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Rethinking Islam: Common Questions, Uncommon Answers
A Berber from the mountainous region of Algeria, Mohammed Arkoun is an internationally renowned scholar of Islamic thought. In this book, he advocates a conception of Islam as a stream of experience encompassing majorities and minorities, Sunni and Shi’a, popular mystics and erudite scholars, ancient heroes and modern critics. A product of Islamic culture, Arkoun nonetheless disagrees with the Islamic establishment and militant Islamist groups; as a student of twentieth-century social science in the West and an admirer of liberalism, he self-consciously distances himself from Western Orientalists and Western conceptions of liberalism.This book—the first of Arkoun’s works to be widely available in English—presents his responses to twenty-four deceptively simple questions, including: Can one speak of a scientific understanding of Islam in the West or must one rather talk about the Western way of imagining Islam? What do the words “Islam,” “Muslim,” and “Qur’an” mean? What is meant by “revelation” and “tradition’’? What did Islam retain from the previously revealed religions—Judaism and Christianity? What did it retain from the religions and customs of pre-Islamic Arabia? In answering these and other questions, Arkoun provides an introduction to one of the world’s great religions and offers a biting, radical critique of Islamology as it has been practiced in both East and West.This is a book for the beginning student of Islam and for the general reader uneasy with media images of Islam as a monolithic, anti-Western, violence-prone religion. It is also a book for specialists seeking an entré into Arkoun’s methhodology—his efforts toapply contemporary thinking about anthropology, philosophy, semiotics, history, and sociology to the Islamic tradition and its relationship to the West. It is a book for anyone concerned about the identity crisis that has left many Muslims estranged from both a modernity imposed upon them and a tradition subverted for nationalist and Islamist purposes.
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1987
9 people are currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
Mohammed Arkoun
63 books364 followersProfessor Mohammed Arkoun (Berber: Muḥemmed Arkun, Arabic: محمد أركون), was an Algerian scholar and thinker of Berber descent. He was considered to have been one of the most influential secular scholars in Islamic studies contributing to contemporary intellectual Islamic reform. In a career of more than 30 years, he had been a critic of the tensions embedded in his field of study, advocating Islamic modernism, secularism, and humanism. During his academic career, he wrote his numerous books mostly in French, and occasionally in English and Arabic.
he studied at the Faculty of Literature of the University of Algiers and at the Sorbonne in Paris (Agrégé in Arabic language and Literature, 1956 and Ph.D., 1968). He established his academic reputation with his studies of the history and philosophy of Ibn Miskawayh. As he began to consider how one might rethink Islam in the contemporary world, his questioning provided a counterpoint to the predominant interpretations of both the Muslim world and the non-Muslim West. As the editor of Arabica, he broadened the journal's scope, and played a "significant" role in shaping Western-language scholarship on Islam (source?). He is the author of numerous books in French, English and Arabic, including most recently: Rethinking Islam (Boulder, Colorado, 1994), L'immigration: défis et richesses (Paris, 1998) and The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought (London, 2002).[2] His shorter studies have appeared in many academic journals and his works have been translated into several languages.
He was decorated as an Officer of the French Légion d'honneur in July 1996. In 2001, Professor Arkoun was asked to deliver the Gifford Lectures, which enable a notable scholar to contribute to the advancement of theological and philosophical thought and was announced as the recipient of the Seventeenth Georgio Levi Della Vida Award for his lifelong contribution to the field of Islamic Studies.
Arkoun taught at the Lyon 2 University (1969–1972), as a professor at the Paris 8 University, and at the New Sorbonne University of Paris (1972–1992). He was a Fellow at Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin (1986–1987 and 1990) and at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A (1992–1993), visiting professor at University of California, Los Angeles (1969), Princeton University (1985), Temple University, the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, (1977–1979), the Pontifical Institute of Arabic Studies in Rome and the University of Amsterdam (1991–1993) and served as a jury member for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. At the time of his death he was Emeritus Professor at La Sorbonne as well as Senior Research Fellow and member of the Board of Governors of The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), At IIS, he has taught various graduate courses including unthought in contemporary Islamic thought, rethinking Islam, contemporary challenges of Muslim world and traditions for almost a decade.
Arkoun died on the evening of September 14, 2010, in Paris.
باحث ومؤرخ ومفكر جزائري، ولد عام 1928 في بلدة تاوريرت ن ميمون(آث يني) بمنطقة القبائل الكبرى الأمازيغية بالجزائر، ;و انتقل مع عائلته إلى بلدة عين الأربعاء(ولاية عين تموشنت) حيث درس دراسته الإبتدائية بها. وأكمل دراسته الثانوية في وهران، إبتدأ دراسته الجامعية بكلية الفلسفة في الجزائر ثم أتم دراسته في السوربون في باريس.
==فكره==
يتميز فكر أركون بمحاولة عدم الفصل بين الحضارات شرقية وغربية واحتكار الإسقاطات على أحدهما دون الآخر، بل إمكانية فهم الحضارات دون النظر إليها على أنها شكل غريب من الآخر، وهو ينتقد الإستشراق المبني على هذا الشكل من البحث. 1- رفع القداسة عن القرآن الكريم, والتعامل مع القرآن على أنه منتوج بشري. 2- رجل علماني بحت. 3- التشكيك في نسبة النصوص الأصلية في الإسلام (الكتاب والسنة)
عُين محمد اركون أستاذا لتاريخ الفكر الإسلامي والفلسفة في جامعة السوربون عام 1968 بعد حصوله على درجة دكتوراه في الفلسفة منها، وعمل كباحث مرافق في برلين عام 1986 و 1987. شغل منذ العام 1993 منصب عضو في مجلس إدارة معاهد الدراسات الإسلامية في لندن.
he studied at the Faculty of Literature of the University of Algiers and at the Sorbonne in Paris (Agrégé in Arabic language and Literature, 1956 and Ph.D., 1968). He established his academic reputation with his studies of the history and philosophy of Ibn Miskawayh. As he began to consider how one might rethink Islam in the contemporary world, his questioning provided a counterpoint to the predominant interpretations of both the Muslim world and the non-Muslim West. As the editor of Arabica, he broadened the journal's scope, and played a "significant" role in shaping Western-language scholarship on Islam (source?). He is the author of numerous books in French, English and Arabic, including most recently: Rethinking Islam (Boulder, Colorado, 1994), L'immigration: défis et richesses (Paris, 1998) and The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought (London, 2002).[2] His shorter studies have appeared in many academic journals and his works have been translated into several languages.
He was decorated as an Officer of the French Légion d'honneur in July 1996. In 2001, Professor Arkoun was asked to deliver the Gifford Lectures, which enable a notable scholar to contribute to the advancement of theological and philosophical thought and was announced as the recipient of the Seventeenth Georgio Levi Della Vida Award for his lifelong contribution to the field of Islamic Studies.
Arkoun taught at the Lyon 2 University (1969–1972), as a professor at the Paris 8 University, and at the New Sorbonne University of Paris (1972–1992). He was a Fellow at Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin (1986–1987 and 1990) and at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A (1992–1993), visiting professor at University of California, Los Angeles (1969), Princeton University (1985), Temple University, the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, (1977–1979), the Pontifical Institute of Arabic Studies in Rome and the University of Amsterdam (1991–1993) and served as a jury member for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. At the time of his death he was Emeritus Professor at La Sorbonne as well as Senior Research Fellow and member of the Board of Governors of The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), At IIS, he has taught various graduate courses including unthought in contemporary Islamic thought, rethinking Islam, contemporary challenges of Muslim world and traditions for almost a decade.
Arkoun died on the evening of September 14, 2010, in Paris.
باحث ومؤرخ ومفكر جزائري، ولد عام 1928 في بلدة تاوريرت ن ميمون(آث يني) بمنطقة القبائل الكبرى الأمازيغية بالجزائر، ;و انتقل مع عائلته إلى بلدة عين الأربعاء(ولاية عين تموشنت) حيث درس دراسته الإبتدائية بها. وأكمل دراسته الثانوية في وهران، إبتدأ دراسته الجامعية بكلية الفلسفة في الجزائر ثم أتم دراسته في السوربون في باريس.
==فكره==
يتميز فكر أركون بمحاولة عدم الفصل بين الحضارات شرقية وغربية واحتكار الإسقاطات على أحدهما دون الآخر، بل إمكانية فهم الحضارات دون النظر إليها على أنها شكل غريب من الآخر، وهو ينتقد الإستشراق المبني على هذا الشكل من البحث. 1- رفع القداسة عن القرآن الكريم, والتعامل مع القرآن على أنه منتوج بشري. 2- رجل علماني بحت. 3- التشكيك في نسبة النصوص الأصلية في الإسلام (الكتاب والسنة)
عُين محمد اركون أستاذا لتاريخ الفكر الإسلامي والفلسفة في جامعة السوربون عام 1968 بعد حصوله على درجة دكتوراه في الفلسفة منها، وعمل كباحث مرافق في برلين عام 1986 و 1987. شغل منذ العام 1993 منصب عضو في مجلس إدارة معاهد الدراسات الإسلامية في لندن.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 21, 2016
Arkoun's "Rethinking Islam" is the most useful analysis of the Muslim world I have yet encountered. The book is organized into 24 chapters based on 24 basic questions (e.g., "When was the Quran written and what does it contain?" and "What is the relationship between Islam, science, and philosophy?"). Instead of presenting simple, didactic answers, Arkoun takes common answers to these questions a starting point for critically reflecting on the origins and legitimacy of common beliefs about Islam, and illustrates how to move forward.
Arkoun is unquestionably one of the most penetrating critical theorists in the social sciences that I've encountered, and his engagement with the often-stereotyped constructions of Islamic history and culture are exceedingly thought-provoking and invigorating.
One of his core concepts is the cultural "imaginay," which describes a collective idea characterizing a complex domain such as "Islam," which is shaped and constrained by the forces of ideology, media, social capital, the irrational unconscious, and so forth. Arkoun regards discourse about Islam today as largely governed by two imaginaries, one coming out of Muslim countries themselves, and a counterpart in Europe and the US.
The typical Muslim imaginary is a reductive account of Islamic society and history which holds that its current forms of expression are a logical and inevitable evolute deriving from a well-regulated and ahistorical set of principles derived from the Quran, Hadith, and Islamic law. This construction is typically articulated and defended by autocratic governments, which use it to bolster their own legitimacy. Critical voices are marginalized or suppressed within these governments and academes, and consequently the standard tools of social criticism that would generally look to the role of ideology or the irrational in shaping self-concepts of history are silenced.
For a variety of bad reasons, this highly-distorted self-construction is reflected back by scholars in Europe and the United States who should know better, either out of a naive wish to let the putatively indigenous self-construction and valuation of Islamic identity speak for itself and on its own terms, or out of a cynical desire to capitalize on such simplistic version of history and identity for their own aims, e.g., to characterize Islam in the language of alterity.
Arkoun makes a compelling case for the vital need for a methodologically-sophisticated critical engagement with the history of Islam, principally because such methodologies hold the key (or at least a key) to unlocking the plurality and heterogeneity of Islamic self-constructions that have been in competition since the time of the Prophet and down through the present day.
So this is what I take to be Arkoun's general model. In this book he shows it in action in the context of two dozen fundamental questions which shape our understanding of Islam. In thinking through each question as a problematic that is bursting with possibilities for rich new types of inquiry, he illustrates by example the incredibly fertile new ground he anticipates, shedding much-needed light and fresh air on many of the old saws that are recapitulated again and again to this day (e.g., Islam is essentially antirational; Islamic states are eo ipso theocratic; Islamic states perceive all other types of social organization as adversaries to be one day conquered, and on and on).
It should be emphasized that his method is fundamentally dialectical. That is, he does not wish to reduce the analysis of Islam to the subject of European analytical tools and categories. On the contrary, a proper critical engagement with Islam necessarily furthers the project of European post-Enlightenment self-criticism at the same time, and it opens up a new conceptual counterpart to engage reason in self-reflection.
This is an exciting book that I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in social criticism or critical theory, and/or anyone with a moderate knowledge of Islam. It's guaranteed to challenge your thinking on bedrock issues.
Arkoun is unquestionably one of the most penetrating critical theorists in the social sciences that I've encountered, and his engagement with the often-stereotyped constructions of Islamic history and culture are exceedingly thought-provoking and invigorating.
One of his core concepts is the cultural "imaginay," which describes a collective idea characterizing a complex domain such as "Islam," which is shaped and constrained by the forces of ideology, media, social capital, the irrational unconscious, and so forth. Arkoun regards discourse about Islam today as largely governed by two imaginaries, one coming out of Muslim countries themselves, and a counterpart in Europe and the US.
The typical Muslim imaginary is a reductive account of Islamic society and history which holds that its current forms of expression are a logical and inevitable evolute deriving from a well-regulated and ahistorical set of principles derived from the Quran, Hadith, and Islamic law. This construction is typically articulated and defended by autocratic governments, which use it to bolster their own legitimacy. Critical voices are marginalized or suppressed within these governments and academes, and consequently the standard tools of social criticism that would generally look to the role of ideology or the irrational in shaping self-concepts of history are silenced.
For a variety of bad reasons, this highly-distorted self-construction is reflected back by scholars in Europe and the United States who should know better, either out of a naive wish to let the putatively indigenous self-construction and valuation of Islamic identity speak for itself and on its own terms, or out of a cynical desire to capitalize on such simplistic version of history and identity for their own aims, e.g., to characterize Islam in the language of alterity.
Arkoun makes a compelling case for the vital need for a methodologically-sophisticated critical engagement with the history of Islam, principally because such methodologies hold the key (or at least a key) to unlocking the plurality and heterogeneity of Islamic self-constructions that have been in competition since the time of the Prophet and down through the present day.
So this is what I take to be Arkoun's general model. In this book he shows it in action in the context of two dozen fundamental questions which shape our understanding of Islam. In thinking through each question as a problematic that is bursting with possibilities for rich new types of inquiry, he illustrates by example the incredibly fertile new ground he anticipates, shedding much-needed light and fresh air on many of the old saws that are recapitulated again and again to this day (e.g., Islam is essentially antirational; Islamic states are eo ipso theocratic; Islamic states perceive all other types of social organization as adversaries to be one day conquered, and on and on).
It should be emphasized that his method is fundamentally dialectical. That is, he does not wish to reduce the analysis of Islam to the subject of European analytical tools and categories. On the contrary, a proper critical engagement with Islam necessarily furthers the project of European post-Enlightenment self-criticism at the same time, and it opens up a new conceptual counterpart to engage reason in self-reflection.
This is an exciting book that I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in social criticism or critical theory, and/or anyone with a moderate knowledge of Islam. It's guaranteed to challenge your thinking on bedrock issues.
February 9, 2011
Every person who is unfamilar with the common beliefs and practices of the Islamic community should read this book. It truly enlightens its eurocentric readers and offers new perspectives from which to view conflicts and politics most of the western world have been using to judge a vast range of people.
December 15, 2019
I read fiction and newspapers in French, but I’m still inclined to reach for a translation when I want to read about ideas; thus I’m not left wondering whether my incomprehension is owing to the fact that the ideas are beyond me or to the fact that my French isn’t quite up to the job.
A dilemma for people who want to know the truth about Islam is that so much of what is written carries partisan baggage; some (the apologists) are deeply uncomfortable with criticism of Islam and will tend to plead that whatever seems to reflect badly on Islam is “not really Islam”; for some Islam is a subject of polemic, a pernicious ideology which cannot be redeemed; and for some others (the orientalists) it is a somewhat exotic curiosity to be described and anatomised as a phenomenon, but the lived experiences of its adherents never taken entirely seriously; and that’s just those who are writing for a secular readership. Mohammed Arkoun is neither apologist, nor polemicist, nor orientalist, nor preacher. He is squarely in the camp of the believers, but he is a trenchant critic; he is a scholar with a foot in both camps, that of modern Western philosophy and science, and that of the Islamic tradition.
This book, Rethinking Islam, reminds me of a book by one of those philosophical essayists of the Renaissance, for instance Montaigne, in which the parts would have titles such as “On gratitude”, “On persistance”, and so on. I’ve never read Montaigne or very much by anyone remotely like him, so I don’t like to make too much of the similarity, but this is a book of short essays which seems to belong in that tradition, and the format has the merit that it constrains Arkoun to present his thoughts with a modicum of brevity and concision. He writes much about abstractions, so I couldn’t always follow the drift of what he says, but I understood enough to see that he has a realistic and pretty comprehensive grasp of the situation of Islam in the world of the 20th century (the book first appeared in French in 1989). He gives occasional glimpses of how secular concepts appear through an Islamic lens: for instance, in Islam human rights may only be conceived as flowing from the rights of God, but that granted there is nothing un-Islamic about legislating for human rights on the generally accepted model.
There is much here which I imagine many Muslims would be reluctant to concede in mixed company, but which Arkoun states quite flatly as the patent truth:
“All Muslim societies suffer these days from the consequences of the disparity between the frenetic demands that feed consumer civilization and the refusal or even repression of intellectual and cultural modernity. Recently built universities in several countries, particularly in those richest in foreign exchange such as Saudi Arabia or Algeria, furnish a striking illustration of the divorce between the demand for material modernity - fanciful architecture, well-equipped laboratories for the ‘exact sciences’, openness to technology and industrial production - and the mistrust of the social sciences. Islam as a religion remains a preserve of the schools of theology and traditional universities like Al-Azhar in Cairo, Al-Zitouna in Tunis, and al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. All these schools have long professed a desire to modernize, but they remain the guardians of ‘Islamic orthodoxy’, the places where it is reproduced. The animators of the Islamist movements come there to forage.
The very use of the expression ‘Islamic thought’ has become problematic because ordinary Islamic discourse, essentially ideological and apologetic, with its schemas, its postulates, its references, and its semantic disorder, has prevailed even among the ulema and intellectuals, who are supposed to take up, defend, protect, and enlarge. They are supposed to renew the critical capacity and creative reflection so richly illustrated by classic thinkers.” (pp.92-93)
Arkoun looks back with nostalgia to a time when Arab intellectual life was pre-eminent in the world. He makes the point somewhere that it was not colonialism that stifled it, as the newly independent Arab dictatorships of the 1950s and 1960s were in the habit of claiming, but Muslims themselves centuries before their world was colonised by Europeans.
This little book is maybe a bit abstruse for many readers, but I was drawn to it because I want to know how an intelligent and well educated Muslim squares his beliefs with the philosophy and values that I accept. I suppose I’m looking for a native guide to the Islamic universe of ideas who knows me and understands my questions, one who is also competent to defend positions critical of both Islam and my own secular attitudes and beliefs. Arkoun is so far the best source of this sort that I have yet encountered.
A dilemma for people who want to know the truth about Islam is that so much of what is written carries partisan baggage; some (the apologists) are deeply uncomfortable with criticism of Islam and will tend to plead that whatever seems to reflect badly on Islam is “not really Islam”; for some Islam is a subject of polemic, a pernicious ideology which cannot be redeemed; and for some others (the orientalists) it is a somewhat exotic curiosity to be described and anatomised as a phenomenon, but the lived experiences of its adherents never taken entirely seriously; and that’s just those who are writing for a secular readership. Mohammed Arkoun is neither apologist, nor polemicist, nor orientalist, nor preacher. He is squarely in the camp of the believers, but he is a trenchant critic; he is a scholar with a foot in both camps, that of modern Western philosophy and science, and that of the Islamic tradition.
This book, Rethinking Islam, reminds me of a book by one of those philosophical essayists of the Renaissance, for instance Montaigne, in which the parts would have titles such as “On gratitude”, “On persistance”, and so on. I’ve never read Montaigne or very much by anyone remotely like him, so I don’t like to make too much of the similarity, but this is a book of short essays which seems to belong in that tradition, and the format has the merit that it constrains Arkoun to present his thoughts with a modicum of brevity and concision. He writes much about abstractions, so I couldn’t always follow the drift of what he says, but I understood enough to see that he has a realistic and pretty comprehensive grasp of the situation of Islam in the world of the 20th century (the book first appeared in French in 1989). He gives occasional glimpses of how secular concepts appear through an Islamic lens: for instance, in Islam human rights may only be conceived as flowing from the rights of God, but that granted there is nothing un-Islamic about legislating for human rights on the generally accepted model.
There is much here which I imagine many Muslims would be reluctant to concede in mixed company, but which Arkoun states quite flatly as the patent truth:
“All Muslim societies suffer these days from the consequences of the disparity between the frenetic demands that feed consumer civilization and the refusal or even repression of intellectual and cultural modernity. Recently built universities in several countries, particularly in those richest in foreign exchange such as Saudi Arabia or Algeria, furnish a striking illustration of the divorce between the demand for material modernity - fanciful architecture, well-equipped laboratories for the ‘exact sciences’, openness to technology and industrial production - and the mistrust of the social sciences. Islam as a religion remains a preserve of the schools of theology and traditional universities like Al-Azhar in Cairo, Al-Zitouna in Tunis, and al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. All these schools have long professed a desire to modernize, but they remain the guardians of ‘Islamic orthodoxy’, the places where it is reproduced. The animators of the Islamist movements come there to forage.
The very use of the expression ‘Islamic thought’ has become problematic because ordinary Islamic discourse, essentially ideological and apologetic, with its schemas, its postulates, its references, and its semantic disorder, has prevailed even among the ulema and intellectuals, who are supposed to take up, defend, protect, and enlarge. They are supposed to renew the critical capacity and creative reflection so richly illustrated by classic thinkers.” (pp.92-93)
Arkoun looks back with nostalgia to a time when Arab intellectual life was pre-eminent in the world. He makes the point somewhere that it was not colonialism that stifled it, as the newly independent Arab dictatorships of the 1950s and 1960s were in the habit of claiming, but Muslims themselves centuries before their world was colonised by Europeans.
This little book is maybe a bit abstruse for many readers, but I was drawn to it because I want to know how an intelligent and well educated Muslim squares his beliefs with the philosophy and values that I accept. I suppose I’m looking for a native guide to the Islamic universe of ideas who knows me and understands my questions, one who is also competent to defend positions critical of both Islam and my own secular attitudes and beliefs. Arkoun is so far the best source of this sort that I have yet encountered.
December 7, 2020
If The Book of Love Series hasn’t snared your heart by now! Then this current one,,Heart of Love will unquestionably pierce your heart with Cupid’s Arrow!
Meara Platt is the masterful author who allows us to follow the unwrapping of her characters as they expose there deepest emotions and secrets.
Heather Farthingale has found her Prince Charming because she has always dreamed of marrying a Marquess or higher. She is so confused about why isn’t she happy about finding her true love, but she dreams of a Highlander?
Robbie MacLauren is a Scottish Highlander and in love with Heather, but her is a Rake. He claims that he has changed and will only be faithful to one lady, Heather.
The Book of Love is directing Heather towards Robbie, but Heather is fighting the magnetic attraction!
This story has some twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages!
I definitely would recommend this Series and most definitely this book to anyone wanting a fantabulous Read!
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.
Meara Platt is the masterful author who allows us to follow the unwrapping of her characters as they expose there deepest emotions and secrets.
Heather Farthingale has found her Prince Charming because she has always dreamed of marrying a Marquess or higher. She is so confused about why isn’t she happy about finding her true love, but she dreams of a Highlander?
Robbie MacLauren is a Scottish Highlander and in love with Heather, but her is a Rake. He claims that he has changed and will only be faithful to one lady, Heather.
The Book of Love is directing Heather towards Robbie, but Heather is fighting the magnetic attraction!
This story has some twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages!
I definitely would recommend this Series and most definitely this book to anyone wanting a fantabulous Read!
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.
December 10, 2020
This is the ninth book in the series so if you love series and historical romance books I think you’ll enjoy this one. Amazing characters and a captivating storyline what more could you ask for for a book. Heather Farthingale has always dreamed of marrying a Marquess and that dream is about to come true. Or are they . Everything is set. So why does the book of love keep pointing to Highland Captain Robert MacLauren and why does her heart insist on. Robbie is not a marquess and is nothing like handsome weathly refunded noble man. Will Heather choose the wealthy nobleman or will she choose Robert MacLauren. Love this series
May 26, 2021
Never doubt The Book of Love. Also, why would someone even consider marrying someone else when they love another? Regardless of whether that love is returned?
Well, we have a heroine who has dreamed of marrying someone with a title. Then we have someone with a title who screwed up with the woman that he loves and now she does not trust him enough to accept his suit. Add in that the hero loves the heroine who is betrothed to another and you have a very entertaining read.
The characters are so interesting and likable, and the story is well-written and complex. It's very entertaining and will grab your interest right from the very start. Highly recommended.
Well, we have a heroine who has dreamed of marrying someone with a title. Then we have someone with a title who screwed up with the woman that he loves and now she does not trust him enough to accept his suit. Add in that the hero loves the heroine who is betrothed to another and you have a very entertaining read.
The characters are so interesting and likable, and the story is well-written and complex. It's very entertaining and will grab your interest right from the very start. Highly recommended.
March 23, 2021
This is the first book I've read in the series and some references were slightly confusing, but overall I enjoyed reading this story. Heather wants to marry a marquess. She even has one on the hook, but The Book of Love, and her heart, keep pointing her toward Highlander Robert. This causes Heather much angst, confusion and denial. This was definately a fun read.
Thank you Meara Platt, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.
Thank you Meara Platt, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.
December 3, 2020
Heather and Robert fall in love but they don’t admit it is with each other. Heather accepts a nobleman’s proposal even though they don’t love each other. Will The Book of Love help them see the truth before it is too late? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.
December 4, 2020
The Heart of Love was my first book my Meara Platt. I was intrigued by the "book of love" premise. I found this to be a sweet, interesting story. I imagine my enjoyment would have been even more had I read the rest of the series leading up to this book, however, I did enjoy very much and look forward to reading more in the series.
December 22, 2020
I've read everything written by Meera Platt; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I loved the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I loved the characters.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
Want to read
March 23, 2025No he leído el libro aún pero esa reseña de GR (sin citar) tiene firma. Me enervan las faltas de citas, qué es esto de robar sin más.
Se publicó la reseña que goodreads incorpora sin más en la revista politique étrangère por Belgourch Abderrhman en el 91, p. 564.
Se publicó la reseña que goodreads incorpora sin más en la revista politique étrangère por Belgourch Abderrhman en el 91, p. 564.
November 30, 2020
buku bacaan berat dan membuat tergugah
September 8, 2020
ربما يحمل بعض الأفكار الجديرة بالاهتمام والنظر، لكن عدم المباشرة وصعوبة الأسلوب واستخدام المصطلحات الثقيلة -معنى ولفظا- يجعل الكتاب -كغيره من هذا النوع- غير ممتع على الإطلاق.
شخصيا لدي حساسية من أي كاتب يفرط في استخدام مصطلح "ابستمولوجي"، كذلك فعل نصر أبو زيد أيضا.
شخصيا لدي حساسية من أي كاتب يفرط في استخدام مصطلح "ابستمولوجي"، كذلك فعل نصر أبو زيد أيضا.
October 20, 2007
full of critics on your religious consciousness...!!!
November 21, 2007
lumayan lah... bagus!
October 10, 2012
A very good summary and challenge. I used it as one of the reference books for my last book, Centerlined.
March 9, 2014
pure orientalism
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