When the Moon was Ours
Summary:
Sam and Miel are best friends, inseparable and both considered strange by others; Miel grows roses from her wrist, and Sam paints moons and hangs them in trees around the town. Both have complicated life stories, which they try to hide, and their origins and backgrounds are not fully known, making people wary of them. The town they live in is also home to the mysterious and Bonner sisters, who have a strange power over men. When Miel gets involved with these dangerous sisters, she is terrified of her secrets, and Sam’s secrets, coming to light.
Edited by: Dublin City University
Comment:
This is a love story between Sam and Miel who are exploring and struggling against assigned gender and constrictive gender roles in different ways. There are themes of gender fluidity running throughout the novel, particularly in the relationship between Sam and Miel. Gender fluidity is also explored through Sam’s experience of the Pakistani cultural practice of bacha posh, where a daughter in a family of only women disguises herself as a boy to act as the family protector, a practice which also comes to represent Sam’s own choice, as it aligns with his gender identity in various ways. The novel also explores difference through family relationships, how the world is shaped differently for women than for men.