We are on "The Saffron Kitchen" now and it's really good!

Standing Alone in Mecca yes great book just finished reading it!!!!

now I am reading Extremely Loud & incredibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer about a 9 yr old boy who's father died in 9/11 buildings.

I'm waiting for the rest of my books to come for the book club so in the meantime I picked up "Three Cups of Tea".

Mom says it's the best book she's ever read.

i bought that and didnt crack it open yet - is it totally depressing?
i loved everything is illuminated both th emovie and book thats why i bought it

JJ I didn't get in the last book club that would be cool..... anyone want to start it up?


well to be honest I am only on page35 and so enjoy his writting. I got a little teary at one point but hold great hopes further. Give me a couple of days and i'll let you know how it goes.....
Rajaa

the cookbook? if so, try the tunisian fish ball recipe its awesome.

oh oh oh!!!!! there is a club... when's the next book?

Alright I got Zohra's Ladder and Once in a Promised Land today! That makes five books to cruise through now! Excuse me while I become book immersed!

Alright I got Zohra's Ladder and Once in a Promised Land today! That makes five books to cruise through now! Excuse me while I become book immersed!

My review of "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson

I am impressed with this man's insight into the region and the work he is doing and the development of the Taliban and the perception of the various ppl involved in the book. It took me a few chapters to get into the book but once in I really wanted to know what happens next. Some parts really had me in tears and other parts lost my attention when it started getting detailed. That's when I knew I had to put the book down for a break to process all I had absorbed from reading.

This book took two parts for me. The first part is the love interests of this man and him finding his way through his successes and failures to his purpose in life. We also see the development of his dream to build secular schools in Pakistan and educate girls mostly with the foundation of the CAI by wealthy donors. The second part of the book is the turn his purpose took post 9/11 and the powerful connections he made with others who helped him along the way and the spread of building schools in Afghanistan. I was especially peaked when I read the parts about how journalist played a role because that's part of my area of interest. I noted to myself I may be revisiting this book later for a paper I might work on in my curriculum.

Overall his use of Arabic words in the book has given me the best understanding to date of what they mean in the context they are used. Now I can say I have a better grasp of these words when I see or hear them elsewhere.

I recommend this book to others seeking insight into the Muslim culture, and the poverty and ignorance that lead to the spread of the Taliban, and al-Queda. This man's work is incredible and admirable and possibly someday he will be nominated for a noble peace prize if he hasn't already. I have to say he is truly one of my new American heroes and if I won the lottery I would certainly donate to his foundation.

Thx Jenn! The combined threads make it much easier to find book reviews and eliminate double postings.

My Review of the Saffron Kitchen:

This was the authors first book and I could tell that in some places she was repeating descriptions. She did a good job of making me feel I was the characters and going through what they were going through. I bawled my heart out when Maryam's father punished her the way he did and then banished her and I bawled my heart out again when her daughter Sara lost her baby. I was beginning to wonder what in the world is wrong with me if this book is making me so emotional.

The author did a great job telling the story of their entangled lives and the journey they each went through. Every time Sara ached for her Husband I ached for mine but maybe that is because I related with her being in her prime and young going through what she was going through not really feeling like you have a place. In someways that was the same as her Mother being lost between two worlds and two homes.

I was also pleasantly surprised that this book took place in both Iran and England. It is my first book becoming familiar with Iran and I wasn't as much as aware of the rich history it had. I see that Iran was concerned with what the English and American thought of them. And I was struck by the statement snuck in the book, "Do you think Americans are terrified people who just want to protect their homes?"

Later I learned this book came as a post 9-11 book and though it wasn't mentioned a lot in the book the author did want to inject points about perceptions since 9-11. I question if this book was not only written as a documentation of resolve for her own family life but also as a way to extend some light to readers about the region she is from. That it is not all bad and that there are people there now that just want the same things as we do. To live a peaceful life, a free life, and protect our homes.

I have studied the Iranian Revolution before and in this book I saw shades I hadn't seen before. Though this time reading this book was from a non-scholarly perspective. I did look up what Persepolis was and learned a little bit more about the region then I had prior known. I was already aware of some of the Greek history and mythology but to see some of where it was practiced with the burning the Persepolis in the once Persian empire was an interesting independent study.

Another part about the Iranian Revolution that I saw being described in this book was shadows cast from the other book we've read, "The Last Summer of Reason" being put into practice. As that book was written in Algeria I am unsure if this foreshadowed what was taking place in Iran or if it was inspired by the same movement in Iran.

I was confused a bit because I guess before I had read a review that this was like a cook book telling the story of a mother and daughter and the recipes the daughter learned from her mother. I was interested in gaining some knowledge and stories behind some Persian recipes but this book was all fiction and an entirely different story.

It was a beautiful pleasure to read and I would most certainly recommend it to others.

My review of:

For Bread Alone
In the introduction the translators explains that the book was
written in classical Arabic which he didn't understand and so the
book had to be translated again to a common language. So for me the
book starts out in blunt simple language. The real author describes
frankly what happened to him as a child. His abuse by his murderous
father, his awareness of his status in society, and then goes on into
great depth about his sexual revolution. I was shocked by some of
what I read in regards to the whore and thieve hives. And also in the
openness about the practices of gays there and men raping other men
or in this case children.

He explained at length his level of poverty and his hunger. He
touched on a little bit of the politics. He did a lot of smoking and
drinking and sleeping with hookers. It was not what I expected at all
of Morocco. As the author ages his language becomes more complex and
we are invited on adventures into infidelity and smuggling. His mind
seems to become more cunning and manipulative as he describes his
thoughts to himself as he learns new things and gets into various
fights with others.

The books ending wasn't very poetic nor summed up anything. Just that
he decided to learn to read and write and some people were going to
help him do that. It almost seemed like it was a rush to finish the
book. Parts of the book skip several years between ages and as you're
reading along you get and intuitive sense from the language that he
is older but it takes a few pages until he reveals his age to the
reader. I'd recommend this book with a disclaimer and warning to
others that it might be too graphic for some readers.

Did you read Once upon a Promised Land yet?

I am just starting that one today.

I think you will enjoy it.

This is awesome!!!! I love books!

I just finished.. "The Attack" by Yasmina Khadra ... I'm not sure if it's been mentioned on this thread yet, but has anyone else read it? Really interesting perspective... For me it was a definite "page turner"



From Publishers Weekly
Khadra, the pseudonym of Mohammed Moulessehoul, an exiled Algerian writer celebrated for his politically themed fiction (The Swallows of Kabul), turns his attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this moving novel unlikely to satisfy partisans on either side of the issue. Dr. Amin Jaafari is a man caught between two worlds; he's a Bedouin Arab surgeon struggling to integrate himself into Israeli society. The balancing act becomes impossible when the terrorist responsible for a suicide bombing that claims 20 lives, including many children, is identified as Jaafari's wife by the Israeli police. Jaafari's disbelief that his secular, loving spouse committed the atrocity is overcome when he receives a letter from her posthumously. In an effort to make sense of her decision, Jaafari plunges into the Palestinian territories to discover the forces that recruited her. Khadra, who nicely captures his hero's turmoil in trying to come to terms with the endless violence, closes on an appropriately grim note. (May)

I haven't read that one but I'll add it to the database.

I am reading the "Heirs of the Propet Muhammad and the roots of the sunni-Shia Schism"

I am really into it.. it's explains alot of things noone really wants to talk about.

Oohh!! A book club! I'm a librarian so I get excited about these things (lol)

I just read through this thread - is the book club still active??

I noticed many of you had posted that you liked The Caliph's House by Tahir Shah. He just came out with a new one earlier this year - kind of a sequel, "In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams" which I really enjoyed (I haven't read Caliph's house yet, it's on my list).

Another "morocco" favorite is an older short story collection called "Larabi's Ox: Stories of Morocco" by Tony Ardizzone.

Currently I'm reading "Year of the Elephant: a Moroccan woman's journey toward independence, and other stories" by Moroccan author Leila Abouzeid.

I have many on the "to read" list. Of course it helps that I'm in charge of ordering fiction at my library and get to see reviews and pre-pub dates well in advance. One I'm looking forward to reading is "View from Garden City: a novel" by Carolyn Baugh. It's a fiction novel that takes place in Cairo, Egypt...Here's one of the reviews:

“The View from Garden City provides a striking testament to the amazing spirit of the unseen and unheard Arab woman living in Cairo. These women, though powerless to make their own decisions, not only survive the mental, psychological, and physical abuse inflicted on them, but through their unbreakable bonds with each other, actually triumph and become the core, the essence, of their society.”---

So of course I ordered it for my library and am on the list to be the first one to read it when it comes in..

If I come across more, I'll post em. I have LOTS of resources of Arabic-related literature

I just finished reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, it was excellent. Anyone else read it?

Olivia did you like the Promised Land book?

Oh wow Star_Dragon you're more than welcome to join the Yahoo MENA Girls Book Club. It sounds like you would have a lot of good suggestions for some new fictions for us to read related to the MENA.

Another member MrsAmera "Amanda" is the owner of it and I only offered to moderate it this summer vacation to keep my mind sharp while out of school. On August 23rd the "summer book club" portion will close as I head back to school unless someone else wants to moderate it. Participation comes in goes with the interest in certain books and various peoples schedules. Mostly we all just read similar books around the same time and post our reviews. There hasn't been any indepth continued discussions or questions and answers. I think the book club could just be continued in this thread as people choose to read. However what is nice about the book club is we've already built a database of books and reviews to reference. This was built on suggestions posted in this thread from books people actually read. Also there are files full of reviews by members of the book club on books we've already covered. Anyone can add to the Database or Files.
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I haven't read that one Sara.

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I'm just to the part where Salwa discovers she's pregnant, Jackie.

For me...for some reason the kid on the skateboard stays in my mind.

jJ

The cover talks about Jassim accidentally killing someone so I'm wondering if you're hinting at that. I haven't gotten that far yet.

I really like these two names Jassim and Salwa. Salwa was one I picked out if Waleed and I had a girl. He told me it was too old fashioned of a name but here I am reading it in a contemporary book now.

Great I'd love to! How do I find it?

and I'd be happy to pass along info about upcoming books I come across in my review journals.

I'm posting how to join the book club in this link encase anyone wants to try to join for future reference.
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Go to the Yahoo web page.

Select Groups.

Then type in menagirlsbookclub in the group search.

Then click the request to be added and type in something identifying about yourself.

MrsAmera "Amanda" will be the one accepting members in the future as the owner for the site.

Currently this summer I have the ability to approve members being a moderator, but after this summer when I head back to school I'll just be another regular book club member.

My review for "Once in a Promised Land"

I just finished Once in a Promised Land by Laila Halaby.

The story took me several days to read through it in chunks. I was
struck by the depth of the authors character development with the two
main characters Salwa and Jassim. Salwa was the princess of PJ's and
Jassim was an OCD avid swimmer and hydrologist. It is my belief that
the authors main focus was on the character Jassim and his interest in
water. It felt to me that she had done the most research on the part
for Jassim than any other character because the depth of information
he held concerning water played a theme throughout the book even in
the decoration of the book. The depth of which could be a slipped in
agenda of the authors on water conservation. It would make sense
because the story takes place in Arizona which is also where the
author lives.

I appreciate how the author weaves the various characters lives
together such as the skateboarding boy who Jassim had the accident
with purchased drugs from the man that Salwa had the affair with.

The pointless characters to me where Jack the wanna be FBI guy and
Hassan the forlorn young lover of Salwa's. They could have been left
out of the story. They played such a minor roll and added little
depth to the story although it was alternate avenues for readers to
venture down dead ends.

During the entire book I kept thinking to myself why doesn't Jassim
and Salwa just talk? So many of there problems could have been solved
if they had just been there for each other and communicated. However,
we wouldn't have had much of a story then would we?

The post 9/11 stuff that they faced is not unlike what I've
experienced myself through all aspects and shades that the various
characters showed. However, I don't believe that the 9/11 stuff was
the main reason that this couple drifted apart as much as it was a
complaint of theirs or the book made it sounds to be in the reviews.
The majority of the stuff that happened to this couple could have
taken place in any period of time in modern history. Infidelity and
lack of self worth are common threads in texts today and yesterday.
At times the book felt like I was reading a day time soap opera novel.
I chuckled at the part where the author mentions one of the
characters, Penny, being reminded of a soap opera just when I was thinking this book reminded me of the same thing.

I was thinking of finishing Zorha's Ladder this Winter Break. I was half way through it when the semester started and I haven't picked it up since.

Out of all the books we've read in the book club my favorite pick so far has been Saffron Kitchen. My mind goes back to the story line of them painting the kitchen saffron color and how the color ties to the roots of the daughter from Iran. Such a rich story and well told.

i know this is an old thread but since I am finishing up 3 CUPS OF TEA by Greg Mortenson and DAVID OLIVER RELIN

I thought I would add it to the list

next up....LIVE LOVE PRAY...or something like that

Three Cups of Tea is awesome! I just did it for Book group last month

EAT, Love, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert is a great one too.

I just finished reading "Girls of Riyadh"....kinda chic-lit, but set in Saudi Arabia.

Was it like Women of Sand and Myrrh? I was thinking about that book too and how it's a good character development for women in film series in mena. Though I wouldn't make it as dramatic as say Egyptian Soap Operas.

I really enjoyed Three Cups of Tea. Greg Mortenson came and spoke at my campus during his book tour. I missed it though. Just tit for tat.

I haven't read this entire thread but have any of you read The house of Sand and fog? I started it and it is absolutely awesome! They say the movie is great too!

I haven't read house of sand and fog but I did see the movie and it turned me off. The Director made it up to me though with his film "The Life Before Her Eyes" also based on a book.