The approach of Threa Almontaser’s The Wild Fox of Yemen is quite different [to that of Maurice Riordan’s Shoulder Tap]. Though she’s uneven, some readers will prefer her vivid self-dramatisations and linguistic excitement to Riordan’s polished reserve. Her book explores the difficulties of living between two cultures as an American woman of Yemeni heritage, especially after the Twin Towers attack. Sometimes its protagonist feels excluded by America and reacts defiantly, aggressively asserting her Yemeni identity, as when she says

I quit being cautious in third grade
when the towers fell &, later, wore

the city’s hatred as hijab’.

Sometimes, … Continue Reading