Nomad is a philosophical memoir, telling how Ayaan Hirsi Ali came to America in search of a new life, and the difficulties she faced in reconciling her two worlds. With vivid anecdotes and observations of people, cultures, and political debacles, this narrative weaves together Hirsi Ali's personal story -- including her reconciliation with her devout father who had disowned her when she denounced Islam -- with the stories of other women and men, high-profile and not, whom she encounters. With a deep understanding and intimate perspective of the situation of Muslim women and moderates in the world today and her singular, unwavering intellectual courage, Hirsi Ali offers her always notable, often controversial analysis of Islam vis a vis the superiority of Western democratic values.
About the Author
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia, was raised as a Muslim, and spent her childhood and young adulthood in Africa and Saudi Arabia. In 1992 Hirsi Ali went to the Netherlands as a refugee, escaping a forced marriage to a distant cousin she had never met. She denounced Islam after 9/11 and now works as a Dutch parliamentarian, fighting for the rights of Muslim women in Europe, the enlightenment of Islam, and for security in the West.
The main characters introduced in Smith's debut, Child 44, continue their ferocious saga to find love and consolation against a backdrop of the totalitarian Soviet state. In 1956, copies of Khrushchev's anti-Stalin speech are delivered to officials responsible for the purges and repressions, thus releasing a new round of murders and suicides. At the same time, a second plot twines with the first as ex-lovers from Child 44 grapple in a macabre contest of vengeance and hate. Smith has proven his brutal touch when describing human conflict. With this thriller, he offers a fierce account of fighting onboard a storm-wracked prison ship on the Sea of Okhotsk-a hair-raising scene, alone worth the cost of the book. For all popular collections; be ready for short-term demand owing to heavy promotion. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/09.]-Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
What a fascinating and insightful read. I haven't read Infidel yet, and I have a feeling I'd enjoy that more, but I still learnt a lot in this book. I liked the way Hirsi Ali spoke about her mother, brother, grandmother and the like in separate chapters. I like how she made reference to her cousins, those that made it (in some fashion) in Western society, and those that utterly failed to.
I also found this interesting as I once taught several Islamic Somali and Kenyan girls. One followed Islam for cultural reasons, but it was quietly suggested that her brother-in-law, whom she lived with, was much more of a deep believer. The other followed Islam for similar reasons, but it was lightly implied that she was forced to follow it religiously as well.
As for her remarks on Christianity, I'm uncertain. It could go both ways- it may be possible for Muslim women to convert, as a 'stopping point', but across the board I don't think it possible. I don't have any solutions, though.
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