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Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women By Geraldine Brooks ( Anchor )
Release Date: 1995-12-01
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Amazon.com
Geraldine Brooks spent two years as a Middle East news correspondent, covering the death of Khomeini and the like. She also learned a lot about what it's like for Islamic women today. Brooks' book is exceedingly well-done--she knows her Islamic lore and traces the origins of today's practices back to Mohammed's time. Personable and very readable, Brooks takes us through the women's back door entrance of the Middle East for an unusual and provocative view.
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a glimpse of a hidden world ( sabrinaatvt )
While this book is not meant to be an anthropological analysis of Muslim women, it does give insight into the Muslim world at large. It is broad in scope and should cite information more, but it can be an excellent choice to begin the journey to understanding. It should not be considered the final destination. I suggest this book to all.
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 Islam Means Submission
This is just one of the facts that I learned from this book. It became not just a fact but an insight as I continued reading it.
The book's excellence is demonstrated in that 13 years after its publication it is still being read. Its continued relevance is evidenced by so many current reviews here on Amazon. Since its publication there have been many books on this topic, including social studies and personal narratives, but this one still stands out.
Brooks spent 6 years in traveling to Middle Eastern Islamic countries covering the plight of women. While there is a chapter on Queen Nour, the book is primarily on the many anonymous middle class women who must submit to decisions about their lives, their health, their time, their children, where they can travel and even their dealth, all made by men. These men are not required, and most are not conditioned to, value her or consider her opinions or needs. They seem to be driven by their "honor" which is reflected by how well she masters the art of submission.
Brooks gives the clearest presentation I've read on the origins of the anti-woman practices that are permitted. She describes Mohammed's relations with his wives and the aftermath of his death which set the stage for others to interpret and misinterpret his words and actions.
The last chapter, where the author summarizes the issue and the lack of attention it receives world wide is pithy and strong.
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nine parts of desire...ten parts intrigue
Geraldine Brooks takes us inside her personal trip trough the Islamic world and gives as close to an UNBIASED view of the treatment of Islamic women that i could imagine. she is careful to point out the reasons that are given for wierd practices. She doesn't shy away from her disgust for certain treatments.
For example the propagation of so-called "honor killings" that still take place all over the world, as well as many other ways women are opressed in the mainstream Islamic world.
O by the way the writting style is smooth and easy to read. You can really enjoy this book even though the topic is sad the way it is told is great!
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Full of fascinating insight
Geraldine Brooks's book, while written before the "War on Terror" era, allows for a much better insight on Islamic life (specifically the treatment of women under Islamic law) than watching the evening news. Her panorama of experiences in the Middle East allows for the reader to see the tremendous variation that exists in Muslim countries. The background that she provides on Islam is also very useful for a Western understanding of the social climate in that part of the world. This book is an excellent starting point for anyone seeking to learn about the Muslim world.
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Highly recommended ( elyon40 )
I read this book for the first time well before 9/11, and I think it could be a useful read for a lot of people exactly for that reason- it was not written with the hindsight of 9/11. A lot of other reviewers have described Brooks' standpoint, so I won't go there, but I will say that her writing itself is beautiful. She does not use clunky language to get her point across, and this gives her writing a great deal of eloquent power. I found myself re-reading it several times over the course of a couple years.
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