The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi Review
By Celeste Daniels
TW: Mentions of slavery and some body horror
Hello, audacious readers!
2025 has been a tsunami so far. Everywhere you look, there are new changes, policies, and devastating news. Our December read, I Heard God Laughing by Hafiz, dared us to look inward to find outward peace. However, this month weathering the storm with The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty.
Despite being one of the most feared pirates to sail the Indian Ocean, Amina al-Sirafi had decided she’s had more than enough adventures. She survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and an actual demon with no plans to ever give the life up—until her daughter. Now, she’s retired, living a quiet life far away from her storied adventures with no plans to return to piracy, no matter how much she longs for it.
That all changes when a wealthy noblewoman offers her a large sum for one mission: save her former comrade’s kidnapped daughter. With too much money to refuse, Amina feels the opportunity is too big to let go. So, with the promise to return home no matter what, she set sail, gathering her old crew for one last mission. But there’s more the mission than on the surface and the father Amina sails from home, the more danger she encounters.
As decisions from her past come back to haunt her and a magic-wielding Frank threatens everything she loves, she has to risk everything to keep her promises and her legacy.
This is such a refreshing take to me on a pirate adventure. The story is framed as Amina herself telling the story similar to that of a biography, so you instantly get a very clear picture of who she is early in the book. This also helps us understand that Amina is a mature, fully realized character already, facing the challnges in way with life experience over misplaced confidence.
Instead of making Amina possess a siren-like beauty that’s she somehow maintained since her twenties, the author has Amina appear older with aches and sensitivities that come with it. Amina relies on her wits when it comes to conning young jailers, maintaining control over her crew, and doing tough negotiations over sheer force. These skills all culminates with his seeing her push through the struggles that come her way in smart, thoughtful ways. Yes, she’s still rough and reckless sometimes but she’s not careless that way she may have been in her youth and it pushes her to survive the ruthless enviornment around her.
I also appreciate the balance that this story has with high fantasy and humanity. Yes, there was mystical creatures and magic in the mix but at no point, do you ever stop caring about Amina and her crew as people. You don’t ever get so lost in the magic that you don’t feel for the humans being affected by it. And no matter how big the adventure is, you never stop rooting for Amina to return home with nothing else to prove. She is, after all, a legend.
I hope you enjoyed The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi! Feel free to comment your thoughts below and make sure to check out February’s read, coming tomorrow. Until next time, don’t forget to read audaciously!
