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shonaningyo's review
4.0
Does this ever happen to you?
You're in a lull in time, bored, just thinking. And then your brain for no other reason than to be weird shoots a random memory or thought in your head. These little snippets are usually things like book or movie synopses.
It always happens to me. As an afterthought I was thinking about a book I read a few years ago about a young girl in the Middle East who was doused in kerosene and set on fire to protect her family's "honor".
So the day I am writing this, I was looking through my school library shelves and I found this! As soon as I saw the spine I was like, "I FOUND YOU!"
...
Okay onto the story.
This was a true account of the harsh, cruel, and totally UNFAIR treatment of women in certain societies. This takes place in Palestine, apparently. I always had the idea it was in a remote village in Afghanistan or something.. Does that make me ignorant? I don't care if it does.
Women in the Middle East like in Palestine--and quite a few cultures in Africa-- are considered less than a second class citizen. The modesty idea is taken to the extreme; women must work, work, work, work, work! "Don't take your eyes off the ground, you whore!" "Stop looking at that dude, you skank!" "Why can't you milk 300 goats in 20 minutes, you looseless wench?!" Basically that is the whole idea.
...
EDIT:
I've been seeing reviews that this book is apparently not a real memoir. Despite that revelation, I will maintain my score because I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Just because this may be fake does not mean that women are still not treated in this way and that honor killings aren't an issue; they still are.
You're in a lull in time, bored, just thinking. And then your brain for no other reason than to be weird shoots a random memory or thought in your head. These little snippets are usually things like book or movie synopses.
It always happens to me. As an afterthought I was thinking about a book I read a few years ago about a young girl in the Middle East who was doused in kerosene and set on fire to protect her family's "honor".
So the day I am writing this, I was looking through my school library shelves and I found this! As soon as I saw the spine I was like, "I FOUND YOU!"
...
Okay onto the story.
This was a true account of the harsh, cruel, and totally UNFAIR treatment of women in certain societies. This takes place in Palestine, apparently. I always had the idea it was in a remote village in Afghanistan or something.. Does that make me ignorant? I don't care if it does.
Women in the Middle East like in Palestine--and quite a few cultures in Africa-- are considered less than a second class citizen. The modesty idea is taken to the extreme; women must work, work, work, work, work! "Don't take your eyes off the ground, you whore!" "Stop looking at that dude, you skank!" "Why can't you milk 300 goats in 20 minutes, you looseless wench?!" Basically that is the whole idea.
...
EDIT:
I've been seeing reviews that this book is apparently not a real memoir. Despite that revelation, I will maintain my score because I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Just because this may be fake does not mean that women are still not treated in this way and that honor killings aren't an issue; they still are.
burritapal_1's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
2.0
https://original.antiwar.com/therese-taylor/2005/05/02/truth-history-and-honor-killing/
From the afterword:
Surgir is a Swiss Foundation that works with women, anywhere in the world, who are subjected to criminal traditions, women who are Martyrs in their souls and in their bodies, and with the children of these women. Surgir Fights vigorously against the Injustice of the Customs that victimize these women. To support the work of Surgir: bla bla bla
The above link is to an article that an author wrote uncovering the truth about this book. The truth is that this book was written using recovered memories from the woman known as Souad.
I have a sister who is a cruel selfish person who used recovered memories in the past to say that my father molested her. If you know my sister, and you know my father (rip), you know that this is totally made up.
I was ready to feel outraged on behalf of this woman from palestine. I decided to look her up on the internet, and came across this article where the author debunks her story. Basically this book is written, mainly as fiction, to elicit donations for the Surgir organization. I don't like that and I don't like feeling tricked.
And there's another thing I don't like about it: Palestine is not used. there's only one time in the book that she mentions something like "I as a Palestine woman." It's always the West Bank this and the West Bank that. Plus there's a lot of West banks in the world. Are we supposed to just assume that is the West Bank of the Jordan river?
There're a lot of inconsistencies uncovered in the book, that you'll find in the article.
elenetheours's review
1.0
I've never read any of the reviews about the book. I was studying Arabic at the time of its publishing, and interested in everything about the Arab World, I just grabbed it. Honestly, I've never been so disappointed with a book (well, unless the one time when I read Coelho's The Devil and Miss Prym).
I'm still not sure whether it's a fake or not.
I'm still not sure whether it's a fake or not.
allbookedup_'s review against another edition
5.0
I read this book and I do think it is a true story, especially after seeing the authors interview on French television. Even if this book turns out not to be real I'm still glad I read it and I still feel like it has a very positive message.
I was horrified by some of things that happened to Souad and how she still is able to live a life, it's amazing. The worst part of this was hearing that someone who knew better, who fooled her with love. It's so disturbing.
I was horrified by some of things that happened to Souad and how she still is able to live a life, it's amazing. The worst part of this was hearing that someone who knew better, who fooled her with love. It's so disturbing.
creativerunnings's review
dark
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
lauramilitaru's review against another edition
4.0
4.5⭐️
Arsă de vie este o carte “mărturisire”, povestea este spusă direct, fără nici cele mai mici înflorituri, și mi s-a părut perfect așa pentru că am simțit-o mult mai reală și mai cutremurătoare.
“S-ar zice că soarele e atât de obosit să ne tot lumineze, încât cade ca o piatră, lăsându-ne în întuneric.”
Am citit cartea cu inima strânsă, m-a consumat și m-am gândit la ea constant. E ireal cum astfel de cutume există și în zilele noastre, cum femeile sunt tratate mai rău decât animalele chiar de propria familie.
Arsă de vie este o carte “mărturisire”, povestea este spusă direct, fără nici cele mai mici înflorituri, și mi s-a părut perfect așa pentru că am simțit-o mult mai reală și mai cutremurătoare.
“S-ar zice că soarele e atât de obosit să ne tot lumineze, încât cade ca o piatră, lăsându-ne în întuneric.”
Am citit cartea cu inima strânsă, m-a consumat și m-am gândit la ea constant. E ireal cum astfel de cutume există și în zilele noastre, cum femeile sunt tratate mai rău decât animalele chiar de propria familie.
moris_deri's review
4.0
Courtesy of my cousin Yvonne, I had the pleasure of reading this fake memoir some ten years ago. I enjoyed the pacing of the story, although the exaggeration can be a little bit off-putting at times. My suspicion was proven true when i discovered that many people also have doubted the veracity of the story. Notwithstanding, it is still a great read as a fiction piece.
sheartwood's review
1.0
The writing is terrible and the book only skims the surface of the most important events. I agree with other reviewers that this is a work of fiction. Maybe I still would have liked it even if it wasn't true, but the writing was so bad that I found nothing to appreciate.