Preview
  • Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion

  • A Novel
  • By: Bushra Rehman
  • Narrated by: Bushra Rehman
  • Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (42 ratings)

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Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion

By: Bushra Rehman
Narrated by: Bushra Rehman
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Publisher's summary

This program is read by the author.

For fans of
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous and My Brilliant Friend, an unforgettable story about female friendship and queer love in a Muslim-American community

"I LOVED EVERY MOMENT." —Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!

"Bushra Rehman performs her novel of a queer Pakistani American girl who is coming of age in the 1980s and '90s. As Razia begins rebelling in small ways, Rehman adds a layer of emotional intimacy to Razia's conflicted feelings. "- AudioFile

"The lush and poetic descriptions of the setting and culture serve as a love letter to the Pakistani American community and to Queens, with the audiobook elevated by Rehman’s finely tuned narration."- Library Journal

Razia Mirza grows up amid the wild grape vines and backyard sunflowers of Corona, Queens, with her best friend, Saima, by her side. When a family rift drives the girls apart, Razia’s heart is broken. She finds solace in Taslima, a new girl in her close-knit Pakistani-American community. They embark on a series of small rebellions: listening to scandalous music, wearing miniskirts, and cutting school to explore the city.

When Razia is accepted to Stuyvesant, a prestigious high school in Manhattan, the gulf between the person she is and the daughter her parents want her to be, widens. At Stuyvesant, Razia meets Angela and is attracted to her in a way that blossoms into a new understanding. When their relationship is discovered by an Aunty in the community, Razia must choose between her family and her own future.

Punctuated by both joy and loss, full of ’80s music and beloved novels, Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a new classic: a fiercely compassionate coming-of-age story of a girl struggling to reconcile her heritage and faith with her desire to be true to herself.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2022 Bushra Rehman (P)2022 Macmillan Audio
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Interview: Bushra Rehman’s New Novel Is a Coming-of-Age Gem About Growing Up Queer and Muslim in America

'I was learning how to write fiction as I kept writing.'
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  • Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion
  • 'I was learning how to write fiction as I kept writing.'

What listeners say about Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion

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    4 out of 5 stars

Lovely story

I enjoyed this coming of age story. The story takes place a few decades ago before cell phones and social media which I enjoyed hearing about George Michael, etc.

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enter Razia’s world

The writer brings us into Razia’s world as a child, in a Pakistani family in Queens, and as she grows we get to know her mother, best friends, immigrant Pakistani culture, and some of the practices of a devout Muslim community. Then we watch her bloom with love for another girl in high school and how her family & community respond. A moving story beautifully told.

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A moving & beautifully told story

Takes the reader/listener into the heart of one Pakistani girl-growing up in Queens.

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Wonderfully written story!

Bushra Rehman’s talent shines through in Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion! It is a beautifully written story that captured my attention and left me wanting more at the end! I’m hoping for a sequel!

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Very beautiful and powerful

This is one of the best books I have ever read.I learned about another culture from characters that were made alive and well developed. Totally gripping

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Best novel I have read in the past decade

This one will haunt me for months. Between the depiction of the mother, her friendships and first love I feel so attached to each character deeply. So glad I found this!

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Amazing

I was instantly hooked. You can tell from the performance how happy and proud the author is to be narrating their own story, because it sounds like they have a smile on their face pretty much the whole book. While I am a white and severely uncultured woman, this was a very enlightening read. It shines a light on a world I was not aware of, and allowed me to learn a little bit more about another culture. The story was your average coming of age story, sprinkled with some queerness that I can relate to. But there's just something about it that sets it apart, though I can't quite pinpoint it. Overall, it's worth a read, and is definitely one I'll recommend in the future. I am thankful for this novel.

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read this!!!

this is absolutely amazing. i devoured this book. the way that razia defines herself is so strong

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    3 out of 5 stars
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It just got going when it ended....

I enjoyed the book, but I feel like it was slow to get going and the story had just picked up when it ended.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting story but audio version not great

Usually I enjoy books read by the author, however here I feel like it really detracted from the experience. Her reading style was too flat and repetitive.

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