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The Bride of Amman

Fadi Zaghmout | فادي زغموت,

Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp (Translator)

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Mar 06, 2023 Anna Ruth FL rated it really liked it

Shelves: jordan-grc

I enjoyed this book a lot and think it can help raise awareness about issues in Jordan for those ( like me who haven't been there and lack a personal connection to it). I became attached to all of the characters and I was heartbroken by some of the events in the book. I would like to read more by this author. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2020 Nina ( picturetalk321 ) rated it liked it

Shelves: z-read-gelesen-2020, a-reviewed, transl-arabic, world-jordan, theme-arranged-marriage

A grim book about social oppression and constraints in Jordan. The misleading endorsement at the start (on the basis of which I got the book) claims that this is like Sex and the Citadel meeting Ramadan soap. Readers: it is not. Here are some content warnings:

Torture. Rape. Incestuous sexual abuse. Homophobia. Slitting of wrists. Suicide.

Once I had got over my inital wrong-expectations shock (reinforced by the romcom-like book cover), I could settle into it and appreciate its nuances. We follow A grim book about social oppression and constraints in Jordan. The misleading endorsement at the start (on the basis of which I got the book) claims that this is like Sex and the Citadel meeting Ramadan soap. Readers: it is not. Here are some content warnings:

Torture. Rape. Incestuous sexual abuse. Homophobia. Slitting of wrists. Suicide.

Once I had got over my inital wrong-expectations shock (reinforced by the romcom-like book cover), I could settle into it and appreciate its nuances. We follow the woeful stories of five characters and explore issues of illicit love, illegal love, loveless sex, sexless love, love across religions, love across sexes and within the same sex, emigration, love across cultures, illegitimate pregnancy, and most of all, the difficulties of marriage. Marriage is either a coerced necessity or a defiant choice that will remove your familial and social safety net.

On the one hand:
"Our bodies trembled in rapture and we fell back into each other's arms in an embrace of pure love."

On the other hand:
"Arab women carry the weight of the past with them wherever they go, and for Arab men, their sense of honour remains steadfastly linked to what's to be found between the thighs of their womenfolk, no matter whether they're in Amman, or Cairo, Chicago or Stockholm."

It was salutary to be reminded of how privileged my bubble in Europe is and how burning many injustices are in most parts of the world, where being gay is illegal, being a single woman is tantamount to lifelong dependency on a man, where not giving birth to sons results in a loss of social status, where everything is regulated and the only people getting away with ethical trespasses are heterosexual patriarchal men and boys.

One of the main characters ends up being a feminist activist so there is some hope.

The prose style is blunt and at times the people's stories read a bit like a CV. There is much tell and not a lot of show. There is almost nothing in the way of the textures and sounds of the city of Amman, the furniture of homes, the specifics of food or clothing or personal quirks. At the same time, there are scenes of intense Bollywoodesque emotion.

The translation by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp is able with some oddities. The publisher is Signal 8 Press in Hong Kong, an imprint of Typhoon Media. The original title is Arood Amman, published in 2012 by Jabal Amman Publishers. The cover image is by Madalena Ng. An author photo is credited but does not appear in the e-book.

Of the other endorsements in the front, nearly all the Jordanian ones and one Indian one say something along the lines of how relatable these stories are. I did not find them relatable which again leads me to the chilling realisation of how privileged I am and how for many readers these stories hit to the core of their own experiences.

Read as part of my literary journey across the Middle East. I can now colour in Jordan on my map.:) ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2015 Hazel marked it as to-read

Jul 08, 2017 Ching-In marked it as to-read

Oct 02, 2023 Sarita rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-around-the-world, read-2023

Nov 25, 2021 Erica marked it as to-read

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