Good to Great by Jim Collins

After seeing many Facebook users list in their ‘profile’ the book Good to Great in answer to the question, “Which books have influenced and enriched your life?” I was intrigued to read this book and discover the secrets of its inspiration.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t is a compelling read because the author, Jim Collins exemplifies the type of leader that characterizes great companies. This book is not the work of one man but the product of a diverse team whose contributed is generously applauded and acknowledged by the inspiring author.

The book is as much about leadership as it is about the culture of an organization but the depth of the material is typified by the refusal to state leadership as the answer to all organizational ills but to define the particular style of leadership that results in corporate effectiveness.

Good to Great represents a five-year project in which the researchers explored the question, “Can a good company become a great company [these terms are defined], and, if so, how?” The work involved identifying companies that made the leap from good results to great results that were sustained over a fifteen year period. Importantly, this project did not begin with a theory to prove but the concepts were developed by making empirical deductions directly from the data.

The book would be enhanced if the research teams had examined and told stories of companies that were not based in the USA, even though the book contends that the principles can be applied to any organization in any country. To examine companies in other countries (might have posed difficult research challenges) but it would have provided a richer international dimension and perspective. A wider cultural range would have added to the appeal of the book and broadened the readership.

The result is the synthesis of a huge body of material that is boiled down into several findings such as this one: “Greatness…is largely a matter of conscious choice.” Each chapter is devoted to examining a different common denominator of great companies. The sections are well-organized, with themes supported by ample footnotes, several appendices and a comprehensive index. The chapters contain useful diagrams and graphs, key statements are highlighted in boxes and they all conclude with a succinct summary.

Each chapter interestingly includes a segment of surprises resulting from the unexpected findings of the research team. For example they discovered that “technology and technology-driven change has virtually nothing to do with igniting a transformation from good to great.”

The way the researchers presented and honed their findings is significant and an example to commend. They did not work only in solitude for they engaged in weekly meetings in which they discussed the stories and debated the salient principles. Their style has important ramifications for the reading as well as the research of this book. Good to Great would be strengthened by including questions that would help and encourage readers to engage in the corporate study of this book including the discussion of how the principles might inform their own organizational practice. [Further exploration has led to finding a discussion guide at this link]

This is a book to be studied and discussed by leaders, workers and board members of organizations that desire to move from being ‘OK’ or ‘good’ to companies of significance and high influence.

Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t (New York: HarperCollins Books, 2001)

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 110.00.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Good to Great.

More information about Jim Collins and his work of research, writing and teaching is available from this web site:

Desert Children by Waris Dirie

Desert Children is the third ‘Desert’ book by Waris Dirie, the former fashion model, face of Revlon and UN ambassador for women’s rights. Having told her autobiography in Desert Flower and recorded her return to Somalia in Desert Dawn, this book, Desert Children, extends the focus from Dirie as a person to the challenge of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Europe.

Dirie has written this book in collaboration with Corinna Milborn, a political scientist, Austrian journalist and specialist in human rights issues. They tell how a team of journalists set out to investigate the problem of female genital mutilation and came up with solutions to abolish this practice in Europe.

The book commences with a painful story which becomes the catalyst for the author’s ‘third life’ as a social activist. The pain continues throughout the book as Waris and her team interview women in Europe who have been the subject of genital mutilation. One of the startling revelations of this book is its claim that at least 150 million women and girls worldwide are victims of circumcision, that 500,000 girls and children are affected in Europe alone and that this problem is on the rise.

This is an ideal first book to read about the subject and it takes the form of a journey as Dirie explores the extent of the problem and considers how she and her team will tackle the issue. The book is clear and readable in literary style but its portrayal of deep pain, which is never done gratuitously, makes Desert Children a stomach-turner and a difficult read.

The book is informative without getting bogged down with statistics and unnecessary detail. The author explains the different degrees of mutilation and the reasons why they are carried out. Dirie helps readers to understand the damage that is done by using insensitive labels and she explains the importance of using the right terminology. For instance the author explains why many victims object to the term ‘circumcision’, preferring to use the word ‘mutilation’. The diversity of views is evident in the way some campaigners opt for the expression ‘sexual mutilation’, believing that this practice destroys a woman’s sexuality, not just her genitals. Several appendices at the end of the book are offered to enable readers to understand technical terms and to provide links for those who wish to follow through on services and resources that originate from or exist in different European countries.

As Dirie and her team travel throughout Europe their interviews contribute to a greater understanding of the issue and the different ways that female genital mutilation is understood, practiced and responded to. In a storytelling style, Dirie relays her encounters with medical practitioners, many of whom assist parents to get their daughter ‘cut’ and a much smaller number who are helping victims in the work of physical repair, surgical reconstruction and psychological counseling. Talking to medicos, lawyers, politicians, activists and religious teachers, Dirie presents the many facets surrounding this issue.

Sometimes there are sound bytes and sentences in the book that seem in contradiction to Dirie’s findings. For instance, in making her bold conclusion that female genital mutilation is violence against women and a breach of human rights she says: ‘FGM is not a question of culture. FGM is a question of torture.” (p11) A variation of this statement appears more forcefully on Dirie’s web site: “Female Genital Mutilation has nothing to do with culture, tradition or religion. It is a torture and a crime which needs to be fought against.” Dirie, however, devotes chapters to the power of cultural norms which become even stronger in the migrant community in Europe. She catalogs the women and men carrying out customs that they believe are sanctioned by scriptures and religious leaders, who are “utterly convinced that they are doing the right thing” for their daughters. Furthermore, Dirie’s quest to understand the Islamic teaching on circumcision, virginity, the human body and sexual pleasure is motivated by her desire to examine religion’s reinforcing power and her belief that “genital mutilation would disappear overnight if the leaders of the world’s religions were to say, ‘Mutilation is contrary to the ethical principles of our religious community. Stop doing it.’” (p168)

As the book chronicles an exhausting journey of fact finding and discovery, one senses great emotion—anger at the prevalence of this oppressive practice in Europe, frustration at the power of culture and ritual, and deep grief as stories are voiced for the first time over the silencing power of taboos. Waris Dirie demonstrates immense courage as she spends six months throughout Europe, hearing stories, watching movies and viewing medical photographs that every day tears open her own wounds. While considering the different sides and the complexity of this torture Desert Children is positive, hopeful and a stirring call to action.

The author quotes Salman Rushdie’s wisdom which he wrote in The Ground Beneath Her Feet: “You will not see the whole picture unless you step out of the frame.” (p210) This is easier said than done. Dirie cannot divorce completely the issue of female genital mutilation from her own story but she strives to step out of the frame and see the picture objectively. She does this by her patient listening, her recognition that each person has their own story, her persistent asking of the hard questions and the methodical way that she formulates a strategy in which others can participate.

Dirie’s analysis of the problem of female genital mutilation demonstrates how this is not a woman’s issue but a human concern. This book, therefore, should be compulsory reading for men as well as women-lawyers, doctors, ministers of religion, politicians and lawmakers and ordinary human beings, regardless of their occupation, race, religion and creed-all people who share this planet and are wanting to make a difference.

Waris Dirie with Corinna Milborn, Desert Children (London: Virago Press, 2005).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 49.00.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Desert Children.

More information about Waris Dirie and her work is available from this web site:

Waris Dirie Foundation

Nothing to be Frightened of by Julian Barnes

Julian Barnes’ book begins with this intriguing sentence: “I don’t believe in God, but I miss Him.” This opening is the high point of the book and it is all down hill from there. Nothing to be Frightened of is a mongrel, a bitzer. It is a ragbag of reminiscences, memoirs and Barnes family folklore. It also incorporates a deeper discussion on death.

The author himself is unsure of the genre for after thirty pages he says to his readers: “This is not, by the way, ‘my autobiography’. But with this book Barnes has blown his chances of writing a standard autobiography. Written in the first person, Barnes recalls his childhood with the wheelbarrow races and evenings when the family tuned into the wireless to savour the dulcet tones of John Gielgud.

This book tracks the author’s University studies and alludes several times to his ventures in France. Nothing to be Frightened of is about Barnes’ developing ideas about religion and faith. The scope of the book stretches from his breast-fed babyhood to his new status as a sixty-year old and readers are given glimpses into the writer’s club that Barnes attends and such details as the author’s deafness and his swelling prostate. Even if Barnes writes an autobiography it will take readers of this book much convincing that they want to read another version of his life story.

Julian Barnes is the self-appointed family archivist and the book reads like an emptying of the drawers of his desk as he picks his way through family certificates, passports, notebooks, scrapbooks, telegrams and allows them to speak. The book is rich in family memories, many of which are interesting and quaint. The author is struck by how family members have a different take on the same events. He does not ‘gild the lily’ or ‘colour in the memories’. On the contrary, Barnes is forthright about the weaknesses and idiosyncrasies of his family, including his own and he specializes in shocking readers with references to ‘unmentionables’ such as his revelations of masturbation.

The focus of this book is death and this is the subject about which “there is “nothing to be frightened of” (Barnes’ quote from his diary when in his forties). This book discusses the fear of death, the experience of touching the dead, the relationship between faith and the approach to death, the art of dying (including the best and worst-case scenarios), the moment of death, the stages of grief and the afterlife.

Barnes seems to be taking Montaigne’s line that “since we cannot defeat death, the best form of counter attack is to have it constantly in mind.” Sometimes he appears to be ‘pit-gazing’ but he strives for a middle ground between constantly brooding over death and the complete avoidance of this certain event. His discussion of thanatology includes many references to what others have said about death, especially Renard, Montaigne and Flaubert but also some recent writers such as Elizabeth Kübler-Ross.

The author ventures into areas of faith, belief, religion and that which he misses about God. Of special interest is the author’s discussion of religious art and the value that is found in religious art by those not possessing a faith in God.

Julian Barnes appears diffident about his excursion into this territory and feels the need to give his readers this information and self-defence:

“Perhaps I should warn you (especially if you are a philosopher, theologians or biologist) that some of this book will strike you as amateur, do-it-yourself stuff. But then we are all amateurs in and of our own lives.”

Furthermore, after covering some issues of theory and abstract thought Barnes breaks into a chatty and almost condescending tone with such lines as, “Still hanging in there, I hope.”

As a student Barnes kept a box of green index cards, on which he copied pithy sayings, quotations and pieces of wisdom. With this book the author appears to be going through his greatly enlarged box, sorting them into rough themes and writing out the wisdom. In attaining the three-quarter mark in his life Barnes is giving full expression to his entry into these “advice-giving years”.

Nothing to be Frightened of has no chapters but each time Barnes takes a fresh card and changes tack, this is indicated with a line. This emptying of the box in what he calls his “lolloping style” is an unsatisfying ramble.

Barnes alludes to the way Rachmaninov cured his fear of death by eating pistachio nuts. Nothing to be Frightened of is like picking through a bowl of pistachios. There are bits of tasty, nourishing nuts to be had and Barnes is at his best with his humorous stories, perceptive detail and clever wit. But readers must work hard to find the nuts and the frustrating pile of shells leaves you wondering whether it was worth the effort.

The author explains his return to the study of literature at Oxford after a brief foray into philosophy:

“I returned to literature, which did, and still does, tell us best what the world consists of. It can also tell us how best to live in that world, though it does so most effectively when appearing not to do so.” (p151)

Readers of this book will agreed that Barnes is also at his best when writing literature.

Julian Barnes, Nothing to be Frightened of (London: Jonathan Cape, 2008).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh128.00.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Nothing to be Frightened of.

Related Review:
Arthur and George, by Julian Barnes RBM

Children’s Books in Arabic

Isobel Abul Houl, publisher for Jeroboam Books that publishes children's books in both English and Arabic, says: "There's a lack of good children's books in terms of illustration, quality and imagination, so the majority of children's books in Arabic are often translated or they're poor quality."

Isobel feels that there's "a belief that books should be cheap but parents will happily pay Dh42 for a children's book in English, but won't pay this for the Arabic equivalent, because it's perceived as too expensive. Why should it cost less money because it's in Arabic?"

To read more about the paucity of good quality books in Arabic for children click on this link to the Gulf News article, Children’s Books in Arabic are a Sad Tale, 21 June 2008.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Children’s books. Photo (which accompanies the article) courtesy of Alice Johnson, Gulf News, who also wrote the story.

Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

This book consists of 500 pages and it is the first part of a trilogy entitled ‘The Cairo Trilogy’. Modern day publishers would send back such a manuscript to the author saying, ‘Has promise but cut it back to 200 pages and then give me another look’. But this tome was published in 1956 in Arabic and it has only recently been available to an English readership.

Don’t be too quick to knock this book off your ‘Books I’d Like for my Birthday’ list because the Egyptian author, Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006), won the Nobel Prize for Literature (1988) for contributions like this. Arab leaders today are bemoaning the lack of books in Arabic and Mahfouz has done much to popularize Arab literature throughout the world.

The style of Palace Walk belongs to a former era and it has been compared to the works of Tolstoy, Proust, Flaubert and Dickens and other authors to whom Mahfouz was indebted. The comparison goes further than the length of the books and includes the intricate detail, the character portraits and the lingering pace.

The story of Palace Walk concerns the nation of Egypt under British occupation following the First World War but the focus is sharpened and the issues heightened as Mahfouz centres on the twists and turns in the daily journey of one Egyptian family.

While some events and experiences relate exclusively to the earlier time and the circumstances of Cairo the book contains important insights into everyday Arab culture and thinking in different places and circumstances.

Michael Palin’s assessment of Yemen as ‘a nation of secrets’ has implications for much of modern day Arab culture that happens behind walls and veils. Mahfouz reveals to his readers detailed insights into family dynamics (through the eyes of children and parents), patriarchal pressures, the conflicts between Islam observance and ethical dilemmas in modern life, the way sexual temptation is rationalized and the influence of the jinn (evil spirits).

This book offers a slow lingering walk with an author who possesses wisdom, humor and sensitivity.

Naguib Mahfouz, Palace Walk (London: Black Swan, originally published in English in 1990 but this edition 1994).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 60.00.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Palace Walk.

The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley

Top of the List
The crowded marketplace and high competition in today’s commercial world have driven the quality of innovation to the top of the list of required core competencies needed for most jobs. This adds weight to the importance of Tom Kelley’s book, The Art of Innovation.

Some people are blessed with bright ideas in their genes and like Alice in Wonderland, they have that uncanny ability to believe or dream up six impossible things before breakfast. Author and General Manager of IDEO, Tom Kelley, ardently embraces the conviction that innovation and creativity can be learned and mastered.

Innovation IDEO Style
The Art of Innovation studies the innovative practices of IDEO, America’s leading design firm, the company that invented stand-up toothpaste tubes, all-in-one fishing kits, high-tech blood analysers, flexible office shelves and self-sealing sports bottles.

At times one reads about IDEO ad nauseam as it seems like the book is written as a promotional tool but Kelley alludes to scores of other industries and products that illumine and provide insight—like this story about the golfing legend, Tiger Woods.

Textbook on Creativity
This is an interesting and comprehensive text for individuals who want to grow their creative muscles. Kelley writes about developing the keenness of the eye, careful observation (check out this example of what Larry Miller produced when he did this), getting close to the action and playing dumb so you ask lots of elementary questions.

This is not a book with rigid prescriptions of how things must be done for the hundreds of examples highlight the different approaches that can take people to the same destination.

Brainstorming
You might think that you brainstorm ideas effectively, either alone or with your team, but Kelley’s ‘Seven Secrets for Better brainstorming’ will make you think you have not mastered the art or plumbed the depths of what can be dredged from a bevy of stimulated brains.

The Art of Innovation is a book that CEOs must read, as Kelley writes of the futility of hierarchical organizations and illustrates the beauty of flat staffing structures where every worker is valued.

While Kelley recognises the need for creative people to have thinking time and solitude he torpedoes the myth of the lone genius, believing that “great projects are achieved by great teams.” He elaborates on how to build a team, getting the right mix, identifying the characters that all good teams need, how to build and maintain morale and suggestions for team empowerment. To get more of a taste, read this story on the great football coach, Lou Holz or discover the way conductor Benjamin Zander gets the best out of his Philharmonic Orchestra.

Does Your Office Need an Overhaul?
Kelley examines not only the innovative individual and the creative team but the positive environment and how a leader sets the tone and cultivates a climate for discovery.

The IDEO work place was dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as “imagination’s playground.” Kelley has much to say about creating the right spaces, colours and other items that offices require to spawn innovation.

Creative Potpourri
The Art of Innovation is a potpourri of stories and ideas. It is written in an enthusiastic and an energetic style. One needs to pick it up and read it every so often, especially when you need to be fired up.

Whatever field of endeavour you are working in, this book will connect and give you the principles to take and transform your work.

Tom Kelley with Jonathan Littman, The Art of Innovation: Lessons and Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm (London: Profile Books, 2001).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 70.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Art of Innovation; Tom Kelley.

Further Stories from this Book:
Get on your bike: Success Breeds Complacency, Stories for Speakers
Snowboarding: Fear Doesn’t Get You Down the Mountain, Stories for Speakers.

Pistache by Sebastian Faulks

Thomas Hardy writes a football report
Dan Brown’s visit to the cash dispenser
Philip Larkin’s In celebration of the Queen Mother’s 115th birthday
Samuel Beckett writes a monologue for Ronnie Corbett
Ernest Hemingway writes of a girl on a ‘gap’ year
Franz Kafka tries to keep up with Bill gates and desktop icons
D H Lawrence writes a brochure for 18-30 holidays
William Shakespeare writes a speech for Basil Fawlty
Dylan Thomas writes a cereal advertisement
Virginia Woolf goes to a hen-party
William Wordsworth does a Lucy poem for a rapper
W B Yeats reports on the Rider Cup at Kildare

Pistache from the noun, pis-tash, meaning a friendly spoof and derived from a cross between pastiche and p**stake) is according to the sub-title, ‘A collection of fanciful, satirical and surprising parodies, squibs and pastiches’.

Notes about the author are similarly fabricated with wit: “The author was born in Vilnius in 1969 and educated by Russian monks. He learned English while working as a deckhand in Odessa…. He is married to his work.” Sebastian Faulks has been one of the captains on Radio 4’s The Write Stuff in England and Pistache is his collection of parodies that were written for the show.

Here is his send-up of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’ in the form of advice to a would-be journo:

If you can't write but don't let that deter you;
If you can't spell and know by now you never will;
If once you know the facts but still prefer to
Tell lies for fear the truth won't fit the bill;
If you can sub a piece about a women's college
And think it's fine to call it ‘Girls on Top’;
If the apogee of all your gather'd knowledge
Is the size of Beckham's shorts and Jordan's top;
If ‘Whose—Is it Anyway’ is your ambition
To shepherd into print day after day;
If you have once applied for a position -
And found they all would hire you straight away;
If you can mix with crowds and learn their mores
If you can meet with kings and break their trust,
If you can cheat your wife while off on foreign stories
But at ‘love cheats’ still feign profound disgust;
If you can never fail to write a headline
And cap it off with some moronic pun
Yours is the Earth when comes the final deadline
And - which is more - you'll be ‘iconic’, son.

These are fifty-seven fragments to savour that often bite or raise a belly laugh. From Amis to Yeats, from Enid Blyton to Franz Kafka, this is a diverse literary canon. Whether or not readers are familiar with an author’s style and the in-jokes, Pistache is an amusing read that is illustrated with delightful sketches.

Sebastian Faulks, Pistache (London: Hutchinson, 2006).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 25.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Pistache; George Orwell confronting the real 1984.

Don’t they Know it’s Friday? by Jeremy Williams

For anyone traveling to the Gulf to do business Don’t they Know it’s Friday? should be the first thing to put into the suitcase.

The fact that this book is into its eighth edition is testimony to the book’s authority and usefulness. Since 1998 it has been updated by its author, Jeremy Williams, who has two decades of work experience in the region and whose resume includes service as the British Defence Attaché to the UAE and Bahrain.

While this book is written to advise business people, with its chapters on basic Arabic expressions, arranging a marketing visit, entertaining clients and Shariah banking, it has a wealth of insights for travelers and residents working in other spheres.

Williams draws back the veil on revealing how expatriates are viewed, the process of getting a driver’s licence, appropriate and inappropriate touching, exposure of flesh, understanding the different parts of a man’s name, driving in the Gulf, attending and/or arranging a meal, food etiquette and determining who pays the bill.

Don’t they Know it’s Friday? is studded with anecdotes like this one to illustrate the Arab sport of bargaining:

A young Arab boy was asked the question:
“What is 2 and 2, Mohammed?”
He replied, “Am I buying or am I selling?”

Some of the insights in this book are fascinating. Others are of paramount importance especially if you are seeking to do business. The author adds emphasis for items in this category such as in the section on 'Business Behaviour' when he says, “The ___________ is probably the single most important activity for any company new to the Gulf.”

Jeremy William’s thirty-five years of army experience is evident in this book. His preparation is extensive, the topics are well organized, the information is marshaled effectively, the table of contents is clear, the Arabic terms are conveyed with precision and the maps and pictures illustrate with decorum and flair.

Information is given firmly but not patronizingly. The chapter on ‘Understanding Time in the Gulf’ (see the author’s insights at this link) reveals the way Williams wants his readers to understand why Arab thinking is different from western perspectives and how the Arab approach to time is shaped by such things as history and religion.

While many of the cross-cultural considerations for business and life relate to all Gulf countries, the author is attentive to national differences and he backs these contrasts with well-referenced examples.

It is difficult for visitors and residents to ferret out information quickly on what to do and not do but the beauty of Don’t they Know it’s Friday? is that it brings together masses of essential information into one volume, presents it in a form that is easily readable, adds a comprehensive index and tops it off with a bibliography and list of web sites if and when one needs to know more.

Jeremy Williams, Don’t they Know it’s Friday? Cross-cultural Considerations for Business and Life in the Gulf (Dubai: Motivate Publishing, 1998, 2008.

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 75.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Don’t they Know it’s Friday?

Extra:
Jeremy Williams runs seminars for business people visiting the Gulf countries. More information can be found at Handshaikh which offers this test to see if you are ready to visit the Gulf:

1. When is Ramadan this year?
2. Doesn't Ramadan mean 'fasting' in Arabic?
3. What does 1427AH mean?
4. Arabs are all the same, aren't they?
5. All Arabs are Muslims, surely?
6. We need to book an appointment in three days' time, don't we?
7. What is an Eid?
8. What should I wear?
9. They all speak such good English the proposal can be in English, can't it?
10. Excuse me Mr Abdullah, but what is your Christian name?
11. Iranians are Arabs, aren't they?
12. He seems to be very nice so shall we have him as our Agent/Sponsor?

IF YOU ASK THESE OR SIMILAR QUESTIONS, DON'T GO TO THE GULF YET!
SPEAK TO HANDSHAIKH LTD FIRST (especially the last three!).
(Or at least read the book).

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

This book is first and foremost about Elizabeth Gilbert. It chronicles an important period in the author’s life following a painful marriage breakup and divorce in which she wisely set aside time to recuperate and find new bearings. One can understand how a writer generally thinks about what is going on with a pen in their hand but one wonders about her self-consciousness, knowing that a book was in the making, and the extent to which it affected Elizabeth Gilbert’s journey and healing.

Gilbert is an outspoken New Yorker who writes with candor but in Eat Pray Love she often appears vulnerable, especially in writing about her lowest periods. She admits that she is a ‘yakker’ with a ‘cocktail-party-like-vibe’ about her and sometimes this talkativeness grates. Sometimes Gilbert borders on self-indulgence and the element of reticence is lacking. Readers will be glad to know that her hormones haven’t fossilized after her self-imposed celibacy but do they all want to know every probe and thrust, the strength of her Brazilian partner’s ‘banana’, the dynamics of their sexual gyrations and the words muttered on the pillow?

Eat Pray Love is one person’s story of working through a divorce and as the sub-title expansively states, ‘one woman’s search for everything’. It is not penned as a prescription for all in this state but Gilbert’s honesty and the verbal graphing of her confidence levels will resonate with thousands of readers who are members of the same fellowship of suffering. While she plumbs the depths of divorce and is mangled by the messy legal proceedings, Gilbert’s humor (which is usually witty and sometimes corny) and her turn of phrase, give the book some light with the shade. Skillfully, this blend is often in the same sentence. For instance, diagnosing her divorce, Gilbert writes about being in a “murky hole of bottomless grief” and ‘I was despondent and dependant, needing more care than an armful of premature, infant triplets.”

The structure of the book derives from the organizing image of the Indian prayer beads (japa mala) with its 108 beads and three dividers. Consequently Gilbert’s book has 108 tales (not tips) and three sections, dividing her journey between Italy (where she explored the art of pleasure), India (where she concentrated on devotion) and Indonesia (where she focused on finding balance).

The prayer beads are a colorful and fitting image but one wonders whether the 108 beads stretched the book too long and caused it to drag at certain points. Gilbert recognizes that “sincere, spiritual investigation is, and always has been an endeavor of methodological discipline” but apart from the reference to the beads and her times of meditation, there is little discipline about her journey and the writing of her story. Perhaps coming from a demanding New York lifestyle and possessing a ‘super conscientious’ personality Elizabeth Gilbert finds that spontaneity, serendipity and ‘the beauty of doing nothing’ are just what the doctor ordered and after all, how much discipline is possible or preferable in Italy, India and Bali?

This book might be placed in the ‘travel’ section of the bookshop and library but if readers think Eat Pray Love will offer a host of travel tips on what to see in Italy, what to avoid in India and where the best nightclub is in Kuta, they will be disappointed. The book, however, is loaded with rich cultural insights from this trio of travel destinations.

Gilbert goes to Italy but she doesn’t set foot within a museum or art gallery! This could be viewed as Philistine tourism of the highest degree yet Gilbert is a tourist or better still, a pilgrim, who is making an inner journey. The level of permission is a liberating gift that she gives to herself and her readers who would love to be asked Elizabeth’s frequent question, “What would you enjoy doing today, Liz?

The title of the book points to a religious section and Gilbert charts her quest, especially in the Indian experience of devotion and in the phase of Bali balance. The author writes about ‘God’ and even though ‘culturally’ she comes from a Christian heritage her journey involves the sampling of many religious offerings. She is not motivated by theological curiosity as Gilbert is desperately looking for the ‘saving’ of her life from a ‘state of hopelessness and life-threatening despair.’ Her framing of questions are helpful in understanding the practice of prayer. The deliberate seeking of the divine, the peace in silence, the rhythm of meditation and the importance of a guide are valuable steps to learn in any journey of the soul.

Gilbert encounters some quaint religious representatives who color the pages as they offer everything from palm reading to potions. While the author acknowledges the value of scholarly study in matters of faith this book lacks constructive criticism that might help seekers to discern the truth and give ways to evaluate all that is served on the religious smorgasbord. While not being explicit, Elizabeth Gilbert tends to accept the popular idea expressed by Ketut, a Balinese medicine man, who believes that most religions are “same-same” and he prescribes that in the midst of different approaches one should “pray what you want.”

If this book encourages the flowering of the human personality in every dimension and attaining this in a relaxed balance, a further element that is missing is the aspect of service or doing something about the injustice and suffering in the world. Gilbert asks the question of Ketut: “So what can we do about the craziness of the world?” To which he replies, “Nothing…Worry about your craziness only—make you [sic] in peace.” One can appreciate that in the preliminary stages of Gilbert’s rebuilding, especially when she is in Italy exploring the art of pleasure, she would not be caring for the poor like Francis of Assisi or Catherine of Siena. As her recovery progresses in Bali, Gilbert very generously raises money to buy a house for Wayan, a Balinese single mother who has the care of two orphans. This theme does not appear to be sustained. This gesture could have been the catalyst for finding deliverance from the egocentricity and selfishness of so much religion and discovering that true love extends beyond the bedroom and into the slums, among the poor and destitute.

This book is a story of healing and hope. It concludes with an epilogue which notes that Gilbert seems happy and fulfilled in her present relationship and work. To take time out to concentrate on such essential parts of life as eating, praying and loving makes for a wonderful journey. How one puts it all together in the ordinary, everyday, common things of life is another challenge. Hopefully Elizabeth Gilbert might write a follow up story on living an integrated life, not as a traveler but in the humdrum and familiar existence of home.

Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything (London: Bloomsbury, 2006).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 45.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Eat Pray Love; Japa Mala; Elizabeth Gilbert.

Postscript
Elizabeth Gilbert’s web site offers this information:

Eat Pray Love is a #1 New York Times bestselling memoir … The book has been a worldwide success, now published in over thirty languages. It was named by The New York Times as one of the 100 most notable books of 2006, and chosen by Entertainment Weekly as one of the best ten non-fiction books of the year. There are now over one million copies of this paperback in print.”

The Arabian Date Palm by Frances LaBonte

This is another beautifully presented book on the Arabian region by Frances LaBonte. It will be placed in the Childrens' Book section of bookshops but this volume, like all LaBonte’s books, has a universal appeal.

The author takes something as ancient, iconic and ordinary as the Arabian Date Palm—Phoenix dactylifera—and with text and pictures shows how fascinating this tree is. For instance every page has a ‘Fascinating Fact’ like this one: ‘Did you know that there are more than 500 names for the date palm in the Arabic language?’

LaBonte traces the history of date palms in the region, points to their mention in the Holy Qur’an, their cultivation, their susceptibility to pests and diseases and she explains the process of production. What an astonishing number of date varieties there are in the world!

The chapter ‘Dates as Food’ tantalizes readers with photos of cakes made from dates and it shows how various parts of the date have different uses. One can understand why dates were ideal food for desert travelers and why they continue to be significant today for their nutritional and medicinal value.

In addition to the date, the author writes of the many historic and contemporary uses of the tree—the trunk, the fronds and the leaves.

Frances LaBonte writes with clarity and an economy of words. She possesses the gift of being able to synthesize a mass of literature and present it in an interesting and informative manner. Most important is her style which moves along with pace and never suffers from condescension.

Coming with a glossary of important Arabic terms and an index, this book will become the raw material for many projects and it needs to find a place in every school library. But it is a book for every home, ideal for leaving on the coffee table and browsing from time to time, especially when you’re doing something as enjoyable and as Arabic as drinking coffee and eating dates.

Frances LaBonte, The Arabian Date Palm (Dubai: Jerboa, 2006).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 56.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Arabian Date Palm.

The book, Sheikh Zayed, is also written by Frances LaBonte and a review is posted at this link: Reviewing Books and Movies.

Sheikh Zayed by Frances LaBonte

This book tells the inspirational story of the man that Emiratis affectionately call, the ‘Father of the Nation’. It is written as a children’s book but like the best of this genre, it will be enjoyed by readers of all ages, especially those for whom English is a second language.

Readers will appreciate the many superb black and white photographs of the subject of this volume and the land with which he is synonymous. Supplemented by a clear text, the pictures depict Sheikh Zayed as a man who loved children and who enjoyed his roles as father, believer, leader, falcon hunter and statesman.

Sheikh Zayed is a useful primer, not only on the life of the man but also concerning the formation of the federation and the way the young nation is maturing as a union of emirates.

Residents and visitors to the Emirates today will be familiar with the iconic photograph of Sheikh Zayed. This attractively presented book provides the major details of his life and plots the significant events in the country’s development.

The author, Francis LaBonte, has lived in Saudi Arabia as well as the UAE. Having served as a librarian she writes with an intimate knowledge of the kinds of information and stories that people want to discover.

Francis LaBonte, Sheikh Zayed (Dubai: Jerboa Books, 2006).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 56.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Sheikh Zayed.

You’ve Got to Read this Book! by Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks

This book is an introduction to fifty-five people who are deemed to have had an influence in today’s world and their commentary on the books that have profoundly shaped their lives.

The co-authors, Jack Canfield (co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul) and Gay Hendricks (co-author of Conscious Loving), judge themselves to be part of this select group of fifty-five and some of this coterie have nominated Canfield and Hendricks’ books as being influential.

The fifty-five people are authors and actors, sales people and sports personalities, media stars and musicians. Many of them are motivational speakers, representatives of the Self-Help movement, fitness and diet gurus and members of the ‘How I Got Rich’ group. Most of the contributors are Americans and the majority of the books they select are written by American male authors.

This eclectic smorgasbord ranges from Hitler’s Mein Kampf to Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits to Raymond Moody’s Life after Life and Venice Bloodworth’s Key to Yourself.

Interestingly, there are very few novels that have been literary change agents and only a handful appear in that quirky new list of ‘1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die’.

One valuable reminder is the impact of books on children and young people. Like Wyland, the artist who at the age of thirteen read Jacques Cousteau’s The Silent World and afterwards vowed, “I too will be an ocean explorer and diver.” (23-24)

The co-authors state in their preface, that like all personalities and books, some chapters will appeal to certain readers more than others.

You’ve Got to Read this Book! illustrates the different ways that books can influence us. Sometimes the truth of a story will seep into our minds and transform our thinking and acting. At other times a book will ‘go off like a small bomb’ and do its momentous work within us.

Often a book will have a role to play at a time of crisis or in a special season of our lives. Sometimes when we pick it up years later we wonder what we saw in the book and why we raved about it. Teacher Rafe Esquith testifies to the importance of timing in his testimony concerning Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird:

“I finished the book as the sun was coming up. With tears streaming down my face, I closed the book and stared out the window, my mind whirling with insights but my heart calm and peaceful at last. The book was the same book I had read so many times before, but I was not the same person reading it. All the life experiences I’d been through had made me see the world differently.” (35)

Pierce O’Donnell highlights a similar factor in his appreciation:

“When I read Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy, I was already wired to appreciate its message.” (63)

Sometimes the rebel in us reacts to being told, “You’ve got to read this book!” But this selection of short chapters is to be read in a different way—not necessarily in one sitting but in portions or snippets. Like a page of book reviews it may well spark some inspiration and either prompt you to purchase one of the books or knock it off your list (if you have one) of the books you want to read before the lights are turned out.

You’ve Got to Read this Book! By Jack Canfield & Gay Hendricks (New York: Collins, 2007).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 63.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of You’ve Got to Read this Book!

C.S. Lewis: A Biography by Michael White

“Why ever do we need another biography of C. S. (‘Jack’) Lewis,” I said, as I took this book down from the shelf? Just because the author claims in his preface to have ‘an abiding interest in C. S. Lewis’, that he has been captivated by Lewis’s fantasy world and especially relished the Screwtape Letters, are not good enough reasons for a retell.

But popular biographer, Michael White, has stated his angle and his rationale for getting him through the research and writing of this new book:

“Most of those who have written about Lewis have been deeply religious people or academics, so they have concentrated on these aspects of his life…but there are many other human elements that shaped C. S. Lewis.”

“I wanted to consider C. S. Lewis from the position of a fan, certainly, but I did not want to dwell too much on his religious devotion or his academic accomplishments.”

“In many ways, I am the polar opposite of my subject. I am an atheist and I very much enjoy the twenty-first century, whereas Lewis had little time for the era in which he lived. Lewis concentrated on the past—his childhood. My inclination is to focus on the present and the future, something Lewis seemed to do only rarely.”

It is good that Michael White persisted in visiting the Lewis sites and writing the story from his study in Perth, Western Australia, because he writes with freshness, paints colourful word pictures and possesses the skill of a good storyteller.

The most persuasive reasons for delivering a new Lewis biography in the twenty-first century are found in White’s final chapter and end pages. The biographer evaluates the Lewis legacy, drawing many examples from the continuing story since Lewis’s death on the same day as JFK and Aldous Huxley died. In addition to viewing Lewis as a religious commentator and a writer, White notes the popularity and universal appeal of the theatrical productions of ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ and their adaptation in the Narnia films.

White is respectful but his position outside the faith enables him to pen a ‘warts and all’ account of Lewis that is bound to offend many devotees who have reasons for keeping the Oxford don on a pedestal.

The author visits the C. S. Lewis exhibit at Wheaton College, Illinois and concludes that much of the adulation for Lewis is “based on confusion and misinterpretation.” He believes that this American exhibit “has managed to morph the real Jack Lewis into a version of himself even he would have trouble recognising.” In contrast, White’s more human account of Lewis’s life provides details of his vices and weaknesses that make him more accessible to readers. The highlighting of Lewis’s painful childhood, his unsettled education and his service in WWI goes a long way to explaining why Lewis acted and thought as he did. Specific examples of his relationship with women and his fluctuating friendship with fellow ‘Inkling’, J. R. R. Tolkien, provide insightful illustrations into the personality of Lewis.

As many Lewis biographies have erred on the side of hero worship and preserving a fabricated model of Christian devotion, White’s book is a welcome read. He has not shorn the biography of spiritual reflection and academic features but he has been attentive to many other factors that have shaped the Lewis life and legacy. Michael White skillfully walks the tightrope in continuing to be a fan of Clive Staples Lewis while concluding that “his character was replete with contradictions.”

Of special value to modern readers are the appendices which include ‘A Guide to the Publications of C. S. Lewis’, a ‘Chronology of the Life and Times of C. S. Lewis (including publications up to the year 2000!), an interesting account of ‘Those Who Survived C. S. Lewis’, a Bibliography (what would Lewis the Luddite think of a bibliography that lists websites?) and a detailed Index.

It was F. W. Boreham (a writer in the same era and another populariser of Christianity) who said, “When a man has been fifty years in his grave it ought to be possible to review his work dispassionately. The sentiment that is born of human fondness has by that time evaporated; and the prejudices that arise from personal animosity have died down.” For these reasons and more it is good that Michael White has waited half a century to write this new biography of C. S. Lewis.


Michael White, C. S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia—a Biography (London: Abacus, 2005).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 63.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of C. S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia; biographer, Michael White.

I Am a Little Moslem by Mennah Bakkar

This wonderfully illustrated book will be of interest not only to children but to adults. It raises some fascinating issues for Muslims as well as others outside the Islamic fold.

According to Amr Khaled (is he the popular Egyptian preacher?), who writes the foreword in the style of a note to ‘Dear Parents’, this book “has been written with modern insight conforming to the world around us today. Yet it maintains the required basics and values of Islam that our children can relate to and apply during their everyday lives as Allah the almighty had intended.”

This is a noble vision for a book and it is intriguing to discover how the eternal truths of Islam are made to conform to the contemporary world.

The book is written for twins, Tarek and Jana, who are six years of age, of pale complexion, who live in an extended family in an English-speaking country, where they are called ‘Moslems’ (instead of ‘Muslims) and where Christmas is a time for an extended public holiday.

Tarek is sporty, musical and noisy while Jana is enthusiastic about ballet. They are both doing well at school, they are curious and their questions shape the plot of this book.

The action of their school teacher decorating a Christmas tree in the classroom is the catalyst for a conversation at home with their grandmother. In the story, Nana provides her grandchildren with most of their spiritual understanding.

Jana and Tarek are encouraged by Nana to visit their friends during their Christmas rituals, to respect religions while not to actually celebrate the religions of others. When Jana and Tarek are disappointed that they may not get Christmas presents at home, Nana reminds them that the Moslem celebration of Eid is a time of gift-giving and as there are two Eids each year, in contrast to Christmas, they will have “two times the fun [and] two times the presents.”

The growing visibility of Christmas decorations in the windows of homes in their neighbourhood sparks a deep conversation about Tarek and Jana’s own religious identity.

The book proclaims explicitly and implicitly these doctrines:
* There is only one God who is called ‘Allah’.
* Allah is the creator of all, always present, a protector, invisible, an insomniac and the object of human gratitude.
* The holy book called the ‘Quran’ tells us what to believe and do.
* Mohammed is Allah’s messenger whose messages are found in the Quran.

In a contemporary manner and devoid of religious jargon the Islamic understanding of salvation is explained. Allah is the all-seeing referee who keeps a scorecard on every person. Nana expounds: “The more good things you do, the more good points you get and the more good points you get, you will please Allah very much and you end up in Paradise.”

This explanation naturally leads Tarek and Jana to ask more questions about Paradise and Nana obliges, saying it is a “lovely, fun place that has everything and anything you could ever wish for.”

“Does it have lots of parks, playgrounds to play in? asked Tarek. “Are there houses made of candy? Lollipop flowers? And chocolate trees?”

“Yes,” laughed Nana [taking a liberal and modern interpretation of the Quran], “If that is what you want, that is what you’ll find. You can wish for all the most wonderful toys to play with and you can stay up as late as you want.”

No wonder Jana exclaims, “I’m excited about being a Moslem. I want to go to Paradise right now!”

Nana reiterates that “to go to Paradise, you have to do a lot of good things to score as many good points as you can.” To which Jana asks the important question, “How many good points do I have to get?” Nana, within the context of this belief system replies well, “Lots and lots and lots. Only Allah knows how many points are enough.”

Interestingly, Tarek and Jana don’t seem bothered at this stage of their lives about their lack of certainty as to whether they have been good enough and scored sufficient admission points. Scorecard salvation is a very contemporary idea believed by many children and adults—that one has to work hard to get enough points to please God for acceptance now and beyond the grave.

The book concludes with an unnecessary summary of the doctrinal themes about Allah, Mohammed, the point system and entry into Paradise.

I am a Little Moslem is one in the ‘Little Moslem’ series and the other volumes address specific subjects of prayer, giving and Moslem festivals.

Mennah I Bakkar, I am a Little Moslem (Beirut: Arab Scientific Publishers, 2007).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at the amazingly low cost of Dh 20.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of I am a Little Moslem; Tarek and Jana’s scores for a week.

Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen

“‘Where are you staying?’ the Bedouin asked. ‘Why you not stay with me tonight—in my cave?’ He seemed enthusiastic—and we were looking for adventure.”

This introduction to the story (which is also written on the back cover) of a New Zealand-born nurse’s marriage to Mohammed Abdullah Othman will sell many books, as will the mystery and romance of the words ‘Bedouin’ and ‘Petra’. Curiosity and the thirst for adventure will draw many toward this book and the cave dwelling where there is no mortgage, no water and electricity bills, no fridge, no television or calendar on the wall.

This book comes with many Arabic expressions (all explained in a helpful glossary), colourful photographs and local customs including Bedouin celebrations with references to bride prices, henna painting, women ululating, people dancing, babies being born and males being circumcised. However, rather than focusing on the extraordinary, Married to a Bedouin is like a daily journal with entries that describe the ordinary life of collecting wood, lighting the fire, baking bread, washing and toileting.

The story raises the issue of whether even in the simplest form of existence one still feels the need to accumulate things, to renovate the cave, to lust for a bigger cave and spend one’s shekels on interior decoration and modern conveniences.

This book is enchanting because it is a love story about a tourist who attends a Bedouin wedding and falls in love with one of the guests. The author recalls, “It was as Mohammed guided us singing through rocky oleander-crowded canyons, that I fell in love with him….but I didn’t know it was love.” (p29)

For people contemplating or negotiating inter-cultural marriage Married to a Bedouin offers a useful mirror for their own reflections. The book records the many cultural and legal objections and myths that friends and family members might raise: e.g. “If your husband dies, you will have to marry his brother.” And how did Marguerite’s parents back in Nelson, New Zealand feel about their daughter’s marriage and her cave life in sunny Petra? And how did her in-laws feel about their son and his new bride as they looked on from further down the ledge outside the next cave?

Marguerite holds together well the balance between adventure and foolhardiness as she explores like any person the many ‘what if’ questions about her marriage to Mohammed. With insight she conveys the mental see-sawing that is common to most people contemplating a new partnership: “Although I didn’t want to consider divorce, I needed to know it was there, like checking out the emergency exits on the aeroplane, hoping you will never need them.” (p33)

Many times Marguerite is asked by tourists and reporters, “What is your reason for living here?” While her unusual address prompts the high frequency of these enquiries, the question and her answer are valuable in urging readers to reflect on their own situation: “Where is your home? Why do you live where you do? Did you marry just because you liked your prospective partner? How much did the house and the context shape your decision? Are you married to a person or are you tied to the entire tribe and to life in a particular community?”

A highlight of the story occurs in 1984 when Queen Elizabeth II is about to make her first visit to Jordan. The organizers of her tour ask to see whether Her Majesty, accompanied by the Queen of Jordan, might visit Marguerite and Mohammed’s home. The reasons explained were that Marguerite was a British subject and her home, location and lifestyle were most unusual. Marguerite’s initial response to the royal visitors is one of reluctance but she eventually complies. This episode captures one of the issues of the book as readers can feel somewhat voyeuristic and eager to see the quirkiness of her existence as the author opens up (like reality television?) her life to the world.

Van Geldermalsen does not write in a sensational style and many aspects of her life remain discretely behind the veil. What will rile many readers is the sunny tone of the book that depicts Marguerite’s life in a Bedouin community as predominantly one of ease. The author appears to ignore the problems and gloss over her frustrations. Consequently her account often does not seem honest and real, leaving readers feeling diddled. In the epilogue the author acknowledges her style saying, “I have mostly remembered the good times, but that is how I like to look at life.” (p271) This is a weakness of the book as it projects a lopsided view of her experience. Furthermore, there are many topics (e.g. her shifting relationship with Islam and the maintenance of her cultural identity) and painful events about which the author chooses to be highly reticent.

One wonders whether Marguerite became truly reconciled to the Bedouin lifestyle and the extent to which she adapted to her special community. Yet the book surveys her movement of belonging as she learns about her new culture and language. It also portrays the growing acceptance of her extended family. This belonging and affirmation, not only by her partner but by the whole community is beautifully expressed in Marguerite’s reflection after attending a wedding: “I felt surrounded by the blissful feeling of being a part of it all.” (p236).

Marguerite van Geldermalsen, Married to a Bedouin (London: Virago, 2006).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 75.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Married to a Bedouin.

Bookshops and Reading Thriving in the UAE

A Gulf News article today says that bookshops are thriving in the UAE:

“Despite the advent of the internet, high-tech video and computers, which were thought to have dealt a blow to the public's enthusiasm for books, bookstore operators claim that they have been able to recover lost ground, thanks to the region's retail boom.

After all, the Arab world is home to more than 300 million potential readers according to recent statistics, while the UAE publishing industry itself has been growing at 15-20 per cent annually, and is estimated to be worth Dh8 to Dh10 billion.

Magrudy's, a locally-owned Dubai-based bookstore, recently accentuated the robust growth forecast of the industry when it opened its largest branch in Dubai Festival City.”

Read the entire article: Irish Eden Belleza, ‘Bookshops Thrive on Retail Boom’, Gulf News, 5 April 2008.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: A photograph of the interior of the recently opened Magrudys Book Store at Festival City.

A Partisan’s Daughter by Louis de Bernières

This is a timely book to have read in a week when The Times (28 March 2008) has published the recent figures revealing the high rate of marriage breakdown in the UK. The article begins with these sobering words: “Are you going to a wedding this weekend? Nearly half the happy couples you see walking down the aisle will divorce before they reach their tenth wedding anniversary.”

Louis de Bernières launches his new novel with an equally eye-catching opener: “I am not the sort of man who goes to prostitutes.” But…

A Partisan’s Daughter is a reflection on relationships. Chris, a middle-aged English suburbanite who works as a traveling salesman to pay his mortgage and drives ‘a shit-brown Allegro’ resigns himself to the way that the fire has gone out of his marriage: “But isn’t this what invariably happen? The trouble is that sooner or later, at best, your wife turns into your sister.” He refers to his wife throughout the book as ‘The Great White Loaf’ because “she reminded me of a great loaf of white bread, plumped down on the sofa in its cellophane wrapping.”

Chris follows the typical male tack of blaming the plumping up and plumping down of partners, not only upon his Missus but upon the entire gender she represents: “I don’t think that most women understand the nature of a man’s sexual drive.”

This novel could very usefully be offered as part of a Pre-Marriage Preparation course for it presents vividly the dilemma of almost half the (British) married population who could echo the bewilderment of Chris when he says, “When we married I had no idea that she would turn out to have all the passion and fire of a codfish. How many of us get clamped into that claustrophobic dreary celibacy that stifles ‘the great fire inside them’.”

He continues his lament about relationships when he views religion as being like a highly-secure chastity belt:

“I sometimes wonder whether the reason that puritanical religious types are so keen on marriage is their certain knowledge that it’s the one way to make sure that people get the least possible amount of sex.”

So what’s wrong with going to see someone you think is a ‘bad girl’ when you’re not getting enough from ‘The Great White Loaf’? The woman Chris begins to visit is an ex-prostitute—an exotic Serbian from Belgrade who is now living in England. In contrast to ‘The Great White Loaf’, Roza has pizzazz. She is provocative and shocking. Her stories about life and love Chris finds exciting and irresistible—“It was like being friends with a cobra or a cougar.”

The storytelling and focus on a relationship are such major parts of this book that the action takes place almost entirely in one room.

The book focuses the reader’s attention on the elements that make for a good relationship. What is the ‘kindling’ that ignites a vibrant relationship and what are the ‘logs’ that keep the fire burning? The novel raises questions about whether one can satisfactorily distinguish sexual obsession from love or as de Bernières asks through Chris, “If you had no sexual impulses, let us say, or if you had no hormones, would it be possible to fall in love? Can you fall in love if you’ve been castrated?”

The title hints that the book is about Serbian politics but it is also about lifestyle, living adventurously and it contains some wonderful theological reflections like this description of Chris’ relationship with God:

“God and I have an agreement to leave each other alone. I don’t bother Him and He doesn’t bother me. If we meet in the street we raise our hats and smile and give each other a wide berth.”

So does our relationship with God mirror our human partnership? Can it nurture our human love or is religion just a clamp and a maker of Great White and Brown Loaves?

Most aspects of de Bernières’ literary style in this book work. One creative technique is where a chapter is written through the eyes of Chris to be followed by the next chapter that describes the same event in the words and feelings of Roza. However, there are some parts of the plot (these are best not given away in a review!) that seem forced and farfetched.

Louis de Bernières tells this story with pace, suspense and with a twinkle in his eye. Most importantly, it is a story that is evocative, as it subtly challenges partners to be honest about their expectations and to discover the difference between having a fuck and forging a fulfilling friendship.

This book should be enjoyed by people in a union of love, especially if they want to pass the ten year mark with passion, zest and genuine respect.

Louis de Bernières, A Partisan’s Daughter (London: Harvill Secker, 2008).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dhs 98.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of A Partisan’s Daughter.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

What a delight to read a novella and to savour The Uncommon Reader in one sitting and in the time it takes to imbibe two glasses of sherry (as is the custom of Queen Elizabeth II who follows religiously this medical advice from her regal namesake).

Speaking of Her Majesty, she is for once a subject, or the subject of this novella by the prolific and versatile writer, Alan Bennett, perhaps best known for his award-winning The History Boys.

It was the novelist, Upton Sinclair who declared, “On what slender threads of accident depend the most important circumstances.” In this novella, the slender thread of accident happens when one of the Queen’s corgis wanders from Buckingham Palace into a mobile library. The pursuit by Her Majesty leads to a browse, a borrowing of a book and by chapters, a journey into serious reading.

This book opens up the themes of discovering the joy of reading, even late in life and in the midst of a full life. With the Queen previously being a doer than a reader and with a family and an entourage that is negative about her worming into books, Bennett has ample opportunity in this slim volume to express the views of many toward reading and to counter these objections one by one with royal authority.

This novella reveals the dramatic ways that serious and wide reading shapes the Queen of England, leaving readers to marvel and historians to wonder, at the significant influence on the history of the world of one stray corgi.

From the punny title to the last line Bennett writes with wit, suspense and surprise. The Uncommon Reader should be on Her Majesty’s reading list when she next accompanies her Pembroke corgi to the mobile library. She will be amused.

[The length of this reviewella is in keeping with a novella.]

Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 60.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Uncommon Reader.

The Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea

The title of this book is taken from the famous Saudi singer, Abdul Majeed Abdullah’s song, ‘Girls of Riyadh, O girls of Riyadh’. The book is translated from the Arabic after the author, Rajaa Alsanea and her publishers realized that its content may have appeal to readers beyond the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The book takes the form of one email per chapter whereby after Friday prayers in Saudi Arabia the author sends the letter to her subscribers who form a growing and active online community. Over the course of a year the author writes these instalments that tell the story of four young women from Riyadh’s ‘velvet’ (upper class) community. The missives reveal a life of flirting, falling in and out of love and actions that fly in the face of the “prim and prying Saudi society.” (p199)

Initially the email and online community tactic appears to be a skilful idea because it creates the opportunity for the book to include readership response. The author begins each chapter with some readership responses that indicate how explosive the letters have been. Unfortunately this weekly roundup becomes repetitive and tedious as does the body of the book especially when the author engages in blowing her own trumpet.

According to the author the ‘Sex in the City’ style of the book is not intended to represent all girls in Riyadh but it is designed to draw back the veil and “reveal another side of Saudi life to the western world.” (pvii)

The lifestyle described may be explosive for the Saudi readership but it is a tame presentation for readers used to watching western television programmes and movies. The books main contribution largely consists in depicting features of Saudi life which may reflect in various degrees the life of young Islamic adults in other countries of the Middle East. These notable glimpses include:

* The process whereby boy/girl relationships are started and nurtured in a restrictive society, by the use of Bluetooth technology, SMS, telephones, email and online networks.

* The pain that is created in relationships when young men and women are prevented from meeting alone and are unable to nurture a friendship and develop their social skills before they are married.

* The pursuit of Saudi men in finding a woman who will advance their prospects by “giving them some standing, to help them with her family name, her looks, her genealogy, her social position, her wealth” and to have a woman “to blame for their own poor decisions.” (p196)

* Inter-family discussions (usually just by men) about the potential marriage of a daughter without consulting the person who has the biggest stake in the marriage.

* Saudi or Islamic wedding customs from the ‘shoufa’ (lawful viewing of a potential marriage partner) to the official engagement with the signing of the marriage contract signaling the ‘milkah period’ that concludes with the wedding ceremony.

* The role of weddings in providing a sphere for older women to scrutinize the young women who may be possible partners for their sons.

* The energetic but restrained way that young women deport themselves at weddings as they show their wares before prospective mother-in-laws.

* The macho society whereby males view women for their own satisfaction, and often act like “bulls and steeds unpenned”, feeling it as their prerogative to be the master of the bedroom.

* The ease and frequency of divorce by men when women assert their own desires or no longer appear attractive to their husbands.

* The perception of divorced women as “damaged goods”, regardless of the causes of the breakup. (p195)

* The tendency to blame infertility on the woman and use this excuse to trade her in for a new and younger wife.

* The reframing of traditional religious practices for personal convenience and consulting astrological signs, Ouija boards and the reading of tea and coffee cups, in the making of life decisions.

* The fixation with outward appearances (in a society of veils and burqas), including popularity of ‘reconstructive surgery’ which is not to be called ‘cosmetic surgery’, as this is against the laws of Islam. (p161)

* The prevailing view that a man showing signs of homosexuality is regarded as “an utter calamity, an illness, worse than a cancer.” (p132) Those displaying homosexual tendencies are usually ‘treated’ by medical intervention which may include a combination of “surgical operations, hormone treatment and psychological counseling.” (p133)

* The importance of education to enable women to break out from the rigid, social, religious and intellectual strictures.

This book provides some windows on four indulged women in a “uni-cultural, uni-ethnic and uni-religious” society who are seeking to forge their own way by revising their traditions while embracing an eclectic mix of international influences.

While this ‘scandal-sheet series’ is exciting as it breaches traditional practices and exposes corruption and hypocrisy in Saudi society, the relationships of the girls of Riyadh are fragile, fractured and filled with the deep pain of rejection, loss and grief.

Rajaa Alsanea, The Girls of Riyadh (London: Fig Tree, Penguin, 2007). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 84.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Girls of Riyadh.

Daughter of the East by Benazir Bhutto

Daughter of the East: An Autobiography is an uneven book—370 pages which tell of Benazir Bhutto’s life up to 1988 and then another 60 pages, added to make the 2007 edition and race over the last two decades. As a consequence, many basic details about Benazir’s life are not included in this volume.

This is a dense book, written largely as therapy to while away the time when Bhutto was under house arrest. The daily journal entries, along with snippets from other key players, provide valuable information for students of the Bhutto dynasty and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) but the average reader is likely to find the book a hard read and could easily drown in the detail. Nevertheless, one appreciates the detail of the reflections when Benazir Bhutto describes some significant moments. These include the period leading to the hanging of her father, the moment when she was first inaugurated as Prime Minister of Pakistan and the sudden death of General Zia.

While the book is comprehensive it sometimes has a poetic touch as evidenced by this journal entry in March 1980:

“Time, dripping grain by grain through a bottomless hourglass at Al-Murtaza [prison]. I feel as if I am a living grave, cut off from all human experience.”

“My mother passes many of the endless hours of detention playing Patience. But after five months of being locked up at Al-Mutaza, I am more restless than ever. I have no idea when and if we’ll be released. It all depends on Zia.” (p112)

While entitled ‘Daughter of the East’, this book could just as fittingly been called, ‘Daughter of my Father’. It is a book about Benazir’s adoring father—former Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto—and his adoring daughter who was living out the dreams and destiny of her father. The author often acknowledges the influence of her father’s example and stories. She says, “My father’s imprint on me, however, keeps me going. Endurance. Honour. Principle.” (p114) The book also captures the significant contribution of Benazir’s mother who continued to fight with courage and endurance after her husband was assassinated.

‘Daughter of the East’ highlights the values of upholding the dignity of the family and retaining personal honor in the face of injustice. These values proved to be a source of strength, for writing during one of her many periods of detention, Bhutto said:
“‘These days will pass’, my father had told me in prison. ‘What is important is that we pass them with honour.’” (p199)

The book is a record of the ‘judicial murder’ of her father, a defense of his life, work and innocence and a revelation of the lies involved in his trumped up murder case. The author almost admits that the title of the book is a misnomer and not a true autobiography when she admits that it is “the record of the brutal Martial law regime of General Zia ul-Haq.” (p374)

This is a deeply sad book that is mostly written from behind prison bars and one which is a catalogue of death threats, detentions, violence and injustice. It describes the relentless momentum towards her father’s death, the death of Benazir’s brothers and the loss of countless supporters. It is all the more painful when one reads the book following the assassination of the author.

This book is about Pakistan and the fight for a sustained democracy. In the period of time in which Bhutto writes, peace and democracy appear so fleeting and fragile. Yet the securing of democracy is the major motivation for Benazir Bhutto. Writing soon after the unexpected death of General Zia she says:

“You can’t be fuelled by bitterness. It can eat you up but it cannot drive you. The task—and my motivation, remained the same: to return Pakistan to a democracy through fair and impartial elections.” (p380)

This book gives a powerful insight into a person living out their destiny. The author reveals that the pain and loss of the Bhutto family has been seen by many, through the lens of Islam, as ‘the Karbala of our generation’—a reenactment of the tragedy that befell the family of the Prophet Mohammed, after his death in 640 A.D.

Benazir Bhutto’s personal sense of destiny comes to her mind when she takes the oath of office in 1988, at the age of 35, as the first woman Prime Minister elected in the Muslim world:

“I had not asked for this role, I had not asked for this mantle. But the forces of destiny and the forces of history had thrust me forward, and I felt privileged and awed.” (p392)

Benazir Bhutto, Daughter of the East: An Autobiography (London: Simon & Schuster, 2007).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 80.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Daughter of the East.

The Emirates through the Eyes of an Artist by Trevor Waugh

British artist Trevor Waugh always takes a journal or sketchbook with him when he travels and this book is a collection of the paintings and sketches from his visit to the United Arab Emirates.

In the introduction Waugh says that his journals are “a visual journey, they can be fact or fiction or both. Emotional and objective.” The paintings in this collection have captions that are reproduced in his handwriting, emphasizing the way this book is a ‘visual diary’. These journal jottings are pithy yet poetic, personal, full of feeling and often humorous. One caption reads this way: “To capture the moment, every so often, when the light illumines the scene and renders it timeless. I felt it here!”

Trevor Waugh is enchanted by the light of the United Arab Emirates and admits that “there is something about the landscape and the light here, it speaks to me—ageless and inspirational.” In a skilful way Waugh captures the light in his paintings from the reflections from glassy skyscrapers to the glow of a dishdasha, the Emirates Palace Hotel lit up at night, the sparkling sun on the Dubai spice souk, the pink colors of a camel caravan at sunset and the creamy fusion of sands, fortresses and paving stones.

This British painter believes that photographs don’t do most scenes justice and Waugh’s colors are what make his water colored paintings spectacular. Painting the Emirates gives artists a thorough going workout for in one painting alone Waugh has used Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna and Alizann Crimson.

If you can’t visit the Emirates and experience its essence first-hand then savoring the pictures and the text of this book is the next best thing. Waugh has painted a range of scenes from most of the seven Emirates. Without it becoming a cheap souvenir book, ‘The Emirates through the Eyes of an Artist’ captures so many of the scenes that one will want to keep and cherish. These include paintings of Emiratis on a beach, bougainvilleas and old pots, Afghani carpet traders at the souk, the bumpy formation of stripy-blanketed camels, the majestic Hajars, women with their distinctive Bedouin burqas, abras (boats) on the Dubai Creek, Muslim men walking to prayers and also in their favorite position—sitting, dhows on the briny and the iconic Burj al Arab but in this scene, set beyond the bathers on the Jumeirah Beach. There is a good balance between scenes of the modern burgeoning Emirati cities and the views of fishing boats, fortresses and watchtowers which recall a bygone age.

The eye of the painter is no more evident than in one scene of a stately mosque with mangroves in the foreground and Waugh’s delightful caption, “Mosques and mangroves. Sometimes all that is required of a painting is a sense of peace.”

Trevor Waugh, The Emirates through the Eyes of an Artist (Dubai: Motivate Publishing, 2006). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 145.00.

Dr. Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Emirates through the Eyes of an Artist.