The reading was a little difficult at times, not because of the topic, but because of several story lines that never felt fully completed to me.

However, I loved the exploration of the Quran via the author's own research as well as lessons from and dialogue with Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. The Sheikh is not the liberal cleric nor the conservative one might expect, but a fascinating blend of both. (http://www.alsalaminstitute.org/shaykh-akram-nadwi-profile/)

The author notes that even with the lessons and numerous readings of various translations and editions of the Quran, it's a challenge to even begin to understand the subtlety and complexity, of course.

Bonus is her deeper understanding of the deep complexity of having lived in Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran and beyond, as a kid, as well as the US and UK.

"Our lessons were rites paying tribute to my belief that to be fully human is to try to understand others. Had he been entirely convinced of my worldview, or me of his, we would have risked destroying the fragile ecosystem of our friendship, made richer and stranger by our differences. For if understanding difference is among my own key values, it is also a Quranic one. Only through diversity, says the Quran, can you truly learn the shape and heft of your own humanity:

O humankind, We created you from a male and a female,
and We made you races and tribes
For you to get to know each other. (49:13)

And also to know ourselves. Without a year trying to see the world from Akram's vantage, I wouldn't be able to make out the contours of my own." ~ Carla Power