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The Prayer Rug
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Powerfully emotional, The Prayer Rug is a story of strength, faith and resilience. Reem, a wife and mother of two, is caught in Iraq after the invasion of US Forces. What began as a future full of hope slowly begins to unravel before her eyes. As the original effort to remove a tyrannical dictator degrades into civil war, it engulfs everyone and everything around her. Ever
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After reading Nujeen Mustafa's book documenting her journey to German, I was clamouring for more stories about other Muslim refugees/victims of war. The Prayer Rug came at the right time for me and it is a coincidence that I read it during the Ramadhan (which is the fasting month for us Muslims) as Reem the central character in this story is also experiencing it in the later chapters.
What can I say? Yes, it is emotionally draining to read about such stories even fictional ones. War changes peopl ...more
What can I say? Yes, it is emotionally draining to read about such stories even fictional ones. War changes peopl ...more
I read this book ages ago, but had some how overlooked leaving a review. A very powerful story and one that will remain with me for a long time to come.
My thanks to the Publishers and Netgalley. This is my honest review.
My thanks to the Publishers and Netgalley. This is my honest review.
I found this book to be extremely interesting. The author vividly captures the lives of one Muslim family living in Iraq through an extended period of unrest. We see the impact the conflict has on the members of this family and the suffering they must endure. This book very much brings to light the uncertainty that innocent families face as they are "caught in the crossfire" of the fight for independence and the resulting political unrest.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reading ...more
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reading ...more
I can’t even begin to explain how bad this book is. I try and give authors benefit of the doubt, and I love books about different cultures and lives. But I couldn’t get past the lack of storyline, the poor writing, (it sounds like an essay written by a freshman in high school), the preachiness, and complete lack of hopefulness. If you want to read an author that knows how to write a book about this kind of struggle, I suggest you read Khaled Hosseini.
The prayer rug...
How sad that we keep trying to fix the world when there are so many different aspects that so many people are not willing to look past themselves and their own beliefs.......instead of trying to work together...
How sad that we keep trying to fix the world when there are so many different aspects that so many people are not willing to look past themselves and their own beliefs.......instead of trying to work together...
An exceptional heart wrenching novel of loss, strength and courage in a war zone. I received this book for free through reading deals.
Received a free copy via netgalley for an honest review, below are the take-aways from the editorial-length review I plan to write:
I really wanted to like this book. I love to hear lesser-told narratives, and this one checked all the boxes: female main character, Muslim characters, middle eastern characters. There was so much potential, but the book fell completely flat. The writing is clumsy, the "plot twists" are obvious, and the characters feel more like caricatures.
I was excited to see some ...more
I really wanted to like this book. I love to hear lesser-told narratives, and this one checked all the boxes: female main character, Muslim characters, middle eastern characters. There was so much potential, but the book fell completely flat. The writing is clumsy, the "plot twists" are obvious, and the characters feel more like caricatures.
I was excited to see some ...more
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure: after having technical issues with the file, I kindly received a second one from Reagan Rothe at Black Rose Writing - thank you very much for that! However, I could not open this file at all, converted it, which broke it and I was to anxious to ask for yet another one. Long story short and hereby a disclaimer: I have only read the first half of this book, because the rest of the file was not there at a ...more
Full disclosure: after having technical issues with the file, I kindly received a second one from Reagan Rothe at Black Rose Writing - thank you very much for that! However, I could not open this file at all, converted it, which broke it and I was to anxious to ask for yet another one. Long story short and hereby a disclaimer: I have only read the first half of this book, because the rest of the file was not there at a ...more
I received a free copy of this book for a fair and honest review.
I would have read this book without having received a free copy.
I read The Prayer Rug, cover to cover, in a matter of hours! I simply could not put it down! It is set in Iraq during the early to mid part of our (United States) last occupation. I wish I could talk more about the book, but I don't want to give ANYTHING away! So I'll just say it is from a Sunni family's perspective, in third person, but from Reem's (the wife/mothers) ...more
I would have read this book without having received a free copy.
I read The Prayer Rug, cover to cover, in a matter of hours! I simply could not put it down! It is set in Iraq during the early to mid part of our (United States) last occupation. I wish I could talk more about the book, but I don't want to give ANYTHING away! So I'll just say it is from a Sunni family's perspective, in third person, but from Reem's (the wife/mothers) ...more
Be warned: this book is not a comfortable read. It is a thinly fictionalised account of life in Baghdad after the Western invasion of Iraq, told from the viewpoint of a peace-loving Sunni family desperately trying to survive in a city continuing to be devastated by conflict. Parts of the book are harrowing. The book should be compulsory reading for anyone who subscribes to the myth that Islam is at heart a religion of violence. And it makes the Western reader ask, what on earth did the US and UK
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This is war. I believe that this book could really help open peoples eyes to Islam. It is not a religion of terrorists, it is a religion of peace, and Reem desperately tries to impart these teaching to her children despite the devastation raging around them. It may help you to understand how people are recruited into these fanatical plots, how friends become enemies and how children with no education can ruin an entire generation.
This was not an easy book to read. I found myself detaching from ...more
This was not an easy book to read. I found myself detaching from ...more
A deeply moving story about Reem, a devout Sunni mother who suffers through the early American occupation of Iraq. Society is fractured and neighborhoods become religiously restrictive and hostile. One by one, she loses the members of her family yet daily she holds to the comfort of daily prayer and her prayer rug as the Koran commands. Although the account is fictional it rings true to the factual events of the downfall of Saddam and the corruption and violence of war.
I received an electronic c ...more
I received an electronic c ...more
This book was fantastic. It was brilliant to read a book where the focus was on the Islam people suffering due to the war. I hear so much on the media from the European/American point of view that it is easy to live with my head in the sand. Not so when you read this book. It would be heartless to walk away from this novel without compassion for the characters. I would go as far to say it is a must read one that should be put on every historical novel readers list. Hope you all enjoy it as much
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Loved the book as it makes the reader feel part of the whole scenario of life in Iran after Saddam and how irrespective of your religion everyone pulls together in times of tragedy.+
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MUST READ BOOK
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MUST READ BOOK
Loved the book which allows the reader to experience each scenario of life in Iran, how life after Saddam exists and how all religions pull together in times of tragedy.
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