Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women - Softcover

Brooks, Geraldine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385475772 ISBN 13: 9780385475778

Publisher: Anchor, 1995

Synopsis

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - Pulitzer Prize winning author presents the stories of a wide range of Muslim women in the Middle East. As an Australian American and an experienced foreign correspondent, Brooks' thoughtful analysis attempts to understand the precarious status of women in the wake of Islamic fundamentalism.

"Frank, enraging, and captivating." - The New York Times

Nine Parts of Desire is the story of Brooks' intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives. Defying our stereotypes about the Muslim world, Brooks' acute analysis of the world's fastest growing religion deftly illustrates how Islam's holiest texts have been misused to justify repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of a once liberating faith.

As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Geraldine Brooks spent six years covering the Middle East through wars, insurrections, and the volcanic upheaval of resurgent fundamentalism. Yet for her, headline events were only the backdrop to a less obvious but more enduring drama: the daily life of Muslim women.

About this title

Review:

Geraldine Brooks spent two years as a Middle East news correspondent, covering the death of Khomeini and the like. She also learned a lot about what it's like for Islamic women today. Brooks' book is exceedingly well-done--she knows her Islamic lore and traces the origins of today's practices back to Mohammed's time. Personable and very readable, Brooks takes us through the women's back door entrance of the Middle East for an unusual and provocative view.

From the Author:

This, my first book, was published back in 1994.  I wish I could say that change and progress in the lives of the women I lived among and wrote about has made the book outdated.  Sadly, that is not the case.  The insights I shared are still depressingly relevant and our need to understand even more pressing.

About this edition

• Publisher: Anchor
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0385475772
• ISBN 13: 9780385475778
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 255