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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I found this book by lucky chance, because I was looking for books on Jordan and Bedouin ways of life. This turned out to be almost exactly what I was looking for, without me realizing it.
It takes a level of courage and heart to move away from everything you've ever known to live in an entirely different culture that I know I will never have. So it is a wonderful joy that I can see someone else do just that and find such love and joy in the process.
Thank you for sharing your story.
It takes a level of courage and heart to move away from everything you've ever known to live in an entirely different culture that I know I will never have. So it is a wonderful joy that I can see someone else do just that and find such love and joy in the process.
Thank you for sharing your story.
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
I really enjoyed this book. I found it very interesting in the way the author assimilates into her new life. She finds love first and then the meaning of what is family to a Bedouin.
I think van Geldermalsen would have done better to include some negative stories, as she paints a world that seems to be nothing but positive. And granted, I'm sure that's how she wants to remember her late husband... but it doesn't make for a really interesting read.
I'm pretty much in love with Middle Eastern culture, and I loved Marguerite's narration: an outsider looking into a foreign culture, and gradually becoming assimilated into it.
I'm pretty much in love with Middle Eastern culture, and I loved Marguerite's narration: an outsider looking into a foreign culture, and gradually becoming assimilated into it.
Very much the sort of thing that seems to happen mostly in books and movies, not to people one knows in real life. van Geldermalsen, who was born in New Zealand, was travelling in Jordan when she met the man who would become her husband. It was something of an accidental romance, a whirlwind romance—but it worked.
The writing's interesting, although it employs a certain style—I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's a sort of mellow, not-a-lot-of-ups-and-downs-in-tension story covering a lot of time; for some reason it stands out to me as a primarily British (and, I guess, Australian/New Zealand) style. Lets the author cover a lot of ground but doesn't go into as much depth.
van Geldermalsen says in the epilogue that she has 'mostly remembered the good times' (271), so we don't see a lot of things like struggling to fit in, but there are some pretty fascinating bits and pieces, and that's largely what's driving my rating here. Her marriage-contract calculations for what amount to ask for in the case of a divorce, for example—enough for her to get out if her husband called for a divorce (and had to pay), but not so much that she wouldn't be able to produce it if she wanted a divorce (and thus had to pay). And her parents' reaction to learning that she'd married: 'We think we have given you a good upbringing with plenty of opportunity to learn to think for yourself,' they wrote, 'so we trust you know well enough what you are doing' (70). There's so much that seems specific to, oh, time and place and culture. The caves they lived in—I wish there'd been more info, because as far as I can tell they're sort of caves but could also be accurately described as houses carved out of the hillside.
In a wise choice, van Geldermalsen focuses primarily on the years they spent in those caves, years when she was learning the culture and the language and before they moved into a settlement. Not that the later years wouldn't have been interesting, but to readers who have no experience with the Bedouin's lives pre-settlements, those early years make really compelling material. There's a sad, and unexpected, ending, but it's worth the read.
The writing's interesting, although it employs a certain style—I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's a sort of mellow, not-a-lot-of-ups-and-downs-in-tension story covering a lot of time; for some reason it stands out to me as a primarily British (and, I guess, Australian/New Zealand) style. Lets the author cover a lot of ground but doesn't go into as much depth.
van Geldermalsen says in the epilogue that she has 'mostly remembered the good times' (271), so we don't see a lot of things like struggling to fit in, but there are some pretty fascinating bits and pieces, and that's largely what's driving my rating here. Her marriage-contract calculations for what amount to ask for in the case of a divorce, for example—enough for her to get out if her husband called for a divorce (and had to pay), but not so much that she wouldn't be able to produce it if she wanted a divorce (and thus had to pay). And her parents' reaction to learning that she'd married: 'We think we have given you a good upbringing with plenty of opportunity to learn to think for yourself,' they wrote, 'so we trust you know well enough what you are doing' (70). There's so much that seems specific to, oh, time and place and culture. The caves they lived in—I wish there'd been more info, because as far as I can tell they're sort of caves but could also be accurately described as houses carved out of the hillside.
In a wise choice, van Geldermalsen focuses primarily on the years they spent in those caves, years when she was learning the culture and the language and before they moved into a settlement. Not that the later years wouldn't have been interesting, but to readers who have no experience with the Bedouin's lives pre-settlements, those early years make really compelling material. There's a sad, and unexpected, ending, but it's worth the read.
informative
medium-paced
This was an unexpected gem of a book. I had no expectations but I found myself fascinated with her life in Petra and the author adjusting to life in Jordan.
It's an interesting story. I was drawn in by the premise, because it was so unusual. But frankly this book needed a LOT more editing. I'm finding it difficult to keep track of everyone Van Geldermalsen meets and talks about, which means I find it difficult to stay interested in the story. Overall, it was interesting but so poorly edited it just kept dragging on and on. Bummer.
adventurous
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
emotional
informative
slow-paced
This is an extraordinary story of New-Zealand born nurse who falls in love with a Bedouin while she's is traveling in Petra, Jordan. She becomes one of them, adopts the life of a Bedouin and begins to live in the caves as them.
It is this extraordinary tale that made me keep on reading. The writing made vivid images of the red rocks of Petra and the pictures in it are a bonus!
It is this extraordinary tale that made me keep on reading. The writing made vivid images of the red rocks of Petra and the pictures in it are a bonus!
It was ok. Interesting memoir and I’m glad I read it after visiting Jordan. It gives a good insight into Bedouin life