When Her Hand Moves

LoveReading Says

‘When Her Hand Moves’ by Omal Imady is a collection of three novellas, or ‘Movements’, as they are named in the book. We read the story of a Nurse, left a house by a deceased relative and haunted by vivid dreams of witch hunts and what happened to a neighbour who had disappeared without a trace.

We then meet Jude, a man who has his own visions and finds himself caught up in a complex university investigation and between three enigmatic women. Finally, we follow Fatima and Idris as they hunt for a lost manuscript, to discover its meaning and the far-reaching implications. My favourite movement was The Rage of Fatima, I liked the eager search for the ancient relic and I found Fatima an entertaining character.

Each of the three movements were well-written, the main characters each had a distinct voice and experience and each story was very well contained. The description of each novella as a movement, much like the musical form, suggests each of these narratives are self-contained and could be read as a standalone but are threaded together by similar themes.

I found that there was an equal emphasis on sensuality and spirituality in all three of these stories which I think worked well, making the storylines more vivid, immersive and rounded. An entertaining literary historical fiction that can be enjoyed as a whole or in stages. 

Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador

About When Her Hand Moves

Three suspense-filled novellas replete with adrenaline-rich chase scenes, surreal sexual encounters, and moments of magical realism. From the mysterious disappearance of a Syrian woman in the twilight town of King’s Lynn, to a Syrian professor fleeing Damascus only finds himself caught in the midst of a trifecta of erotic and enigmatic women, finally to the frantic quest of an Oxford scholar and an eccentric Syrian racing to decipher an ancient manuscript containing a message with explosive personal and universal implications.

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