Princessdarcy
asked:
Does the page and a half at the beginning that the author spends talking about the parent's sex life in vivid detail have anything to do with the actual story? The father's impotence and the mother's insatiable sexual appetite seems to be well out of place...
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James (JD) Dittes
I think it foreshadows Saeed and Nadia's own sexual relationship, which of course represents a distance will be impacted by losing their homes and living abroad as refugees.
I also think that Hamid is using the scene (and Nadia's preference of being covered in a black robe despite her preference for both sex and drugs) to challenge western readers' assumptions about Muslims in general and refugees in particular--they are indeed very normal people who laugh, who have sex, who enjoy drugs the same as we do--who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. One finds a similar dynamic in Nihad Sirees's The Silence and the Roar, which is also about Syria but not at all about refugees.
I also think that Hamid is using the scene (and Nadia's preference of being covered in a black robe despite her preference for both sex and drugs) to challenge western readers' assumptions about Muslims in general and refugees in particular--they are indeed very normal people who laugh, who have sex, who enjoy drugs the same as we do--who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. One finds a similar dynamic in Nihad Sirees's The Silence and the Roar, which is also about Syria but not at all about refugees.
Asad
I feel that it gives the parents a sort of human aspect. It was a quick way to give a feeling of the history of this couple, young lovers to new parents to now old people. It made me think of them as people with their own story, not just view them as Saeed's parents.
I also agree with James. Though I did not have this perception at first, it makes sense that Mohsin is challenging western readers assumptions ie. it is not always the man who is dominant and with a large sexual appetite.
I also agree with James. Though I did not have this perception at first, it makes sense that Mohsin is challenging western readers assumptions ie. it is not always the man who is dominant and with a large sexual appetite.
Chasity
I think a big part of it is because the main theme of the story between Nadia and Saeed is about their changing relationship. Indeed, the entire novel moves forward based on a narrative about change. I imagine that the details about the intimacy of Saeed's parents illustrates that underlying theme of change and mirrors what Saeed and Nadia will experience in their own relationship.
Heather
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Karen
For me, in addition to what has already been answer, the parents sex life was a way to point out that they truly loved each other and did not follow what we might assume is the traditional of arranged marriage. In many ways, everything in this book challenges what we assume of Muslim people in Muslim nations.
ETA... by "we" I mean typical Western thinking.
ETA... by "we" I mean typical Western thinking.
Lisa
Have to disagree. In fact, I loved that part as it portrayed a deep, abiding love. Being hot for one another is how it all starts, isn't it? For the majority of couples (I'd say), that heat dissipates, but not for Saeed's parents, which is pretty remarkable. What stopped them were the limitations of their own bodies, not their desires.
Nancy
Definitely is to break stereotypes, since most Westerners think of arranged marriages, prudishness, forceful men, etc. I thought it could have been done in a less abrupt way, I found it very heavy-handed.
Mauricio
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Yasir
It took me more than a year to get hold of and read the book finally. To be honest, I did not like the flow of events. The transition from a fictional conflict-torn region to western urban centres is deeply perplexing.
Demi
I think there is a lot of meaning behind Saeed's parents sex life in the novel. The paragraph detailing their sex life throughout their marriage stood out to me at the end of the novel when Nadia and Saeed met half a century later. Saeed, noting that maybe things would have been different if he had had sex with Nadia, and she noting if they had married. But even through Saeed's parents distance in their relationship, the intimacy and label of their love didn’t save them from the way life can put a distinct strain on ones relationship.
Zunaira Elahi
Totally agree.
a_reader
Don't bother answering this question as Princessdarcy already abandoned it and gave it one star FFS.
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Oct 23, 2017 07:50AM