Laila Lalami, author of Hope and other Dangerous Pursuits and creator of the Moorish Girl blog will be in Washington, DC on Thursday to read from her debut novel. The event will take place at Olsson’s Bookstore in Dupont Circle at 7:00 PM.
For those of you who live in the DC metro area, make sure to mark your calendar. Lalami is very admirable. She is a wonderful example of a talented, smart and eloquent Arab woman.
Inspired by the generosity of Moorish Girl, I’ve decided to start giving away some books and other items every once in a while. Why am I doing this? Well, it is a token of appreciation for everyone who spends time reading my mental scribbles. It is also a thank you to all of those who took time to comment on my humble blog. Whether they were encouragement, criticism or suggestion, these comments have helped me become a better writer, blogger and a better person generally. So, thank you!
This week I’m giving away a novel by Julia Alavarez called How the Garcia girls lost their accents. The rule is simple: just send an email with the title of the book to ntynes [at] gmail dot com. The first person who sends me the email will get the book. I will take care of the shipping costs so no worries there. I got this book last year so it is little bit worn but it is free!.
The first time I heard about the controversial Saudi novel Banat Al Riyadh (The girls of Riyadh) by female Saudi writer Raja Al Sanea was when I read about it in the Arab blogosphere. If my memory serves me right, I think I heard about it first on Saudi Jeans blog. So when I was in Jordan I made sure to visit Prime Mega store at Mecca Mall to get my hands on a copy of the book to see what the fuss was all about.
I finished reading it on the plane from Amman to Chicago and I have to admit it was an amusing read, although not as controversial as I expected. The author sheds light on the lives of four young upper-class Saudi women who are desperately trying to find the loves of their lives. In their pursuit, the women face a plethora of obstacles, ranging from their own insecurities to their ultra-conservative society’s strict rules.
The writing is whimsical and very amusing at times. The only disappointing part for me was that I was expecting the novel to be more daring, revealing the secret lives of the female half of Saudi society. After all, the novel was banned in Saudi Arabia. But then again, many things get banned in Saudi Arabia.
The novel reads pretty rapidly, though I found it difficult at times to understand the Saudi dialect. All in all, the book is definitely worth your time. For someone unaware of the lives of Saudi women, I found this book entertaining, pretty enlightening and, at times, daring. Here’s an interview with the author in English. And here is what some other bloggers said about the novel: Anolita, Badr and Ohoud (in Arabic).
One new initative that has sprung forth from the constantly evolving realm that is Jordan Planet is an online book club — the brain child of Jordanian blogger Ohoud. The members of the club are currently discussing Diana Abu Jaber’s novel novel Crescent. Although I haven’t read the book, I highly enjoyed reading the discussions taking place between club members.
Surprisingly, a majority of members slammed the novel saying it had a number of factual errors! It is very refreshing to see such bright Jordanian voices dissecting literature and giving their take on the work of a Jordanian-American author! Kudos to those behind the Book Club. I hope time will permit me to take part in an upcoming discussion.
I recently finished Suad’s Amiry short book Sharon and My Mother-in-Law. The book is based on Amiry’s daily doings and escapades in Ramallah in the West Bank. It is an engaging book that sheds some light on life while living in the West Bank under occupation. It uses humor to take the reader inside the lives of Ramallah residents that must endure curfews, incursions and travel restrictions. Sharon and my Mother-in-Law is written in an informal and sardonic manner that brings the challenges suffered by Amiry and her family closer to the reader’s heart.
I must admit, however, that although the book can be extremely amusing at times, I found the writing to be too informal. I am someone who appreciates a simple yet elevated writing style. The continually informal tone turned me off a number of times and stood in the way of my completely enjoying the book.
The book also doesn’t provide enough historical background of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle and it jumps between the years, failing to fill in the gaps. As a concerned observer of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, I had no trouble following Amiry’s portrayal of historical events, but I would have to assume that someone less familiar with the conflict would find the book hard to follow. All in all, the book is an easy and amusing read. I would give it 6.5/10.
Meanwhile, it has been seven days since the kidnapping of my friend Jill and still no news! Sigh!
The New York Times has come up with its ten best books of 2005. On the fiction list: Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep, Ian McEwan’s Saturday, Mary Gaitskill’s Veronica, and Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. On the non-fiction list, Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking made the cut.
[Via: Moorish girl]
Among the books mentioned in the article, Zadie Smith’s On Beauty is the only book that is already on my reading list. I will attack it soon. Unfortunately, I have been stuck with Reading Lolita in Tehran for over a month now. I just can’t seem to finish it and it is extremely frustrating.
I have to admit this highly-acclaimed memoir offers many intriguing bits, especially the parts comparing pre- and post-revolution Iran. Although some of the literary discussions are thought-provoking, the book somehow drags and I just can’t get myself to get completely immersed in it!
I’m one of those that loathes the idea of starting a book and not finishing it. It is a bit akin to my attempts at cooking; I’m not going to give it up until I make it happen. Anyway, the weekend is coming up. Maybe I will get enough discipline to sit down and finish this memoir once and for all. We’ll see.