BookWyrm

Denis started reading Terrorism and Communism by Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky: Terrorism and Communism (2017)

Terrorism and Communism by Leon Trotsky

Denis finished reading Nine parts of desire by Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks: Nine parts of desire (1996, Anchor Books)

With a New Afterword. As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Geraldine …

For those interested in learning a little more about the abuse of women under the guise of religious traditions in some Arab countries, I highly recommend this book. The book is written by a Wall Street Journal journalist who spent several years in the late 80s in the Middle East, covering events in the Arab world of those years, including the Iran-Iraq War, how life in Iran changed after the Islamic Revolution, the dramatic history of women in Gaza, Iraqi Kurdistan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, up until the Gulf War of 1991. It also explains the differences between the Shiite and Sunni movements and the history of Arab countries in the second half of the 20th century, when they switched to more dogmatic versions of Islam, along with a short but very capacious excursion into that part of the Quran and stories from the life of the Prophet, which …

For those interested in learning a little more about the abuse of women under the guise of religious traditions in some Arab countries, I highly recommend this book. The book is written by a Wall Street Journal journalist who spent several years in the late 80s in the Middle East, covering events in the Arab world of those years, including the Iran-Iraq War, how life in Iran changed after the Islamic Revolution, the dramatic history of women in Gaza, Iraqi Kurdistan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, up until the Gulf War of 1991. It also explains the differences between the Shiite and Sunni movements and the history of Arab countries in the second half of the 20th century, when they switched to more dogmatic versions of Islam, along with a short but very capacious excursion into that part of the Quran and stories from the life of the Prophet, which became the basis for the rules of conduct for women in Islamic countries. I dare say that the book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how the Islamic world works from the inside. Once you start reading, it's hard to stop.

Denis wants to read Terrorism and Communism by Leon Trotsky

Terrorism and Communism by Leon Trotsky

Denis quoted Nine parts of desire by Geraldine Brooks

With a New Afterword. As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Geraldine …

The heart of the liberal program at AUB has always been a cultural studies course that takes students from the Epic of Gilgamesh through Homer and Virgil to Locke, Descartes and Hobbes. In 1966 the imams of some Beirut mosques got hold of a required text from the course that quoted the medieval Christian theologian, Thomas Aquinas, saying that the Islamic faith's swift expansion didn't indi-cate the religion's inherent truth. Police burst onto the campus to arrest the heretical author. "I told them Mr. Aquinas wasn't available at the moment," recalls Tarif Khalidi, a medieval historian who helped develop the cultural studies program. He found himself hauled off to be interrogated instead.

— Nine parts of desire by Geraldine Brooks (Page 151)

It's no fun, but I couldn't hold a 😊

Denis quoted Nine parts of desire by Geraldine Brooks

With a New Afterword. As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Geraldine …

The stranger has come; she has her place in the house. Her tattoos are not like ours, But she's young, she's beautiful, just what my husband wanted; the nights aren't long enough for their play. Since she's come, the house is not the same, as though the doorsills and the walls were sulking; Perhaps I'm the only one who notices it, like a mule before his empty manger. But I must accept my new lot, for my husband is happy with his new wife. Once I, too, was beautiful, but my time is past.

— Nine parts of desire by Geraldine Brooks (Page 71 - 72)

Denis wants to read We Yevgeny Zamyatin by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Yevgeny Zamyatin: We Yevgeny Zamyatin (Paperback, 1924, Sahara Publisher Books)

We Yevgeny Zamyatin by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Denis finished reading Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell

Stephen Mitchell: Gilgamesh (Paperback, 2006, Free Press)

"The man in search of meaning" from thousands years ago. Very easy to read, unlike most of ancient texts. However I'm a bit disappointed being unable to feel the rhythm of poetry. For me it was more like prose adapted for elementary school students. Perhaps its because I'm not native speaker (by far). Now want to compare it with some other translations.