It is August in Paris and budding art historian Khayyam should be having the time of her life - but even in the City of Lights she can't stop worrying about the mess she left back home in Chicago. Only when she meets a cute young Parisian - who happens to be a distant relative of the novelist Alexandre Dumas - do things start to get interesting, as she starts to unveil the story of a 19th century Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Dumas, Eugène Delacroix and Lord Byron.
Two hundred years earlier in the Ottoman empire, Leila is the most favoured woman in the Pasha's harem. Her position is meant to be coveted; but she is struggling to survive as she fights to keep her true love hidden from her jealous captor.
Echoing across centuries, as Khayyam uncovers the scintillating truth of Leila's long-forgotten life, her own destiny is transformed forever.
Review -
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know is a captivating story of two strong willed women, the first one is Khayyam, a French-Indian-Muslim American and a aspiring art historian and the second one is Leila, a 19th century woman, who was the favorite concubine of the king (Pasha) and whose path seems to mysteriously intersect with three great artists of all time- Byron, Delacroix and Alexandre Dumas.
The story unfolds in a very interesting manner, where the POV alternate between the two women. Leila's narrations are comparatively shorter so as to maintain the mystery about her in the reader's mind until the reader uncovers the mystery along with Khayyam. Character building was really nice too. In fact, the introduction for Khayyam was just wonderful and so powerful as it goes like this:
Others look at me and try to shove me into their own narrative to define who and what I am. But I’m not a blank page that everyone else gets to write on.
I have my own voice.
I have my own story.
I have my own name. It’s Khayyam.
What made me give this book 3.5/5 was the fact that I am not a fan of love triangles (my fault) and I felt that there is just too much boy-drama (love-drama to be precise). Also, to be honest, some parts felt a bit boring and some parts felt really sophisticated that it took a while to understand.
But still, I totally recommend this book. It is completely relevant to today's problem (#alllivesmatter and #ownvoice). It makes us realize that women and their voices are often overlooked and forgotten, making it an inspiring feminist read. Also, you could visit Paris even during this lockdown situation by just reading this book! Looking for books with love, betrayals, drama, mystery, adventure??? Well, all of these are there in this book.
I thank NetGalley and Orbit Books for giving me this wonderful opportunity. All opnions are my own.
