"Diagram of the Heart" is a photo book by Glenna Gordan about a small but vibrant cottage industry of Muslim women writing romance novels, littattafan soyayya, in Northern Nigeria, a region best known for the acts of terrorist group Boko Haram. Some books are subversive, while others offer fantasies of escape, and tales of the poor girl marrying the rich man. Here, Farida Ado, one of a small but significant contingent of hijab wearing ladies writes romance novels living in conflicted and rapidly Islamicizing Northern Nigeria.
Glenna Gordon