There was fear, discovering “her thing” and sticking to it no matter what. It started with curiosity, then rebellion, then rejection and escape. It could be a carpenter who was born into a family of carpenters or a homosexual imam who was born into a strict Muslim family or an asexual feminist who was born into a fertile family of monogamous women whose biggest aim is to get a proper husband.

It could be any person who has had expectations thrown at him/her from parents, society or even himself/herself. What a beginning! This seemingly ordinary creature (a hen mind you, none of the other more interesting creatures: cats, dogs, owls, wolves) whom you would regularly pass over when you are thinking of your “spirit animal friend” is actually taking a stand and refusing to be your egg provider. This book about a hen called Sprout (a name she picked herself, mind you) who decided one day to stop laying eggs. That’s when I read this book, and it all fell into place. I was lost, unsure of myself, unsure of whether my lifestyle was a “wise” choice. Pertaining to the theory that books actually find you in dire or confusing times and not the other way around, this book found me between a rock and a hard place.

This book: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Flyby Sun-mi Hwang might actually save your life.Īre you queer? Are you a transgender woman? Are you a young woman who is totally in peace with her body image that defies perfection? Are you asexual? Are you a person practising his/her faith in a conservative society which condemns you for not joining the more popular one? Do you defy conformist ideas of gender expression or gender identity? Are you an alien? Worse, are you any of the above in a conservative Islamic society? No, I’m not exaggerating, I swear on Charles Bukowski’s grave.

The hen who dreamed she could fly