Review: The Years of Silence by Marwa Ayad

Review: The Years of Silence by Marwa Ayad

The Years of Silence, told in luminous, poetic prose, is the story of how Maya Seif, a young Egyptian woman who has endured hardship and pain in an abusive marriage, finds her way out of that marriage and begins a journey of self-discovery. In the course of her journey, she reconnects with her first true love, Yusuf Omar, the man her heart never forgot.

Maya's divorce from Shereef is instigated by a tragedy. Two years before, Maya had received an email from Yusuf, her first love, but since she had been married at the time, she hadn't felt comfortable with replying. Now, though, she replies and confides in Yusuf. But he's thousands of miles away, in New York, and going through difficult times himself.

As the story develops, they both think, they can marry and be together forever. But a shock lies in store for Yusuf and Maya, one which threatens to tear them apart forever.

The Years of Silence is contemporary romance at its best: compelling, sympathetic characters, a page-turning plot, and a veritable buffet of food for thought about how people can bring each other down or lift each other up, the mysteries of why some relationships work out but others don't. And The Years of Silence offers deep insight into the joys, complexities, and mystery of true love, itself a life-time journey and the most enriching and rewarding of them all.

~reviewed by Thomma Lyn Grindstaff, author of Mirror Blue

*Thanks so much, Thomma Lyn; your review has made me ecstatic especially coming from an amazing author as you! :)

**Read more about The Years of Silence here.
**Join my Facebook group.