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A review by cmocker
The Woman Who Fell from the Sky by Jennifer Steil
3.0
Maybe 3.5*
The good news is this book taught me more about the country of Yemen and its culture. And while I appreciate that, I really didn't love the book. The book frustrated me at every turn, perhaps because the author was too open and honest throughout her Yemeni adventure. I just really couldn’t relate to her as a woman, a journalist, or a professional.
What I got about Yemeni culture is that Yemeni women are all gems who are treated as second-class citizens and segregated from the men (except at home). Next, the country is going to hell in a handbasket because most of the men chew qat, which is a mood altering stimulant, for hours at a time instead of working or spending time with their family. One of the quotes from a Yemeni man in the book is, “If you had a wife who was uneducated and illiterate, with no interest in politics…, would you be in a rush to get home?” But yet the men are the ones who “create” this situation.
I read the whole book – and still don’t know why the title is “The Woman Who Fell From the Sky”. She didn’t fall there accidentally. She was looking for an adventure and seemingly wanted to help teach native Yemenis how to be journalists twice. I'm very torn about how I feel about this book and would have loved to talk to someone else about it. I guess it would have been a good book club book.
The good news is this book taught me more about the country of Yemen and its culture. And while I appreciate that, I really didn't love the book. The book frustrated me at every turn, perhaps because the author was too open and honest throughout her Yemeni adventure. I just really couldn’t relate to her as a woman, a journalist, or a professional.
What I got about Yemeni culture is that Yemeni women are all gems who are treated as second-class citizens and segregated from the men (except at home). Next, the country is going to hell in a handbasket because most of the men chew qat, which is a mood altering stimulant, for hours at a time instead of working or spending time with their family. One of the quotes from a Yemeni man in the book is, “If you had a wife who was uneducated and illiterate, with no interest in politics…, would you be in a rush to get home?” But yet the men are the ones who “create” this situation.
I read the whole book – and still don’t know why the title is “The Woman Who Fell From the Sky”. She didn’t fall there accidentally. She was looking for an adventure and seemingly wanted to help teach native Yemenis how to be journalists twice. I'm very torn about how I feel about this book and would have loved to talk to someone else about it. I guess it would have been a good book club book.