Islamic identity and weather conditions in Leila Aboulela's The Translator and The Kindness of Enemies

This study explores how Arab British novelist Leila Aboulela employs weather conditions in The Translator (1999) and The Kindness of Enemies (2015) to depict the Islamic identity construction of the characters of Sammar and Natasha in the two novels, respectively. It argues that in the fictional world Aboulela creates, weather conditions narrate the stories of her characters' identity construction in diaspora. The study exemplifies how both Sammar and Natasha move from a stage of being unable to see weather conditions as signs of their identity formation to a new stage where they become fully aware of the significance, connotation, and relation of weather conditions to their own Islamic identities. It maintains that through paying close attention to weather conditions in Aboulela's fiction, readers can understand the dynamics of the Islamic identity of Aboulela's characters.

Automated summary

This study examines how weather conditions are used by Arab British novelist Leila Aboulela in her novels The Translator (1999) and The Kindness of Enemies (2015) to portray the Islamic identity development of the characters. It argues that weather conditions in the fictional world created by Aboulela narrate the stories of her characters' identity construction in diaspora. The study illustrates how the characters progress from being unaware of the connection between weather conditions and their Islamic identities to a stage of full awareness and understanding.