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Sweetness in the Belly

By Camilla Gibb

(7)

| Hardcover | 9780385660174

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Critics

A homage to Islam

Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb 320pp, Heinemann, £12.99 "I am a white Muslim woman raised in Africa, now employed by the National Health Service," declares Lily, the protagonist of Camilla Gibb's third novel, which shifts between a concrete c ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

Sweetness in the Belly

Sweetness in the Belly Camilla Gibb Penguin Paperback 368 pages March 2007 Eight-year-old Lilly is the child of self-confessed English hippy parents whose only desire is to travel stoned through Europe and North Africa. Most of the time they spend ho ... (read full critics)

curledup published on Tue, 7 Sep 2010

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1 Review

Camilla Gibb takes you on a journey through Lilly's life in Ethiopia and her new life in London. Although Lilly is born to an English father and Irish mother, she is taught the Qur'an and lives as a Muslim. When she arrives in Harar, she begins to teach the children of Nouri, a woman who gives her ... (continue)

Camilla Gibb takes you on a journey through Lilly's life in Ethiopia and her new life in London. Although Lilly is born to an English father and Irish mother, she is taught the Qur'an and lives as a Muslim. When she arrives in Harar, she begins to teach the children of Nouri, a woman who gives her a home. Her skills are noticed by other inhabitants and Lilly is soon teaching several children of different abilities. When one of Nouri's children is taken ill after circumcision by a local midwife, Lilly meets Aziz the doctor, and he invites Lilly to partake in berchas on Saturday afternoons. They fall in love and eventually Lilly has to leave for England as it is not safe for her to remain in Ethiopia.
In London, Lilly works as a nurse but she also runs an independant agency for Ethiopians to find long lost loved ones and relatives. Her friend Amina finds her husband in Rome and he returns with Amina to England, but it is a year or so before they can function properly as a family. Yussuf's memories from prison are too vivid and it takes him time to learn to live a normal life again. In the meantime a doctor at the hospital where Lilly works shows an interest in Lilly, but she cannot pursue this until she finds out what has happened to Aziz.
A beautiful tale of love and hope. We are also given a glimpse of the history and politics of that time in Ethiopia.

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