Nine Parts of Desire
by Geraldine Brooks
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to janet by:
Susan Michael Hoelschenrecommends it for: anyone interested in Islam and women
Now that I have moved away from Arabia after living there for three years, I was ready to read a book about women and Islam. I tend to be dubious about any book that claims to have the real story on this topic, but found this book worth reading.
When I read the title, I thought I was going to learn more about the sexuality of Arabic women. Instead, the book was about the life of Islamic women as wives, mothers, workers, and citizens. In her attempt to understand Islamic women she also go...more
When I read the title, I thought I was going to learn more about the sexuality of Arabic women. Instead, the book was about the life of Islamic women as wives, mothers, workers, and citizens. In her attempt to understand Islamic women she also go...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
This should be required reading.... or at least strongly encouraged, this book was written in 1994. THis was entertaining with a lot of research and facts made more interesting by interviewing and living with the people she wrote about. I am buying a copy ASAP (borrowed from the library)
Brooks writes, “because this is the kind of sterile, segregated world that (fundamentalists) are calling for, right now, for their countries and for the entire Islamic world. None of these groups is saying, ...more
Brooks writes, “because this is the kind of sterile, segregated world that (fundamentalists) are calling for, right now, for their countries and for the entire Islamic world. None of these groups is saying, ...more
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Read in January, 2000
This book was written in the mid-1990's after Brooks had been stationed as a journalist in the Middle East. I read it before and after 9/11. I think it is still highly relevant today.
Each chapter features an aspect of Islamic culture/beliefs that are practiced today- the wearing of the veil, education of women, clitorectomys, etc. The chapters begin by connecting the issue to the time of Mohammed. Brooks then explores the subject in several Muslim countries that interpret and enforce the iss...more
Each chapter features an aspect of Islamic culture/beliefs that are practiced today- the wearing of the veil, education of women, clitorectomys, etc. The chapters begin by connecting the issue to the time of Mohammed. Brooks then explores the subject in several Muslim countries that interpret and enforce the iss...more
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Read in January, 2002
Before reading this book, I remember looking at the woman who were completely covered by their berka and thinking how repressed they were. I felt sorry for the freedom they were denied. My landlord at the time gave me his copy and I although I was hesitant, I agreed to read it...and I am so glad I did! The book delves deep into the roots of the Muslim beliefs and allows an outsider to appreciate a custom we would otherwise know little about. I learned that most woman (interviewed) do not fee...more
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I am really not a fan of this book at all, but I picked it up and started it so I guess I'm going to finish it. What I don't like (or some bit of what I don't like): the fact that it's supposed some sort of be-all and end-all about Muslim women. Um, it's not. It's by a non-Muslim journalist from Australia, and while she certainly has the right to share her perspective, it's quite biased - or maybe sensationalized is a better word? - in that it really just focuses on women in fundamentalist Is...more
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Read in January, 2008
As a non-fiction, I might give this book 4 stars, but compared to fiction, 3 stars is the max. The book read easily and I learned a lot. In the beginning, I had to adjust to how the book was structured, but once I accepted the organization, it made sense.
Toward the end of the book, Brooks asks, "how was it possible to admire her for the courage of her convictions, when her convictions led to such hateful reasoning?" I felt this way throughout the entire book. Part of me wanted to...more
Toward the end of the book, Brooks asks, "how was it possible to admire her for the courage of her convictions, when her convictions led to such hateful reasoning?" I felt this way throughout the entire book. Part of me wanted to...more
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Read in May, 2007
I'd been meaning to read Geraldine Brooks' Nine Parts of Desire: the Hidden World of Islamic Women for years. I think it originally came out in 1995. Our book group chose it for June, so I finally picked it up. It was interesting, sort of a collection of personal vignettes and reporting as a journalist. It was a very personal book while still communicating the facts. A mish mash of experiences, but it would be impossible to write a single volume on women in Islam if you weren't selective. I have...more
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Read in October, 2007
This is certainly an interesting book. I do think it needs to be clarified that it is about the world of Middle Eastern Islamic Women, and that much of what is discussed has to do with culture/tradition and as much as Islam. The author does a pretty good job of clarifying this, but we don't get to hear anything about, say, US Islamic women or Latin American Islamic women...Also, the further I get into this book, it is clear to me that the author approaches the subject with a clear agenda, not ...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone interested in Islamic and Middle East issues
This book offered an interesting glimpse into the world of Muslim women in a variety of Muslim countries. I thought that Geraldine Brooks did a nice job exploring various practices and attempting to trace the roots of these practices back to the Koran. Written in the mid-90's it was interesting to read about the rise of fundamentalism in the Mulsim world written about pre-9/11. I would be interested in discussing this book with someone who is from an Islamic tradition to try to get a better u...more
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Read in July, 2008
I read this book on a recent and hasty trip to central america - and the stories of the women are compelling, to say the least. It is told from a woman's perspective, so clearly there is some bias, but I found myself outraged, as I always get when the subject of religion comes up - that a bunch of old men make the rules for everyone else, based upon no more than the whims of their personal tastes. I found it to be a little bit confusing as she jumps from country to country in her discussion (a...more
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Read in September, 2006
recommended to Debbie by:
My momrecommends it for: any teen or adult
This book should be required reading for any American at this point in history. It was written in the 1990's by a journalist, Geraldine Brooks, who covered the middle east and it is eerily prophetic (although the author certainly didn't intend that) for what was to come in September 2001 and beyond. The book takes us into the lives of women in Islamic countries. It is based on a part of the Koran that says "Almighty God created sexual desire in ten parts; then he gave nine parts to women an...more
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Read in May, 1996
recommends it for:
People interested in the Muslim world
This book is by the author of last year's Pulitzer winner "March", Geraldine Brooks. This was written based on her experiences as a reporter in the Middle East, trying to understand what it's like to be a Muslim woman in a number of different Islamic countries. Along the way, she studies the Koran, shedding some light on Mohammed's writings. My book club read this book long before the current interest in all things Islam. I would recommend it for that reason; Brooks has no politica...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
This is an in-depth, compassionate, and fascinating book. I especially recommend the first half and the conclusion, which describe the origin of hijab (the prophet's wives' seclusion), its uses and effects inside and outside the home, the Muslim view of sexuality ("sex without foreplay is a form of cruelty to women"), the reasons for the revolution, and then offer a respectful and realistic way to approach cultural differences; the second half reads more like discrete articles (on topi...more
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I would have to cite Madeline's review on this book as my main issue with it: that people tend to think they have some overall understanding of "women in Islam" after reading it, which is in itself sad considering the huge variances within Islam and throughout the world. She focuses on the worst cases in the Muslim world, and I think it's important that these are known and understood as human rights abuses that must be addressed, but it is a deceiving portrayal if one believes she has ...more
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Read in March, 2008
Have you ever wondered about the women covered from head to toe? You know that they are Muslim, but do you know anything beyond that?
Geraldine Brooks, in her highly accessible book, explains the plight of Muslim women in the Middle East. She travels from country to country, meeting women and sharing stories with them. From her time with Queen Noor in Jordan to her belly dancing stint in Egypt, Brooks learns about women and their religion and their religion's limitations.
Sometimes frigh...more
Geraldine Brooks, in her highly accessible book, explains the plight of Muslim women in the Middle East. She travels from country to country, meeting women and sharing stories with them. From her time with Queen Noor in Jordan to her belly dancing stint in Egypt, Brooks learns about women and their religion and their religion's limitations.
Sometimes frigh...more
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Read in January, 2008
This was a quick and interesting read. Incorporating historical fact, stories of Muslim women as diverse as a Palestinian mother in a refugee camp to Queen Noor of Jordan, as well as the author's own personal experience as a journalist in the Middle East, this book paints a picture of women in the Islamic world. There are some very positive images in here - particularly with regard to Iranian women, but also negative ones (Saudi Arabia leaps readily to mind). In the final chapter, the autho...more
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Read in August, 2007
I liked this book but it hasn't stayed with me profoundly. It was interesting to read about the convoluted, tortured relationship Islam has with women. I'm reminded of reading Montesquieu, I'm not sure why? The enlightenment's great gift, in addition to others, was making men and women responsible for their own behavior, and this step has made true freedom possible. When the virtue of a society is held in the virtue of its women, at the same time ascribing to those women innate desires that ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Julie by:
book club choice 2008
This is an emotionally difficult book to read. The author provides a glimpse into the constricted, often brutal world of islamic women. I was astonished to learn how little educational opportunities there are for women in most islamic countries and how their basic liberties are severly limited. The part I found hard to understand is the author's descriptions of well educated women who voluntarily chose to 'become veiled', including all the restrictions that entails. I guess there is not much coi...more
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Read in January, 2007
Excellent book describing the various different lifestyles and opinions of women in the islamic world. There are as many different sects and lifestyles as a compariable book on Christian women would reveal, and both positive and negative aspects of each are explored. Little know facts are revealed, like how the strict Islamic rules imposed on women in Iran in 1979 actually enabled many women to have access to higher education, professional jobs and freedom to interact in society. The author d...more
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Read in October, 2004
It's probably good to keep in mind that this book is just the perspective of a non-Muslim American journalist who reports from a fairly small geographical section of the Muslim world.
Still, I found that it effectively conveys the complicated and varied nature of religious belief and practice within Islam.
She basically tackles a number of women's issues that we hear about in the West with respect to Islam: veils, education, political representation, etc. She shows how these are more comp...more
Still, I found that it effectively conveys the complicated and varied nature of religious belief and practice within Islam.
She basically tackles a number of women's issues that we hear about in the West with respect to Islam: veils, education, political representation, etc. She shows how these are more comp...more
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