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A review by lory_enterenchanted
In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta Ahmed
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
2.5
This had some interesting information but the author's style was frustrating (desperately in need of a good editor). Her personality was also not very sympathetic, which is fatal in a memoir. She was so obsessed with designer objects, while I did not care to hear about the Bulgari jewelry and Gucci shoes or whatever. She was also constantly describing people as "Caucasian" or light-skinned as a mark of their beauty, which was regrettable.
I was much more interested in her spiritual experiences in Mecca, but I could get no impression of her spiritual life at all. It seemed to be indescribable, but again, if you're going to write a memoir you need to be able to describe things. All she could say was that she met her Maker in the presence of the Ka'aba. After her Hajj, on the eve of leaving Saudi Arabia, she was drawn to return again to the wonderful rock. She insists Islam is not idol worship, but then she equates the rock with God. It was weird and off-putting.
There seemed to be some painful experiences in her past that she was not being up front about. She shared almost nothing about her childhood and upbringing, nor about her spiritual life prior to her pilgrimage. One senses she did not have an easy relationship with her parents, which she probably didn't want to write about in public, but it leaves the reader feeling they're being denied important information.
She also is very naive about politics, as only the events of 9/11 unveil for her the depth of anti-American and anti-Jewish sentiment among her fellow Muslims. She insists that the terrorist attacks were a betrayal of Islamic ideals, that Islam is a religion that upholds life, but the very quote she references to support this exhorts the killing of enemies, so that was not very convincing. I need to read some more thoughtful and self-reflective authors to unravel the mystery of Islam.
I did really appreciate some of the information about life in Saudi Arabia, especially for women, and the description of Hajj which I found fascinating. It's important to understand the appeal of a religion so passionately followed by so many. This book gave me a hint of it, but I need to learn much more.
I was much more interested in her spiritual experiences in Mecca, but I could get no impression of her spiritual life at all. It seemed to be indescribable, but again, if you're going to write a memoir you need to be able to describe things. All she could say was that she met her Maker in the presence of the Ka'aba. After her Hajj, on the eve of leaving Saudi Arabia, she was drawn to return again to the wonderful rock. She insists Islam is not idol worship, but then she equates the rock with God. It was weird and off-putting.
There seemed to be some painful experiences in her past that she was not being up front about. She shared almost nothing about her childhood and upbringing, nor about her spiritual life prior to her pilgrimage. One senses she did not have an easy relationship with her parents, which she probably didn't want to write about in public, but it leaves the reader feeling they're being denied important information.
She also is very naive about politics, as only the events of 9/11 unveil for her the depth of anti-American and anti-Jewish sentiment among her fellow Muslims. She insists that the terrorist attacks were a betrayal of Islamic ideals, that Islam is a religion that upholds life, but the very quote she references to support this exhorts the killing of enemies, so that was not very convincing. I need to read some more thoughtful and self-reflective authors to unravel the mystery of Islam.
I did really appreciate some of the information about life in Saudi Arabia, especially for women, and the description of Hajj which I found fascinating. It's important to understand the appeal of a religion so passionately followed by so many. This book gave me a hint of it, but I need to learn much more.