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Mother Without a Mask: A Westerner's Story of Her Arab Family
When Patricia Holton welcomed the two sons of a Gulf Sheikh with whom her husband worked into her home, little did she know that she was building a bridge between two worlds. Over the following years Patricia travelled frequently to their homeland, enjoying their family's hospitality in the sophisticated townhouses and hotels brought by the oil rush to Abu Dhabi, as well a...more
Paperback, 278 pages
Published
December 9th 2004
by Kyle Cathie Limited
(first published October 3rd 1991)
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Patricia Holton has a great love for her Arabic friends and that love showed clearly in her writing. I have trouble with her apparent acceptance of her Arabic friend’s marriage and family life practices. It seemed she was trying to persuade the reader that these things are cultural and should be accepted as right or correct, at least from their cultural point of view. Early in the book was a chapter titled “A Jack-of-all-Trades and a Slave”. I quote something that Holton wrote about slaves: “...more
This was so interesting! An American woman living in Britain fostered two Emirati boys, sons of a sheikh, while they were in school, and as a result ended up spending a great deal of time with their family in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. While there have been a number of books from and about men during this time of great change, there's been little about how it has affected Emirati women. This was something of a romantic portrait of their lives, but in a good way.
Living in the UAE this book was very relevant and appealing. The insights into Arab culture and family are valuable, and I appreciated a deeper understanding of the generosity behind the flashy and aggressive façade of the younger Emirati men (this is what you see in reality).
Maryam
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Reached halfway then got bored of it. The plot is kind of typical: a westerner's thoughts on our tradition and culture and I wasn't interested in reading that all over again. It's nicely written though, give it a shot if you want to.
This book was very boring to read. It pretty much repeated itself over and over again. Parts were interesting due to culture interest but it was mostly like reading someones diary.
A well written explaination of the traditions being lost in the Emerites.
I really enjoyed this book! It is a quiet book, but gives such a good picture of life in the UAE when the oil has begun to give the people millions to spend. An American (living in England) woman goes there and becomes very good friends with an Arab family that is very wealthy. It certainly gave me a different outlook and understanding on their customs. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in this region and some of its history.
I recommend this book for anyone interested in traditional life in the UAE. It's especially poignant given the changes that have occured over the last three decades which Patricia Holton very accurately points out. So much of the culture I see living in the UAE today is better understood after having read this book.
I did like this book and I plan to re-read it. the cultural observations are really detailed and they seem real to me. It probably helps that I went to the UAE and saw a lot of it myself, but the definitely is a keeper.
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A real insight into the Emirates culture especially through a women's perspective. Not so much a story with a plot as it is a peak into their lives and the culture here in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
A student in my TESOL ESOL adult literacy class at PSU gave me this book. She had lived with an Arabic family and thought this a good portrayal of her experience, too.
If you want to learn about early culture and customs in the United Arab Emirates this is a great book to read.
A readable look into Arab culture. The writing is not outstanding, but the details are interesting.
A different perspective on a culture long shrouded in veils.
Made me want to go back to that part of the world!
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