|
BOOK
REVIEW
If you
have read a book you would like to share, do write a review under your name
(or a constant "review Name" -
see
'Ethics')
Carmen Bin Ladin, “The Veiled Kingdom”. Virago Press, London. 2004
Reviewed by Peter E
The author, Carmen, is married into the now notorious Bin Laden family. Her
writing comes from first hand experience of the Bin Laden family and shows why
Osama Bin Laden plays such an important role in that ‘filthy rich’ family; how
the family is run by their interpretation of the Koran [the Islamic equivalent
of the Christian Bible.]
Were I still teaching adults, I would include this book in the 'required
reading' list. It gives a first-hand account of changes within a potentially
ideal marriage, showing the destructive influences of environment, the degree of
misunderstanding created by differing backgrounds and that money does not buy
happiness (though it does allow one to "be miserable in comfort.”)
More importantly this account of life in fundamentalist Saudi Arabia is
presented in counterpoise with her other life in Switzerland and the US. For the
‘Christian based’ reader, there is a peephole here into the unrecognised bias of
‘religious-engrained’ thinking. She shows how women themselves uphold the
(to us and the author) extreme
imbalance of male-female lifestyles in Saudi….
Because Carmen is part Iranian and part Swiss, she observes as well as takes
part in the Saudi lifestyle – and can thus interpret for us from an outsider’s
viewpoint. This evaluation clears the way for the (male?) reader to see what
she doesn’t see; the reasons why her husband cannot cope with the pressures upon
him, despite his clear love of his wife and family.
A book to hold the attention of the psychologist in all of us.
-- PER
Return to social activities
VillagePRESS
Other BOOK REVIEWS
VillagePRESS
| 
