Spoiler Alert****
Disturbing book about arranged marriages in the Palestinian culture.Even when a family emigrates to America, the horrible treatment of women continues, eventually resulting in deaths. Love is nowhere to be found in the marital relationships.
Set mostly in Brooklyn in modern times (2008), it alternates back to the 90's to explain the story of Isra's arranged marriage to Adam whose family moved to America to escape the poverty of the camps in Palestine after being ripped from their home by Israeli soldiers.
But the dreams of freedom and a better life in America fail to emerge as the isolated ethnic communities in Brooklyn fail to take advantage of much of what America has to offer them. By not assimilating, they have simply moved their backwards culture to a new location.....the only clear change is that many have stopped practicing their Muslim faith.
This was a bookclub read and generated some very emotional discussion.
Possible Triggers: Abuse of women and girls, marital rape, self-inflicted abortion, minimalization of girls, denial of women's rights.
Disturbing book about arranged marriages in the Palestinian culture.Even when a family emigrates to America, the horrible treatment of women continues, eventually resulting in deaths. Love is nowhere to be found in the marital relationships.
Set mostly in Brooklyn in modern times (2008), it alternates back to the 90's to explain the story of Isra's arranged marriage to Adam whose family moved to America to escape the poverty of the camps in Palestine after being ripped from their home by Israeli soldiers.
But the dreams of freedom and a better life in America fail to emerge as the isolated ethnic communities in Brooklyn fail to take advantage of much of what America has to offer them. By not assimilating, they have simply moved their backwards culture to a new location.....the only clear change is that many have stopped practicing their Muslim faith.
This was a bookclub read and generated some very emotional discussion.
Possible Triggers: Abuse of women and girls, marital rape, self-inflicted abortion, minimalization of girls, denial of women's rights.
