Mosaics Volume 2

Mosaics Volume 2

Curated by Kim Wells and P.K. Tyler

I was so excited to be given the chance to read and review volume 2 of Mosaics, because I had loved volume 1 so much.  Feminism is presented with pride and boldness in these short stories, poems and essays.  I love that women’s voices are loud and clear in these words and express love, pain, and encouragement for other women of every race.  

The book starts with “Painted Truths and Prayer Beads” by Nillu Nasser Stelter a story about a mother, a refugee from Uganda with her twin sons that are now living in London.  This mother had left her only home in fear of hers and her sons lives and so fled to London. A place where she was faced with judgement, prejudices, and fear once again.  She pushes through these feelings of displacement and discrimination, in order to be strong for her sons and try and give them the best life possible.  All the while a British woman fights for her safety and independence.  A white woman who learns to take a stand and become a feminist for her rights and the rights of others that may be different.  Stelter, wrote this story well and drew me into this novel right from the beginning.

Adderall on the Rocks by Lana Bella was a poem that really stood out to me.  The word usage Bella uses is graceful and full of life.  A woman so easily sacrifices herself for another’s happiness and usually is not returned the favor so easily.  Bella displays with her words, the pain a woman feels when she is used and abused.  How easy it is to get depressed when she feels like she has failed or been failed.  A short but strong read.

Though this book has so many great stories, my last favorite to mention is El Naddaha by P.K. Tyler.  Based on an Egyptian legend, Tyler shares the dreams of Nadirah who seems to society, to have mental handicaps, but does she really?  I love that Tyler builds this dream world so vividly that its so hard to decipher what is real and what is not.  

Mosaics volume 2 did not let me down in any way as a sequel to volume 1.  I now can only hope for a volume 3!!

I received a copy of Mosaics Volume 2 in exchange for an honest review.