know, as I began to know, through books that the world is so much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. The world is large and beautiful, large and beautiful, indeed.

With gratitude,
Bushra Rehman

ROSES, IN THE MOUTH OF A LION by Bushra Rehman; 9781250834782; 12/6/22

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By submitting this form, you accept the Mollom privacy policy.