Tale of a Boon's Wife

Such extraordinary writing! This novel impressed me with its strong character development and insightful prose, as it delved into complex issues of family, love, and loyalty, with unbridled depth.

Tale of a Boon's Wife is a masterful piece of storytelling encompassing family, loyalty, love, and tribal differences. Idil, from the Bliss tribe in Somalia, finds herself in love with a Boon boy and defies her culture and parents when she decides to run away and marry him. Through being disowned by her father, a civil war, homelessness, rape, and poverty she holds her family together by sheer grit, personal strength, and perseverance.

This is not just another story of boy meets girl, and so on, as the struggles and lawlessness within the country and the challenges that Idil faces are real and will touch the hearts of readers. This is a sad story full of pain and heartfelt emotion that will keep you reading and hoping for the best until the very end.

I highly recommend this book. Thank you Netgalley and Second Story Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Idil, a young girl in Somalia, is the daughter of a general and whose family is of the dominant Bliss tribe. Her older brother is a sadistic creep and her younger brother has a heart as big as her own. Her mother does what is expected of her, repeating all the toxic masculinity brainwashing that goes on in patriarchal cultures everywhere.
Oh, this is a beautifully written and terrifying book!
Because of her general father’s numerous affairs, the last one ending in violence, they are moved closer to the capitol.  Thus Idil meets Sidow, and their friendship is fast and immediate.  For both her and her younger brother, Sidow is a healing balm when they can get away from their toxic household. Sidow is sweet, smart and talented, but he’s also of the Boon tribe, who are, historically, of a lower social order to the Bliss.
In a country already torn apart by civil war, the love that grows between Sidow and Idil is strong, strong enough for Idil to defy her parents and marry her soul’s mate, creating their own small resistance in the face of destructive traditions that would tear them apart. 
There is so much more going on than in this brief summary.  The author’s graceful and eloquent yet earthy language creates an immediacy and emotional immersion into Idil’s world, her mind and heart. Heartbreaking, though Idil remains strong and true as her mother, her family, her home, and country break apart.
Highly recommended. I’ll be looking for more from this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Second Story Press :D

I was immediately drawn into this story about Idil, a young Somali girl from the Bliss tribe and her controversial relationship with Sidow, a boy from the Boon tribe. The author was so descriptive I could easily picture everything that was happening. I felt not only entertained but educated with this novel!

Idil's father, a high ranking officer in the military, is transferred to another city due to his infidelities with other women living on the base. Having to move the whole family has upset Idil, an eighth grader, and the friendships she had cultivated at her old school. Her first day at the new school she befriends Sidow, a boy who offered friendship. Idil and Sidow became great friends, though once her mother met Sidow she learned that he was a Boon, a tribe thought to be of very low class and intelligence. Idil's family forbade her from seeing Sidow. This pushed her closer to him and a deeper relationship developed.
The book takes you through the years of their friendship and all the trials and suffering that came along. I loved the writing and was sad when it ended. A truly great book.

I love reading books about people who are different from me and this book certainly fits that bill. I enjoyed reading the story of Idil and Sidow and how they came together and how Idil has to survive once she is alone again. My heart broke many times while reading this book and I felt a part of the world that the book created. I learned a lot about people and a culture who I am interested in learning more about.

A beautiful and tragic story of Sacrificial love! I love this story because of the reality of it. This is not just a story of fiction, it's a story that brings light to the harshness of life in places many of us never see and forget exist.

A man and woman from different stations in society fall in love and start a life of beauty only to have it torn apart by senseless prejudice and hatred from her own family.

Beautifully written! Definitely a book I would suggest reading.

Tale of a Boon's Wife is set in Somalia just as the Civil War erupts and it is a serious study in tribal and class divisions. None of the women are treated well and are punished beyond what's fair. I could tell it was a debut author though.

Can I start by thanking the author for this book, it's difficult to find historic fiction stories about Somalia . and every additional book is welcomed.

This is the story of Idil loving then marrying someone perceived as lower tribe than her and the consequence of that with the somali civil war in full swing .

I loved Idil mum more than even the main character (Idil), she tried to protect and help her daughter and family all the way thought . Tribe is big deal in Somali married and it can effect your children and life . hopefully this is changing now a days.


I absolutely disliked idil at the beginning when she was teenager , the way she was ungrateful to her parents mainly her mum , (like she tried to interfere in omar marriage match).
I know she was in her teenage years, but I liked Elmi more ( he was more compassionate) . But at the end , I started to sympathies and even care for her deeply .

The description of Somali civil war was horrific, I heard a lot of stories about people forgetting there humanity and behaving like animals, it shocked me and angered me. How a country became like this, how our own people destroyed their country.

After big incident to Idil in the middle , I couldn’t believe what happened next, there is no way a father can agree or leave that to happen without punishment. It was harrowing!!

I absolutely loved reading this book, it’s a book I am keeping for my children to read when they older, I hope to find others Somali novels out there. and of course as good as this.

I hope Ms Fartumo write more books in the future.