A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Chilean writer, Isabel Allende is so right. A Thousand Splendid Suns is ‘unforgettable’.

This book is unforgettable because it draws back the veil on the changing face of Afghanistan, through war, drought, hunger, anarchy and oppression from numerous external and internal regimes. It views the country through the burqas and grilled veils (chadri) of Afghani women—the experience of polygamy, the centrality of Islam, the role of warlords and the Mujahideen.

The writing is sprinkled with Arabic, Pashtun, Farsi and Russian phrases, uttered in a variety of accents, which symbolize the influence of numerous cultures and conquest. Conditions are tough for so long and the enemies are relentless. Although, as Babi said to Laila, “Laila, my love, the only enemy an Afghan cannot defeat is himself.” (p122) One gets many glimpses of everyday life in Afghanistan, through the seasonal and religious cycles of the year and over the long time span that this story covers. There are fascinating cameos of weddings and funerals with insights into arranged and coerced marriages and the burials of the outcast.

This number one bestseller is unforgettable because it is about displacement and the plight of fleeing one’s country as a refugee. This crisis is personalized in the character of Tariq who, like eight million Afghanis, abandons his family to settle in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. The theme is extended in the attempt of Mariam and Laila to escape but they are apprehended at the railway station (like hundreds of women) and are taken to prison cells where they are violently punished.

The author, Khaled Hosseini, is now a US envoy for the UNHCR and is deeply involved in the plight of refugees throughout the world. This book may well be his greatest contribution, as he tells the story of exile and the pull of home. It is helpful that this book has a free reading guide (downloadable) to assist people in discussing and understanding the refugee situation more fully.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is unforgettable because it tells the harrowing story of childlessness and stillbirth in a culture where bearing children is a religious and cultural duty and failure to produce is a social death sentence. The book movingly tracks the rollercoaster ride of expecting children and dashed hopes and the powerful emotions that this condition evokes.

The childlessness experienced by Mariam represents only the tip of the problem of how many Afghani women have been treated. The book tells of violence done by men to their wives and the unwillingness of others to intervene because this is ‘the business of the husband’. Repeatedly the longing for male babies is sounded and the disappointment expressed when a pregnancy produces a girl (usually called ‘the baby’ or ‘that thing’). One learns how women are forced into marriage from as early as fifteen years of age, sometimes with old men who desire another younger wife when they are bored with their older model. Very discretely, Hosseini writes about the dynamics of sex and he delicately exposes the violence, the functionality and the one-sidedness of the act. Afghanistan appears as a country where women have little chance to decide the course of their lives.

The book is unforgettable because it centers on the shame of illegitimacy—Mariam being born a harami and becoming to her father, his legitimate wives and the community a mugwort or a weed. This condition, added to her other handicaps, means that Mariam becomes a refugee in her own clan and community. When she is turned away from her father’s home she ponders the issues of home and family and expresses her aloneness: “She did not belong here. But where do I belong? What am I going to do now?” (p38)

This volume is unforgettable because it is beautifully written. The episodes are relayed in a gripping fashion. The author is the master of suspense. Chapters often end with a dilemma or an unanswered question that urges the reader to turn the page. One senses that something momentous has or is happening but Hosseini holds back information and skillfully delays disclosure so one is searching for the resolution or the confirmation to one’s hunches.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is unforgettable because it is magnificently poetic. The poetry commences with the title of the book, which is a phrase taken from a poem composed in the seventeenth century by the Persian poet Saib-e-Tabrizi:

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.” (p172)

The poetic descriptions continue through the book and are best illustrated by the description of Ramadan and the way it transforms Kabul or the final thoughts in the life of one of the main characters in the story. (pp 71, 329)

This book is unforgettable because it focuses on the dark side of religion. When Afghanistan comes under the control of the fundamentalist Taliban, the fun goes out of life, cultural icons (such as the pre-Islamic Buddhas of Bamyan statues) are destroyed and religion is transmitted by rocket mortars and upheld by irrational and brutal acts of violence. A comprehensive example of the way religion can sap the life out of a culture is expressed in the rules issued in a Taliban flyer and tossed onto the Kabul streets.

This book is unforgettable because it concerns the human condition—the events and stages of birth, marriage, childlessness, suicide, death and remarriage. The hurdles are relentless but the indomitable quality of the human spirit is expressed well by Laila when she responds to the painful story of a taxi driver:

“I’m sorry,” Laila says, marveling at how every Afghan story is marked by death and loss and unimaginable grief. And yet, she sees, people find a way to survive, to go on. Laila thinks of her own life and all that has happened to her, and she is astonished that she too has survived, that she is alive and sitting in this taxi listening to this man’s story.” (p350)

Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns (Great Britain: Bloomsbury, 2007).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 66.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of A Thousand Splendid Suns; Khaled Hosseini.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

This book represents the best from Barbara Kingsolver’s scribblings about the woes and wonders of her ‘year of seasonal eating’ in the southern Appalachians. It records her sense of being ‘called home’ from Arizona to fulfill her desire “to live in a place that would feed us.”

This book is a family affair with Barbara supplying the main text, her husband Steven Hopp providing tips within the sidebars and Barbara’s daughter Camille sharing reflections on her childhood and this experiment, plus lots of yummy recipes.

The ground rules for developing this ‘leaves of grass’ culture were simple to state but onerous to practice:

* Make every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we knew
* Try and wring petrol out of the food chain, even if that meant giving up things
* Shop for food so close to home that we’d know the person who grew the produce (often that was us!)

The book does not feel like Cistercian austerity and self-denial as they decided to treat themselves to one luxury item (in limited quantities) each time they went shopping e.g. coffee, dried fruit, hot chocolate). The mood of the book is serious but light, spiced with literary references, dashes of humor, snatches of conversations from the Kingsolver farmhouse and garnished with drawings that rightly ‘make the book smile’.

It is not intended as a ‘how-to’ tome but it is has the feel of a text book with the sidebars crammed with resources and web links, the pages of recipes pointing to the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle web site and the extensive bibliography and lists of organizations at the end. The book is instructive, ranging from the history of asparagus, the lost art of turkey sex, the tending of fruit trees, the finding of economic substitutes for tobacco growing in the south through to the issues of vegetarianism.

The style is inspirational with Kingsolver becoming the new Billy Graham of growing tasty vegetables, sharing the gastronomical gospel of home style cooking and declaring to her readers “what it is that makes for the hallelujah of a July garden.”

The book bursts with passion. One conviction shared with strength is the ignorance that most people have about vegetable life and the origins and processes by which food arrives on supermarket shelves and in food packets. This book makes a case for children to learn agriculture at school. Kingsolver recognizes the weak food culture of America that consists of not much more than burgers on 4 July, turkeys at Thanksgiving and smashing pumpkins at Halloween. This is slight when compared with the strong food cultures of Italy and France. She asks her American readers, “Will we ever develop a food culture of our own?” In addition to advocating ‘la vida loca’, the authors promote the reading of food labels, the slow food movement, restoring the kitchen to the center of the home and the spin offs such as the experience of neighborliness.

Writing about local food during this ‘Home on the Prairie’ experiment does suggest rightly that Animal, Vegetable, Miracle must have a local focus. This is one of the challenges for readers living in a New York apartment or international readers living in the dry conditions surrounding Dubai. The book has the flavor of the American south and this agricultural log cycles through the months and the seasons of the northern hemisphere. However, the message and implications are evident for all and the chapters on the customs of growing and cooking in European countries do add some international substance.

Will readers experience conviction of agricultural ignorance and epicurean transgressions and respond to the Kingsolver appeal? It might be a cop out for the hardened city slicker to protest, saying this experiment might be attractive and practical if they had a 200 acre farm and a healthy bank balance. The authors seek to distill the implications of their year for people living in suburbia and they head off such excuses by contending that “the main barrier standing between ourselves and a local-food culture is not price but attitude. The most difficult requirements are patience and a pinch of restraint—virtues that are hardly the property of the wealthy.” (p30)

Related to patience is the important commodity of time. Kingsolver reveals that an enormous amount of time went into the planning of this experiment as well as the daily chores. Former pastimes were left behind and the nature of entertainment changed. Now that the book is written and the one year, farm sabbatical is over, will this lifestyle continue in the form that the book has described? Is this to be the permanent lifestyle and if not what adjustments might be made? It will be intriguing to see how far into senior adulthood such a demanding lifestyle can be endured or is this physical lifestyle the secret of longevity, health and fulfillment?

It is tantalizing to ask, “How would the Kingsolvers grow, cook and eat differently now, if they were to return to suburban life in the desert of Arizona?

How has and how will this agricultural experiment affect the literary career of Barbara Kingsolver? It has obviously produced this journal but will it enrich her novel writing? Or will the investment of time in planting zucchini, peeling spuds, making cheese and knitting jumpers mean that the much desired Kingsolver novels wither on the vine?

Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L Hopp & Camille Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year of Seasonal Eating (London: Faber & Faber, 2007).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 91.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; Barbara, Steven, Camille and Lily.

Jon Stewart & Clinton Talk about Bill’s New Book, ‘Giving’

Jon Stewart of ‘The Daily Show’ (30 September, 2007), in introducing Bill Clinton’s new book, ‘Giving’, quipped that the question that plagued him as he read it was, “What’s in this for me?” Stewart got serious for a second saying ‘Giving’ was not cautious (in contrast to the style of many politicians), the book “feels completely free” and “it seemed as if you, as writer and giver, are allowing yourself to pursue [the work of giving] completely unfettered.”

The former President agreed and stated the point of his new book:
“I have included so many examples in this book because no matter whether you are old, young or in-between, rich, poor or in-between, possessing lots of time, time poor or in-between, there is something that we all can give.” In this statement, that echoes Martin Luther King Jnr—“Everybody can be great… because every body can serve”, Bill Clinton identified his boundless audience. He is happy about politicians, business tycoons and celebrities giving big bucks (and he includes many examples) but Clinton is more concerned to motivate ordinary readers (especially young people) to give what they can and cultivate a joyous habit of giving.

The scores of examples straddle the classes, the continents, the colours and the creeds (even the creedless). The all-inclusive nature of this book is one of its distinctive features. The mood and vision is captured in his peroration when he declares that “so much of modern culture is characterized by stories of self-indulgence and self-destruction. The media is dominated by reports about demeaning others, defining others by their worst moments and exploiting their agonies.” Clinton then asks, “Who’s the happier? The uniters or the dividers? The builders or the breakers? The givers or the takers? I think you know the answer. There’s a whole world out there that needs you, down the street or across the ocean. Give.” (p211)

‘Giving’ is an inspirational book because Clinton wants his audience to act upon his message by considering the innovative ways that they can give, searching the lists of resources and joining groups that are making a difference.

The book explicitly and implicitly identifies some important motivators including:
* The justice issue in redistributing the wealth in opportunities, investments and effective organization
* The humanity issue is which our commonality is more important than our interesting differences
* The action issue in which every person can make a difference
* The quality of life issue which leads to giving people a better chance

In addition to examples and motivators Clinton writes of the remarkable features of this current age that have sparked “an explosion of citizen service giving.” Furthermore, in opening up his subject he addresses not only the giving of money but the giving of time (full time to one hour a week), the giving of things (medical supplies for Indonesia and bicycles for Sri Lanka), the giving of skills (“education is the ultimate skills gift”), the gift of reconciliation and new beginnings, the gifts that keep on giving (like Heifer International which gives cows and goats that breed new ‘gifts’), the gift of a model of giving that others can copy or adapt (“Why reinvent the wheel?”), the organization of markets for the common good (e.g. Starbucks not only makes coffee but makes a difference in Aceh and Rwanda) and the gift of a good idea.

‘Giving’ in many ways is a human book about Bill and Hillary, their projects and contributions as well as some of the mistakes they have made along the way.

This readable book is a ‘must read’, especially by members of religions, community groups, schools, aid organizations and governments. In businesses and profit organizations this book should be required reading for professional development and team building and board room planning.

‘Giving’ will stimulate creativity and focus attention without inducing guilt, on the further contribution that individuals, groups and nations might make. This book will have served its purpose well if readers ask, “How best can we give and do our part for the good of others and for all life on this planet?”

Bill Clinton, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World (London: Hutchinson, 2007).

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

Reference is made in this book review to ‘The Daily Show’, Comedy Central, CNN International, 30 September 2007.

Geoff Pound

Image: Jon Stewart and Bill Clinton; front cover of Giving.

‘Three Cups of Tea’ by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin.

Mountaineer, Greg Mortensen, entered a poor, remote Pakistani village in 1993 after a failed attempt to climb K2. In his weakened state he was overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people and as a parting shot he promised to return and build them a school.

Three Cups of Tea is written by David Oliver Relin and it is the account of Mortensen’s work, not only in fulfilling this promise but in growing an organization that is committed to building schools as a way of promoting peace.

By the end of the book many schools have been built but this is not the end of the story. The vision that Mortensen shares with his readers is “that we all will dedicate the next decade to achieve universal literacy and education for all children, especially for girls.” (p333) This is a mammoth task realizing that more than 145 million of the world’s children are deprived of education due to poverty, exploitation, slavery, gender discrimination, religious extremism, and corrupt governments.

Mortensen discovers that building schools among the Pakistani and Afghani people is a higher mountain that he has ever tackled and a project that demands the same courage, teamwork and endurance that are needed in scaling the world's higest mountains. At certain low points Mortensen wants to quit but the book provides the secret as to how Mortensen stayed motivated.

Greg Mortensen is portrayed as having a ‘remarkable lack of ego’ and, as an introvert, he has to push himself to front up to meetings and the media. Author, David Oliver Relin is admiring but he paints a picture of his subject ‘warts and all’. Oliver says that after agreeing to write the book Mortensen handed him a paper with a list of names and contact details of Mortensen’s ‘enemies' with the encouragement to talk to them all. Mortensen is a mountaineer and a nurse but his pathway is steep as he is challenged by lessons in culture, building schools, learning languages, navigating his way through Islamic law, getting kidnapped and dealing with fatwas that are placed upon him because he is providing education for girls.

As Mortensen’s vision becomes a reality and the work of one man grows into a movement, there are areas where he either does not have the gifts to be Director of the Central Asia Institute or he is reluctant to appoint staff and delegate responsibilities to other people. In the process Mortensen does not care adequately for himself or his family, and the people in his organization are often left stranded and longing for better communication from their leader. Three Cups of Tea is therefore a good case study for those involved in commencing and growing a development project. It focuses, through the telling of the story, on issues of contextualization, empowerment, fund raising, the relationship between the visionary and the organization and the challenge of a passionate person seeking to live a balanced life with care for himself, his family and his team.

The book oozes passion for the project and love for the people who are the recipients of the schools. It includes the story of relationships that Mortensen struck up with women and the exciting romance of how he met his wife, Tara.

Mortensen’s immersion in the culture of the people is revealed on every page. He wears a shalwar kamiz and learns words from several of the languages used in this area of Pakistan. The pages of the book exude the smells of yak dung, smoke, butter tea, chewing tobacco and chapattis. He appears to read the culture well and observe the customs but at one point a wise man from Baltistan invites Mortensen to his place for a deep conversation:

“‘Sit down. And shut your mouth,’ Haji Ali said, ‘You’re making everyone crazy…’

“When the porcelain bowls of scalding butter tea steamed in their hands, Haji Ali spoke. ‘If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways,’ Haji Ali said, blowing in his bowl.

‘The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die,’ he said, laying his hand warmly on Mortensen’s arm. 'Doctor Greg, you must take time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.’

‘That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I’ve ever learned in my life,’ Mortensen says …. ‘Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them.’” (p150)

This story is inspirational and the book is generally well written. However, it suffers from being too long and in need of editing. Reading the book is like listening to a riveting speaker who goes on too long and doesn’t know when and how to stop.

Three Cups of Tea comes with delightful photos, a helpful index and pointers to where more information can be obtained.

Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin, Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time (New York: Penguin Books, 2006).

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

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Three Cups of Tea; Greg Mortensen with Pakistani students.

Reviewing ‘Encore Provence’ by Peter Mayle

How’s this for an introduction?

“I think it was the sight of a man power-washing his underpants that really brought home the differences, cultural and otherwise, between the old world and the new.” (p1)

This is the captivating style of self-confessed ‘permanent tourist’, Peter Mayle, who has made Provence, the focus of much of his writing. Encore Provence is the third in the trilogy, following the popular A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence.

Encore Provence marks Mayle’s return to the south of France after some years in America which was in large part a place to get away from the fans that had streamed to his house in Ménerbes.

Mayle has an uncanny knack of finding humour and meaning in such ordinary things as corkscrews, extra virgin olive oil or a summer afternoon. It is this combination of subject and style that is quintessentially French. As Mayle says:

“To hear a good Provençal storyteller is to hear a performance given by a master of the art of verbal embroidery, a prince of the pregnant pause, the shocked expression and the belly laugh. Drama is extracted from the most mundane occasions—a trip to the garage, the gutting of a chicken, the discovery of a wasps’ nest under the roof. Coming from the right person, these small moments can take a dramatic significance more suited to the Comédie Française than a village bar, and I always find them fascinating.” (p21)

There is a grand convivialité about Peter Mayle. His writing has a joie de vivre and the merriment of a five course meal (with a triple-strength chocolat in a puddle of crème anglais), washed down with several glasses of French wine and the scent of a cigar.

Encore Provence is never a ramble as it bears unostentatiously thorough research and the fruit of Mayle’s conversations with the citizens of Provence. This life experience is what makes Mayle’s books quite different from tourist guide books put together by writers who have breezed in and noted the ‘must sees’. For Mayle and for the French, “the tourist is just a dollop of jam. Welcome but not essential.” (p11)

This book of fourteen, stand-alone essays is entertaining but educational as Mayle writes about fois gras, boules, the ‘orchestra of speech’, the speed of drivers, open-air pissing, the flirtatious habits of French butchers and the ‘recipe’ for a perfect French village. Mayle says, “If I had to choose a single example of what I missed most while in America, it would be a country market.” (p11) Of special interest are the chapters on ‘How to be a nose’ among the perfumes of Provence, a ‘Beginner’s Guide to Marseilles’, the idiosyncrasies of French real estate agents and the do’s and don’ts when you are looking to buy property in Provence.

Voilà.

Peter Mayle, Encore Provence (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1999)

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Encore Provence; Peter Mayle.

Reviewing ‘A Certain Age’ by Lynne Truss

This book is a collection of twelve monologues that were presented by actors in two series on BBC Radio Four in 2002 (female voices) and 2005 (male voices). They are written by Lynne Truss, former British journalist and currently a fiction and non-fiction author. She is best known internationally for her best seller, Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

These monologues (‘what a turn-off word it is,’ says Truss) come with brief introductory comments and notes to help the readers visualize the setting and sense the mood. They are stand alone pieces but the title, A Certain Age, provides an overarching theme within which the speakers address a range of life situations, encompassing such things as love, romance, friendship and family.

The monological style (does that word turn you on?) is superb for revealing deep secrets, as it stimulates the streams of consciousness in thoughts that are confessional and sometimes naïve.

Truss is witty, clever, earthy and humorous with her stage directions as well as her scripts. In a hilarious monologue by a newspaper photographer who has to take pictures of two mediums for articles on their craft, the women are bombarded with other-worldly revelations for this man that come to them “like psychic spam!” (p40) Another character is addicted to massage and skin treatments and is said to be “dabbling in colonic irrigation.” (p54)

The author’s passion for vivid words and proper punctuation is written into several of the scripts. One speaker is brought to a standstill by a split infinitive while another savors the sounds of the word ‘embezzlement’. In the monologue entitled, The Wife, the author captures the character’s self-doubts and anxieties with Henny prattling on in long, tension-filled sentences without taking time for a breath.

A Certain Age is a barrel of laughs but it also presents many perceptive insights. In the monologue entitled, The Father, Truss introduces John as a widower who ‘thinks he is dynamic but he is not’. As he thumbs through his vinyl records with all their memories, he ponders the way young people have all their music on memory sticks (‘like chewing gum’) or on iPods the size of cigarette packets. John expresses his disgust with these new-fangled devices in which so much music is squashed together “like musical spermatozoa.” (p63) The widower also expresses his views on the inappropriateness of people’s support when he says, “Everyone’s an expert on me and David, see; everyone’s our unofficial counselor; that’s what happens when you’re bereaved.” (p70)

Lynne Truss, A Certain Age (London: Profile Books, 2007). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 91.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of A Certain Age; Lynne Truss.

Reviewing ‘Understanding Islamic Banking’ by Joseph A. DiVanna

The popular book, 1000 Numbers & Reasons Why Dubai, prophesied regarding the UAE, “that in the next 3-5 years there is an expected establishment of new fully-fledged Islamic banks and companies, a whole scale conversion of some conventional banks into Islamic ones as well as Islamic product offerings by many conventional banks.” (p97) The book forecasted that the growth rate of Islamic banks in the United Arab Emirates is estimated at 11%.

Because 1000 Numbers and a myriad of articles have not explained what Islamic banks and products are, the recently published, Understanding Islamic Banking, by Joseph A. DiVanna, is most welcome. This may well be the definitive guide to the subject. DiVanna is a banking strategist, a business author, a global speaker and a management consultant. He is not a Muslim but he is respectful of the Muslim faith. His stance as an interested outsider may be an advantage as he seeks to clarify a complicated issue and address the questions that Muslims and non-Muslim customers are asking about Islamic finance.

The author has undertaken an extensive amount of reading as he writes about the history of Islamic banking and sets forth his explanations from religious books and legal interpretations. When asked, “What is the best way to understand Islamic society and specifically, Islamic banking?” DiVanna replies, “read the Holy Qur’an.” (pxiii) He is probably too humble to add, “And read my book!”

DiVanna shows how Islamic banking is shaped by the ethos and values of Islam in such ways as these:
* It is interest free (he also shows how Christianity promoted this policy in medieval times)
* It is multipurpose and not purely commercial
* It is strongly equity-related
* Banking transactions and investments must comply with Sharai law
* It is risk sharing
* It must have a sense of service to the greater community.

One of the complexities relating to Sharia law is that this is interpreted in different ways, by different scholars in different countries, thus creating different rulings about what banking activities and products are halal and what are haram. DiVanna asserts that an Islamic bank or financial institution may be defined as one that is supervised by a Sharia board. (p5)

In addition to his clear explanations, the author provides helpful diagrams and charts that illustrate the different flow of finance and the stages it traverses between conventional banking and Islamic banking.

The book indicates that Islamic banking is functioning in some capacity in over 75 countries and one of the sections deals with global banking and how Muslims are working together. This chapter surveys the diversity across the global spectrum, presents some innovative Islamic banking systems and offers some growth in international benchmarking, to do with such things as mortgages and credit cards. DiVanna points to a myriad of books and Internet resources such as Islam’s online fatwa rulings of what is acceptable Islamic banking practice.

In one of the final chapters that looks to the future of this growth industry, DiVanna states that “Islamic banking is at a crossroad: banks must provide services to Muslims globally while simultaneously interfacing the conventional economics activity between nations.” (p123) More than simply making this assertion, DiVanna draws up an agenda which identifies the major tasks that banks and financial institutions must address.

This book is thorough without assuming a high knowledge about banking practices or terminology. It has a host of footnotes, a glossary and a bulging bibliography.

Understanding Islamic Banking should be required reading for those considering establishing a business in Islamic countries, for anyone who has put money into an Islamic bank and anyone who wants to get that money out and seek the bank’s help in undertaking a major purchase.

Joseph A. DiVanna, Understanding Islamic Banking: The Value Proposition that Transcends Cultures (Cambridge, U.K.: Leonardo and Francis Press, 2006) This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 140.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Understanding Islamic Banking; author Joseph A DiVanna.

Reviewing ‘A Year in Green Tea and Tuk-Tuks’ by Rory Spowers

Why would you give up your job as a BBC journalist and go with your wife and young kids to Sri Lanka to establish a tea garden? The answer forms the focus of this book. English born ecological writer and researcher, Rory Spowers had an itch to live a more ecologically sustainable lifestyle and he explains how this aspiration was nurtured and how his green gifts were honed to the point that he could oversee a building development, set out gardens and orchards, implement appropriate irrigation systems and install solar energy panels.

The book begins grippingly with celebrations on Christmas Day 2004 when Rory says to Yvette, “moving to Sri Lanka has been the best decision that we have ever made.” Only a few hours later the Asian Tsunami surges like a vast wall, devastating the country, killing 217,000 people and leaving five million people homeless. A Year in Green Tea and Tuk-Tuks is an interesting read because it lifts the veil on life in Sri Lanka and it offers an eye-witness account of the massive work of reconstruction.

This book is the diary of a risk-taking family and, like good journals it gives an honest account not only of things done but of reactions, deep feelings and the rollercoaster of emotions.

The volume throbs with ecological and almost evangelical fervor as Spowers spreads a message that is as green as its cover. Instead of pontificating about what is wrong with the high human use and wastage of earth’s resources, Rory and his family roll up their sleeves, inspired by the words of Buckminister Fuller who said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” (p31)

The mood of the book is a hopeful one, not only hope for the local project but hope for the planet. Rory is down-to-earth, realistic and confessional—someone who tells it warts and all. It is too early to say whether the Spower’s project, ‘Samakanda’ (meaning ‘Peaceful Hill’), is a success story, as the Sri Lankan environment is vulnerable as well as beautiful and buying property, establishing buildings and doing business in this country is as tricky and as demoralizing as facing the spin bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan.

Like making tea, this book needed to have more time to draw. The diary approach helps the author to be frank but it makes the book overly detailed, thus clouding the bigger issues. Sometimes the chronological entry style does not work as the writer flits back in time or wants to say things that relate to another period.

Structurally, the book is a hotchpotch. At the three quarter mark the diary ends with an afterword and then the book putters along like a Tuk-Tuk as the author gives twelve essays on basic environmentalism or what Spowers calls ‘bio-versity’. These essays are succinct and thus the book acquires potential as an environmental primer.

With the glossary, index and pointers to web site resources, all that is needed is for the author to give his pages a serious pruning, add some group discussion questions and A Year in Green Tea and Tuk-Tuks could become a valuable book for people wanting to make a difference in their small corner.

Rory Spowers, A Year in Green Tea and Tuk-Tuks, (St. Ives, Great Britain: HarperElement, 2007). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 56.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of A Year in Green Tea and Tuk-Tuks.

Reviewing ‘The Blessings of Ramadan’ by Javed Ali

This beautifully presented book is written primarily for children and young people of the Islamic faith but it serves as a simple and clear resource book for anyone wanting to learn about Ramadan.

English-based author, Javed Ali, has developed this short book (56 pages) from a series of talks he has given to Muslim young people during the holy month. It is written in English but Arabic expressions are aplenty as well as the inclusion of a comprehensive glossary and references.

It would be easy for the uninitiated to think that Ramadan is a hard deal having to go without food, drink and sex for the daylight hours over an entire month but the book’s title indicates the positive blessings that come from Ramadan. These blessings for one who follows the Ramadan traditions include the development and purification of character, ‘getting into training’ for the new year, growing in God-consciousness, coming to a better appreciation and involvement with the needs of the poor, developing a shield of protection against evil, developing one’s self-control and the communal blessings of community building, reconciliation and peace.

In a nutshell Ali says, “The essence of the month is to become a better person, who remains conscious of God throughout his or her life.” (p4)

Ali offers this book as a primer as he explains such things as the timing of Ramadan according to the lunar ‘clock of nature’, the reasons for fasting, the exceptional cases (elderly, manual laborers, the sick, children, travelers and expectant mothers), the pre-dawn meals, the breaking of the fast at Iftar, special night prayers, the ‘Night of Power’, the giving of alms (zakat) and the final festival (Id-Ul-Fitr). The author is swift to recognize that Ramadan inculcates a sense of solidarity with all Muslims but it has flexibility and diversity as it is practiced in different ways in different countries around the world.

The style of the book is straightforward, thoughtful and prophetic. He probes beyond the customs to reflect on their intended meanings. Ali recognizes that many Muslims seem to gain weight through this month of fasting and he challenges the extravagant overeating of special foods and the endless partying which flies in the face of the whole principle of fasting.

Ramadan celebrates the special month in which the prophet is said to have received his revelation so there is in this month a focus on Quranic readings. Instead of having a month where one can ‘pay your religious dues’ the author emphasizes how this month is a springboard that sets you up for the practice of these disciplines, including voluntary fasts right throughout the year. In no way does the author encourage or endorse a ‘Frequent Flyer’ approach to Ramadan, in which a diligent practice for one month can build up points and credit to let you off the religious hook for eleven months of riotous living.

A distinction is made between practices that are mandatory and those that are voluntary. One of the areas that some will find difficulty in accepting is the concept of doing religious duties or works to atone for one’s sins. For instance, the Prophet Mohammed said, “One who spends the Night of Power [the night when the revelation of the Quran is said to have come] in worship with faith and hoping for its rewards, will have all of one’s previous wrong actions forgiven.” (quoted on p45) The book and the volume that it quotes raise tantalizing questions about the nature of God. To what extent does one need to show works of goodness and generosity to be ‘saved’? How much does one have to do for the forgiveness of sins? Can one be sure he or she has won the favour and acceptance of God? How much does the prophet reveal at the first Ramadan a God of grace?

The blessing of giving zakah (alms) finds its echo in other religions, as does the right of God to a person’s wealth. What is distinctive, as hinted by Ali, is that “once the Zakah is given, the remaining wealth of the person becomes pure and legitimate.” (p47)

Javed Ali describes the celebratory culmination of Ramadan at Id, in which the coming together over meals is a time for forgiveness, reconciliation and building community. The invitation to those who are not Muslims to join in the festivities is a beautiful symbol of reaching out in peace, a commitment to unity and tolerance to those who hold differing views.

Javed Ali, The Blessings of Ramadan (New Delhi: Goodword, 2002; reprinted 2005) is available in the United Arab Emirates from Magrudy’s bookshops at a cost of Dh14.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Blessings of Ramadan.

Reviewing 'Everyman' by Philip Roth

This book is as dark as its cover. Philip Roth, the Pulitzer Prize winning author commences the story with family members and friends grieving around the coffin of the central character, before reverting to an account of the man’s reflections on his life leading up to that grave moment.

The former advertising executive and skilful painter is also a well known philanderer, who turned from a picture of health to someone who was inexplicably losing his health and his joie de vivre. ‘Everyman’ is a bleak account of this man’s retirement in which “eluding death seemed to have been the central business of his life and bodily decay his entire story.” (p71) The book is about the battle of old age but, as this character reflects on the suffering of the people he had known, their painful regrets, their loss, fear, pain, isolation and dread, he thinks that “old age is a massacre.” (p156)

It may seem that Philip Roth, this experienced American writer, is painting an overly dark picture of old age, however, the older brother is depicted as a senior adult who is healthy, profitably engaged in business and regularly traveling the world with wife. While Howie represents those who are enjoying old age, his very healthiness and purposefulness, instills within his weaker brother an envy which “robs the envier of his serenity and, worse, his realism.” (p101)

This books confronts readers with questions about their future, about death, about what lies beyond, while Roth presents his picture of ‘nothingness’, ‘not being’ or ‘endless nothing’. (p164) In a frank, simple and natural style Roth discusses the injustice of death, its unnaturalness but also the positive way it contributes to life a great intensity. The themes of life and death, losing and leaving possess a force of their own and Roth’s straightforward narration, brings readers into the inner sanctum of the man’s thoughts and feelings. The title of the book underscores the truth that while Roth is telling one man’s story, he is also presenting the universal story of our lives.

Philip Roth, Everyman (London: Jonathan Cape, 2006). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 35.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of Everyman.

Reviewing ‘Gardening in the Middle East’, by Eric Moore

Gardens in the Middle East sound like an oxymoron, when one thinks of the searing heat, dehydrating winds and arid desert sands. But, such is the demand for this book that Gardening in the Middle East has gone into a new and revised edition.

Author Eric Moore, reminds his readers of the central place that gardens have historically occupied in Middle Eastern life and his mention of the Garden of Eden and the way that the three Abrahamic religions have all adopted the fertile garden as an image of prosperity, peace and paradise, augurs well for someone desiring green fingers on the Arabian Peninsula.

Eric Moore is a horticulturalist with extensive experience in gardening and landscaping in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Egypt and Jordan. His style is simple, clear, practical and thorough, without getting his readers lost in the undergrowth. He presumes no existing garden knowledge on behalf of his readers and he has a gift of instilling confidence as well as imparting useful information.

While written as a guide to gardening in the entire Middle Eastern region, Moore is swift to recognize the different climatic sub-regions and he differentiates these seven areas according to temperature, humidity, wind and rainfall. He keeps all these factors in mind when dealing with these four sections of the book:
1. What sort of garden do I want?
2. What plants are best suited to such a garden?
3. What climatic and soil conditions do I have to contend with?
4. How do I grow such plants in such conditions?

In the first part that describes the various garden types, there is an interesting feature on the designs of Islamic gardens and the different purposes for which Muslims develop and use their gardens.

This section also covers basic gardens, including the herb garden, even if this consists of a few pots on the patio. Moore lists the herbs that can best be grown in the Middle East and in what landscape situation.

Moore says, “Another book could be written describing how to grow vegetables in the Middle East—but that is another book.” It is hoped that Moore might fulfill this task. However, in the meantime, he lists an extensive range of vegetables that can be grown in this region, distinguishing between cool season and warm weather varieties. Food-producing trees are also described.

With clear, vivid pictures and easy to read tables Moore helps gardeners to choose the right plant, shrub or tree according to climatic zone, height, spread, flowering and ‘cleanliness’ (the amount of rubbish it drops). Names are given in English, Arabic where possible and the Latin botanical name. Realizing that much of the hands-on gardening is done by Pakistanis in the Middle East, a future edition might supply names also in Urdu.

The author challenges readers to think carefully about the selection of plants e.g. Is this tree to provide shade or to stand as a windbreak? Is my need in this place for ground cover, a creeper for a trellis, am I wanting a splash of colour for this corner, a fragrance that will please my nostrils when I am sitting on the patio at dusk or am I simply wanting something that will be low-maintenance and high endurance?

In the section devoted to explaining how to grow plants, special attention is given to distinctive Middle Eastern features that include the challenge of using indigenous soil, ascertaining the frequency of irrigation without over watering and the type of fertilizers needed by plants to provide extra nutrients. Without condescension, Moore provides reminders about the basics of propagating, planting, pruning and garden maintenance.

The book concludes with a plant encyclopedia that is primarily devoted to describing the plants commonly in use in Middle Eastern gardens and in landscaping. The pictures and information on the expected growth of these plants make this book a valuable resource for the seasoned gardener as well as for the novice. It is heartening to learn that there are nearly 350 plants of every type that can be successfully grown in the Middle East.

Eric Moore, Gardening in the Middle East (London: Stacey International, 2nd edit. 2005, first published 1986). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 175.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of Gardening in the Middle East.

Reviewing ‘The Pilgrimage’ by Paulo Coelho

With the increasing interest in walking the Road to Santiago, stimulated by articles, associations and advertisements for joining a tour, it is valuable to read Paulo Coelho’s international bestseller, The Pilgrimage, and discover what this walk meant to the popular Brazilian novelist.

Coelho commences by putting the recent popularity of the Road to Santiago into its historical and religious context, setting it alongside the other major Christian pilgrimages (to Jerusalem and Rome) and comparing it to the Muslim tradition that requires members of Islam to make the Hajj to Mecca. There is something that bolsters one’s faith and offers an experience of ‘the communion of the saints’ when people walk the same road. In his confessional style Coelho admits, “The pilgrimage along the Road to Santiago was going to help me find myself.” (p15) The book offers a journal of the soul, recording with honesty the author’s anxiety about leaving his business concerns, his apprehension when commencing the journey from France, the unforgettable sensations of his first night and many other occasions when he wept for joy and wonder.

For most of the way Coelho is accompanied by a guide who often utters words that are simple yet profound. Early after their initial meeting Petrus describes why travel can be so transformational:

“When you travel, you experience, in a very practical way, the act of rebirth. You confront completely new situations, the day passes more slowly, and on most journeys you don’t even understand the language the people speak. So you are like a child just out of the womb. You begin to be more accessible to others because they may be able to help you in difficult situations. And you accept any small favor from the gods with great delight, as if it were an episode you would remember for the rest of your life. At the same time, since all things are new, you see only the beauty in them, and you feel happy to be alive. That’s why a religious pilgrimage has always been one of the most objective ways of achieving insight.” (p38)

Along the way the guide teaches Coelho the RAM exercises to do with promoting Rigor, Adoration and Mercy. The Seed Exercise, The Speed Exercise, The Water Exercise and the Blue Sphere Exercise are some of a large number of exercises that are described by the guide and the author gives a separate page insert on which is written the instructions for the reader. Implicit in this is the conviction that a pilgrimage is for ordinary people and the lessons one can learn on El Camino de Santiago are to be practiced anywhere and at any time in the pilgrimage of life. As Petrus says: “Everything that you have learned up to now makes sense only if is applied in real life. Don’t forget that I described the Road to Santiago to you as the road of the common person.” (p172)

While different religious groups practice and teach different things on the Road to Santiago, the order into which Coelho is ‘ordained’ into (the Order of RAM) and its spirituality is mysteriously esoteric and eclectic, as it includes secret meetings, saying passwords, discovering a monk who is a sorcerer and fighting a dog that personifies the devil. There are some deep insights and important lessons that Coelho conveys but they are distorted somewhat by the unusual brand of religiosity in which they are packaged.

The Pilgrimage includes a map of the major routes from France, across the Pyrenees and the towns on the way to Santiago de Compostela. There are many descriptions of a day’s journey and the sights that Coelho sees but one does not always get an idea of what it was like to walk, the heat, the cultural difficulties and the Spanish atmosphere. Perhaps this is intentional as the journey of the soul with his traveling companion is the most important journey that Coelho is making.

Coelho underscores the benefits of such a journey including the chance to forget about work, the lesson about how to face one’s fears, the importance of dreaming and the gaining of new perspectives. At the end of the book Coelho says, “I had changed a lot since I had begun to walk the strange Road to Santiago.” (p249)

Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage (London: HarperCollins Publishing, 2005, first published 1987). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 35.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of The Pilgrimage.

Reviewing ‘On-Road in the UAE’

On-Road in the UAE is another welcome literary addition to the books written in or about the United Arab Emirates. This book will be appreciated by both tourists and permanent residents. It goes beyond the suggestions offered by tourist brochures and when many signposts are missing or unclear, this book gives travelers practical advice and confidence to venture beyond the familiar, urban tourist spots.

Author Gareth Leggett, is a self-confessed traveler with wanderlust in his blood. His intention is to encourage people to discover the nooks and crannies of the UAE, to experience its natural wonders and to interpret the numerous archaeological signs that tell the story of the ancient inhabitants of this peninsula.

Leggett has written for the ordinary person who does not have a 4-wheel drive or a car that is equipped with GPS. The book describes 17 day trips through the UAE and into Oman (the parts where passports are not needed) with a host of side routes. The directions are simple and clear with line maps indicating the exact distance between crossroads, roundabouts and petrol stations. There are ratings for each route according to the quality of the road, the extent of shade, the availability of amenities, accessibility and the time that each trip takes. To cap it off the author has enthusiastically given his own overall ‘Leggett’ rating.

The book contains a detailed check list with safety warnings related to the unique aspects of traveling on UAE roads. Leggett warns of fast driving Emirati drivers, who treasure their cars like they prized their camels, the lack of indicating, the places where warm clothing is needed and, speaking of camels, the roads where camels and goats tend to wander. A future edition might well include information on how one negotiates roundabouts in the UAE, the way ‘Stop’ signs are commonly regarded as ‘Give Way’ (Yield) and what one does or what might happen to you if you involved in a car or camel accident.

The style of this book is simple and clear and it is small enough to keep in the glove box of your car. It contains lots of helpful information including phone numbers of consulates and embassies, the Arabic words needed to greet people or to ask for the police and the birdlife to look out for in different areas. As well as being a skilful writer, Leggett is an adept photographer, for this book is illustrated with many sensational pictures.

Gareth Leggett, On-Road in the UAE (London: Zodiac Publishing), 2005 is available in the United Arab Emirates from Magrudy’s bookshops at a cost of Dh65.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of On-Road in the UAE.

Reviewing ‘The Monk who sold his Ferrari’.

It pays to have a snazzy, succinct title although to be accurate, this book should be called, ‘The Hot-Shot Lawyer who sold his Ferrari and became a Monk’.

Author, Robin Sharma, is a lawyer who became a Leadership guru, a Life Coach and the CEO of the multi-million dollar leadership development firm, Sharma Leadership International.

Reading his books or seeing him on CNN, Sharma is an able communicator. This book is not a series of PowerPoint Presentations on coping with stress and finding life’s secrets. Instead, Sharma tells the captivating fable of the superstar lawyer who has a cardiac arrest in the court room which is the wakeup call to discover the things that are most important in life. Leaving the courts he treks the mountains to learn from monks who agree to impart their wisdom on the proviso that he shares these lessons with others on his return. The book is predominantly a twelve hour conversation between this Ferrari-less monk and Sharma. It is a good format for the book but in places the conversation becomes contrived.

Anyone who is working long hours, is having a struggle to keep to their diet and is sensing that their life is empty will find themselves in this story. Just as the lawyer had a values overhaul, this book strikes the note that life is short and that personal transformation is possible. Deviating from the traditional storytelling method Sharma has the monk sharing seven virtues (similar to Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven Habits’) each encapsulated in a symbol such as a garden or Sumo wrestler. Following the seven virtues readers are encouraged to do certain things for twenty days (the time needed to install new habits) which will address all of one’s life—body, mind, soul and spirit.

It is not entirely clear from the book whether Sharma is advocating that readers embrace the Buddhist religion but the monk expresses an eclectic range of truths with a coating of eastern mysticism. Sharma is a skilful popularizer of Buddhism and eastern philosophy who presents wisdom in non-religious ways.

Readers will resonate with the call to simplicity, the need to know yourself, to cherish life and to live in the now. Sharma writes about dealing with fear and how to sleep contentedly. In an age when plastic surgery is commonplace, this book advocates a transformation pathway that changes people from the inside out. Several weeks out of the courtroom and exercising in the mountains with a wise exposure to the sun and a vegetarian diet did wonders for the monk’s complexion and countenance.

Many sayings from David Suzuki to George Bernard Shaw are given that distill wisdom in a nutshell. Who can argue with this adage: “There is a huge difference between making a lot of money and making a lot of life.”

Readers will find this book to be inspirational, like its author. It is a self-improvement book with a veneer of spirituality that is individual (rather than communal) and non-institutional (rather than calling readers to sign up to a religious community). While The Monk who sold his Ferrari prescribes a holistic overhaul, the facet that is least addressed in this book is the development of one’s spiritual life. Whatever is mentioned is framed in ways that will help people to aspire, reach their dreams and discover their true passion in life. Unlike many self-help books which tend to encourage improvement for selfish gains such as success and happiness, Sharma writes about giving to others and how happiness springs from contributing to other people.

Robin S Sharma, The Monk who sold his Ferrari (London: Harper Element, 2004; first published, 1997), is available in the United Arab Emirates from Magrudy’s bookshops at a cost of Dh70.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover.

Reviewing ‘Falconry and Birds of Prey in the Gulf’

It is heartening that David Remple and Christian Gross have produced a home grown book on the falcon, one of the national icons of the UAE and the Arabian Gulf. This volume is a reprint and update of the book first published in 1993. Since the initial launch Falconry has gone through four reprints, such is its popularity among UAE residents, tourists, students doing projects and the growing number of serious falconers.

If one is looking for an activity that is quintessentially Emirati, observing or flying falcons in the Arabian desert is the sport. The book commences with an illuminating history of falconry written by Cheryl Remple that describes the development of the art from as early as the thirteenth century B.C. The book distinguishes between eastern and western features of the practice of falconry and despite the lack of written sources in the Gulf region it sets out the distinctive aspects in the Arabian region. Falcon terminology such as ‘quarry’ and ‘raptor’ are explained and throughout the English text the key Arabic terms are also included. It is interesting to note the Arabic feature in which falcons in the Gulf are kitted out with a burqa or hood.

Authors, American zoologist, vet and founder of the Dubai Falcon Hospital, David Remple and Swiss naturalist, Christian Gross have teamed up to offer a comprehensive but highly practical book. Readers will discover the reasons that motivate people in the activity of falconry and will learn how to capture, train and look after them. The varieties of falcons and other birds of prey are described in detail and illustrated in a host of colorful pictures. The book is furnished with several black and white photos of early and notable Arabic falconers, including the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

The final chapter sets forth the threats facing falcons and their owners today and sketches how the art might develop in the future. Such is the changing face of falconry that the book requires regular updating. While Falconry describes the recent innovation of attaching radio transmitters to the legs or tails of falcons to track them when they get lost it would be important to include in a future update a statement about the threat of bird flu and the 2005 UAE requirement that all falcons be issued with an individual passport. Additional information would be helpful on where prospective falconers might purchase their falcons (if they cannot trap them), the cost of these birds and details about falconer schools and clubs.

This book is an interesting read. It needs to be in every school library and it is a good idea for a souvenir and a gift from the Emirates.

David Remple and Christian Gross, Falconry and Birds of Prey in the Gulf, (Dubai: Motivate Publishing, 1993, reprinted 2007). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 75.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Peregrine falcon with burqa.

Reviewing ‘My Name is Salma’ by Fadia Faqir

This is the story of a young unmarried woman from the Levant who becomes pregnant and flees the mountains of the Middle East and the bullet of her brother who plans to kill her to save the family’s honour.

Her escape to Exeter in England traces the projected transformation of ‘Salma’ to ‘Sally’ as she encounters a quaint range of people, many of whom are experiencing different states and degrees of being marooned and exiled.

Written by Jordanian/British writer, Fadia Faqir, this novel incessantly darts from dream to reality, one period to another and from place to place in the space of a few lines. This becomes frustrating and confusing for the reader to follow, yet it symbolically displays the mental barometer of a person with no fixed abode and the crazy world of an asylum seeker who feels “released and imprisoned at the same time.”

My Name is Salma is about being black, Bedouin and Muslim amidst the racism and xenophobia of Britain and the feelings of exasperation and anger at “being so foreign.” One enters into Salma’s skin to experience the cultural differences when she attends a wedding and a funeral or does everyday things like drinking tea, going to the pub or using cutlery in a café. Very naturally, readers receive fascinating insights into the Arabic and Bedouin cultures in which Salma was raised.

This novel is about the experience of being a Muslim while living in a culture that is generally unsympathetic to head scarves and in a country where “religion is as weak as tea.” Salma questions her religion, adopts a ‘when in Rome’ approach but in the process of seeking acceptance, feels agonizing shame and crippling guilt.

This volume powerfully confronts readers with the practice of honour killing. One feels through these pages a measure of the terror and injustice endured by this Islamic woman who is judged to have “stained her family” in a way that may only be erased by her death. Fadia Faqir also gives a glimpse into the way this practice slowly sucked the life out of Salma’s separated family.

My Name is Salma is not only a book to read but a novel to inhale and savour. Chapter headings like ‘Sage Tea’, 'Lilac or Jasmine’ and ‘Butter, Honey and Coconuts’ are suggestive of the many ways that fragrances arouse, transport memories and are powerful in their capacity to summon.

This story is spiced with a humour that helpfully lightens the mood and relieves for a few moments the crushing pain of losing homeland, culture, language, freedom, identity, name, customs, family and most excruciatingly, the loss of a daughter.

This is a heavy story but a most important book to read.

Fadia Faqir, My Name is Salma, (London: Doubleday, 2007). This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 66.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of My Name is Salma.

Reviewing ‘The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma’ by Thant Myint-U

It is good to see a new book being written about a country that in recent decades has been shrouded in mystery and beset with violence. This is a serious and interesting book with ample footnotes, based largely upon the author’s academic research.

The River of Lost Footsteps is an unusual book as it is written by someone who has grown up outside Burma. The author, Thant Myint-U, is the grandson of former UN Secretary-General, U Thant and as a boy he grew up in New York with his parents and grandparents and later studied at Cambridge and Harvard. His research has been enriched by listening to stories of influential people like his grandfather and his colleagues.

The writer admits that the book is ‘roughly chronological’, commencing in the 1880s and spanning to the early years of the twenty-first century. ‘Roughly chronological’ is an apt term as the author jumps frustratingly from decade to decade. While dealing with events in the early twentieth century he will pitch in a reference from a modern Lonely Planet Guide or allude to a visit he made to Burma in 1997. Structurally, the book is a disconcerting hotch-potch. Because of the author’s family lineage and special circumstances, The River of Lost Footsteps is a hybrid of research, family history and anecdotes that Thant Myint-U collected on his short visits to Burma.

The book is written “with an eye to what the past might say about the present” and the author is critical of many in the democratic reform movement whose analysis of the contemporary situation in Burma and response has been “singularly ahistorical.” He warns that “we fail to consider history at our own peril.” Having established this point the author tells his comprehensive story of Burma but the book is lacking in critical analysis, interpretive commentary and argued lines that are drawn from the historical account to an appropriate response in the way of activism and international diplomacy.

Thant Myint-U issues a controversial call to end the policies of isolation and trade sanctions towards Burma but his recommendations are neither constructed nor argued out of the long historical account.

While the author writes about the ethnic fighting in Burma since the Second World War there is a surprising and disappointing lack of information about the various people groups and the historical reasons for their hatred of the Burmese. The history of the Karen, one of the largest minority groups, is dealt with in a couple of pages and the Chin people are described in a footnote. Without such information it is impossible to understand the civil war that has been raging for decades. The author has neglected the histories of the minority peoples in Burma to his peril and the detriment of the book. He recognizes the expulsion by the military leadership of ethnic minorities from Burma but he does not convey the magnitude of the atrocities committed by the army, the ethnic cleansing and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

While The River of Lost Footsteps is subtitled ‘Histories of Burma’, it is in reality a history of Burma through the eyes of a Burmese author, looking from the outside. [Some of the book covers are subtitled: History of Burma—see the picture]. This volume would be a very different story if it was written by a member of one of the minority tribes.

Thant Myint-U, The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma (London: Faber and Faber, 2007).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 140.00.


Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of The River of Lost Footsteps.

Film Produced about 'On Chesil Beach' by Ian McEwan

Author Ian McEwan and Nan A. Talese of Doubleday imprint have teamed up with Powell’s Books and created a groundbreaking way to showcase the novel On Chesil Beach.

They’ve created a short film based on the novel that will tour to over 50 bookstores nationwide from June 13th - 19th.

The film was shot in both England and the United States, and contains an interview with Ian McEwan in London, on-location footage from Chesil beach, an original soundtrack, and commentary from peers and critics, including Nan Talese.

For more information and to watch the film trailer check this link:
Off the Shelf—Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach Movie Trailer and Screening Information.

Image: Ian McEwan.

Reviewing ‘On Chesil Beach’ by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach is a book like Ian McEwan’s Saturday or Graham Swift’s Tomorrow, in the sense that it’s central focus spans a few hours, in this novel, only one evening.

There are other features to observe in the background and the frame but the miniature canvas highlights the exquisite description of ordinary actions, the concentrated attention on little details, the magnificent selection of words and the timing of silences that are both enjoyed and endured.

McEwan’s plot for this short novel involves two virgins on their wedding night staying in a hotel at Chesil Beach, Dorset, England, in the year 1962. After a brief account of the wedding in Oxford and their first meal alone as husband and wife the novel describes their movements and feelings from the dining table to the creaky, four-poster bed.

The relief of knowing that the wedding day went off without a hitch, the sound of waves and the scent of flowers, sets the stage for some warm and intense fellowship.

The themes of fluidity and stiffness are captured well by McEwan in this description of the hotel meal:

“The altered breeze carried through the parted French windows an enticement, a salty scent of oxygen and open space that seemed at odds with the starched table linen, the corn-flour-stiffened gravy, and the heavy polished silver they were taking in their hands.”

The author sketches the way that “the times held them”, with the sexual mores of the pre-Pill 1960s, the shaping power of their parents and the one thousand “unacknowledged rules that applied when two people were alone.”

One of the many amusing incidents involves the bridegroom battling with the terror of ‘arriving too soon’ and hitting on the steadying technique of concentrating his mind upon Prime Minister Harold McMillan, “who was everything that was not sex and ideal for the purpose.”

The book identifies the apprehension and anxieties in an evolving relationship, and the often conflicting dynamics of curiosity and coyness, fantasies and fears and nakedness and concealment. It is about the challenge of people in a relationship to patiently learn the language needed to name the unnamable and muster the courage to share true feelings. While the book revolves around a marriage relationship, it provides a useful catalyst to conversation for people in other types of relationships and implicitly stresses the need for communication and negotiation.

On Chesil Beach is about the power of words spoken and left unspoken, not only those that are solemnly expressed in wedding services but the decisions that are made on beds and beaches which then determine the course of people’s lives.

Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach (London: Jonathan Cape, 2007), is available in the United Arab Emirates from Magrudy’s bookshops at a cost of Dh72.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of On Chesil Beach.

Reviewing The Lost Diary of Don Juan by Douglas Abrams

The Lost Diary of Don Juan is a novel which purports to have found the diary of the shameless Spanish seducer of women. The diarist is thirty-six years of age and his entries record his exploits in ‘sensual Sevilla’, a city that is rocking and throbbing with passion at the end of the sixteenth century.

Californian author, Douglas Carlton Abrams has in this book sought to recreate history furnishing the diary with insights into Spain’s burgeoning empire, its growing stocks of gold, the power of the Catholic Church with its Inquisition and the bloody action in the bullring.

The Lost Diary can be read simply as a gripping story about the legendary and lusty libertine who renders a service to lonely and neglected women by skillfully moving from bed to bed. At another level the diary can be understood as a historical thriller focusing on a Spanish Robin Hood who eludes the authorities in the knick of time but amidst such pressure is able to enter into sexual touch and intimacy with the impressive composure and patience of a master guitarist.

For readers who want to think further Douglas Abrams puts into focus the dynamics of lust and love, to reveal, without being moralistic, the ingredients that go into a relationship that is mutually satisfying for partners.

A central question that is raised by Don Juan’s experience and by the author is how one stays passionately married to a partner ‘until death do us part’. In countries like the United Arab Emirates, where up to multiple marriage partners are permitted, Abrams might extend the question and ask how a person might stay passionately in love and loyalty with four marriage partners.

The book presents an old, universal story with freshness as it teases out strands that are pertinent to modern day loving. These issues include the caged and cloistered existence of many women, the preoccupation with virginity, the obsession of many fathers and brothers to maintain the purity and honor of the family and the seductive power of masks and veils. Setting the sexual encounters against the background of the Spanish conquest, religious tyranny and the amassing of treasure raises the question about the relationship of power to seduction.

The Lost Diary is a rich banquet of dancing and dueling, kisses and communion, convents and brothels, fighting and fiestas and pain and pleasure. Like its subject the book begins slowly and sometimes there is fumbling and faltering but it picks up the pace until it reaches its heart-thumping climax.

Douglas Carlton Abrams, The Lost Diary of Don Juan (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson), 2007 is available in the United Arab Emirates from Magrudy’s bookshops at a cost of Dh66.00.

Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of The Lost Diary.

Reviewing ‘North Face of Soho,’ by Clive James

North Face of Soho is the fourth of possibly five volumes in Clive James’ autobiographical series, Unreliable Memoirs.

This book is marked throughout by a self-deprecating style and is, according to its author, a further “instalment in a serial confession of how I learned to do the right thing only by doing all the wrong things first.”

Without much reserve James writes of his problems with alcohol (especially when he is seeking to perform on stage with clarity and precision), his inability to manage people, his difficulty in writing lines for anyone but himself and his default position of running away from conflict and disagreement.

Who is Clive James? It is difficult for the reader to hit this moving target who appears in the early pages with hairy sideboards, velvet jackets, flared trousers and paisley cravats but who becomes an actor in the theatre, a reviewer of books, plays and television, an author, travel writer, poet, song writer and television performer.

True to form James says “he is an ordinary person” who hates being over-billed and always feels that he “has not achieved anything substantial.”

Clive James has often been called an entertainer but he does not want to claim this title. He says, “Though the desire to entertain is not to be despised… the best an entertainer can hope to do is to be instructive.” Clive fulfils this role admirably. While this book is awash with witty one-liners that are sometimes showy or offered just for a belly laugh, most of his witticisms are intended to teach, provoke or prick a bubble of illusion. For instance, when writing about the lure of taking drugs James says, “Vice always finds it easy to make virtue look naïve.”

While this volume offers fascinating insights into the events of his life and his hopes and dreads, there is little light shed on Clive James the husband and father. He intentionally leaves his wife and two daughters in the background for fear that they “would combine to lynch me if I went into detail about their virtues.” He continues, “All three women in my immediate family are united in the belief that private life and publicity are incompatible, and I agree with them.”

The lack of family detail is compensated by the ample insights into the literary contemporaries of Clive James, including Graham Greene, Kingsley Amis, Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and Spike Milligan. Many celebrities that James encounters are described in the way a cartoonist exaggerates a certain characteristic. For example, after interviewing Burt Lancaster James wrote, “His teeth looked like tombstones any way, and when he bared them in a smile it looked like a carnival in a graveyard.”

Readers of this book will be treated to many tips on the difficult art of writing well. He says that his own style “works by packing stuff in, not stretching it out, and there is always a danger of trying to say too much at once.” He writes about his struggles with writing and speaks of the way that different editors have helped him. His sentences are substantial and never slack, colourful images abound and his stories are told with relish and gusto. James is often cited as the person with the gift of an apt phrase and this book contains many examples.

North of Soho is a treasure chest of information about writing humorously, becoming a good interviewer, seeking an agent and the knack of getting published.

Clive James admits he is getting better at learning from his mistakes. But, he says, “Without those big mistakes I would never have learned anything in the first place. The graph of your increasing profit from your own errors is the only authentic measure of progress.” It is this down-to-earth honesty, penetrating wisdom and ability to see the constructive contribution of failure that makes this book so valuable, especially for readers who crave the culture of success.

Clive James, North of Soho, Unreliable Memoirs Vol. IV (London: Picador, 2006).

This book is available from Magrudy’s Bookshops in the UAE at a cost of Dh 126.00.


Geoff Pound

Image: Front Cover of North of Soho.

Reviewing ‘The Penguin History of New Zealand’ by Michael King.

The Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King is the best entry point for people wanting to understand the story of Aotearoa-New Zealand and its peoples.

Although it is a general history it is comprehensive (500 pages) and is immensely readable. Not only has it updated the earlier, standard history of New Zealand by Keith Sinclair but it has given a more extensive treatment to the prehistoric period and a more balanced and integrated appreciation of the history of the indigenous peoples of the country.

Earlier histories were typified by the statement of a geographer who said that “a people with no land came to a land with no people.” As a result the Maori were invisible and ignored in many of the earlier historical accounts. Michael King, however, with his extensive knowledge of Maoritanga (Maori culture and language), has done an able job in writing about the robust interaction of the Maori with those with European ancestry who settled later.

King, who sadly was killed in 2004, shows a remarkable ability to synthesize a huge body of research and present it in a coherent form. His chapter on the Treaty of Waitangi demonstrates his skill at taking a complex event and issue and showing how the treaty has been both constructive and confusing to race relationships.

The author has provided a list of books and articles for those wanting to go deeper. The most disappointing feature of this volume is the lack of footnotes to help readers pinpoint the origin of many fascinating quotations.

King interweaves the various strands of his nation’s development from flightless birds to its citizens who have taken flight and from a strong tie to the Motherland to a nation struggling to discover self-expression and the things that a basic to kiwi culture.

Readers from New Zealand and other countries will come to a better understanding of what makes this nation tick. The Penguin History of New Zealand offers insights into this small and vibrant nation that has produced the All Blacks, many middle-distance runners, the first man to climb the highest mountain of the world, yachting heroes, Kiri Te Kanawa, kiwifruit, movie directors, a nuclear free nation, poets and painters and a cluster of women who have served in the top leadership positions of the country.

Michael King, The Penguin History of New Zealand (Auckland: Penguin Books, 2003).

Geoff Pound

Image: Front cover of The Penguin History of New Zealand.