Books About Women

hamizao

I wonder whether there are sufficient books on women ........their story, their thoughts, dreams and most of all their voice.............In many countries women still do struggle to be heard. There is also this local saying thay girls may be seen but not heard, In some countries they may also not be seen nor heard. I should like to invite forumners to post your review of books you have read which are about woman , both fiction an non-fiction. Share with us why you like it.

hamizao

Perhaps I should start the ball rolling then...........

UNFINISHED SYMPHONIES: VOICES FROM THE BEYOND
by Rosemary Brown

I read this book a very long time ago but I cannot forget a thong or two about it. Rosemary Brown, a renown psychic of her days claimed being visited by the spirits of well known composers who inspired her to play and compose music. Among the composition was the last movement to complete Shubert's "Unfinished Symphony... hence the title of this little book. Some experts did think that her compositions were typical of the composers she whom she said inspired her She was said to  not have had much musical background herself though not totally a stranger at it either.

The bit on the subject of life after death was amazing. Very few would have guessed it! She was said to be able to communicate with the spirits and she had asked them the QUESTION about what happens after death......at least as experienced by them. Now you'd have to read the book to know the details I guess.

Recently, I saw the video of young Franz Liszt whose father was a friend of Beethoven, I couldn't help recall the answer Beethoven' spirit gave when asked about Liszt!

I thought  this is a little spooky!

limau_nipis

dear hamizao

here is the thread.. nanti i merge ok

http://forum.cari.com.my/viewthr ... amp;extra=page%3D13

schmashion11

i think the other thread is more focussing on female authors. this thread is more on books about women, regardless the author's gender.
there's a big difference there.no?

schmashion11

hey hamizao, check out this short story:

http://www.columbia.edu/~sss31/rainbow/wife.html

tell me what you think.

hamizao

It is quite differentl limau_nipis.

Schmashion11, how tragic it seems to be a wife. What a job spec! Strangely I did tell my hubby once that I too needed a wife.........

limau_nipis

ohhh.. i get it

my favourite one

Tunggu Teduh Dulu by Faisal Tehrani

he writes it from a woman's view point.. very interesting

hamizao

Originally posted by limau_nipis at 31-10-2008 01:52 PM
ohhh.. i get it

my favourite one

Tunggu Teduh Dulu by Faisal Tehrani

he writes it from a woman's view point.. very interesting

Care to share a thing or two about the central theme perhaps?

schmashion11

when we talk about books on women, their viewpoints, their perspectives on life, tak boleh tidak we have to relate it to feminism.
oppression by men, how the community treat them unfairly and so on.these are the topic that are being highlighted by those writers.
in I need a wife, it represents how we are perceived by men, and even the society. being a wife is like taking a job which duty is nothing but to please our men.
i mean, in modern days, equality among genders is very importan matter. marriage is about sharing, and caring for each other.sadly, not everyone seems to think that way.
a wife is a wife.a wife is no one without her man.she needs to please her man, and do whatever it takes as long as it makes the husband satisfied. but what about her?

if being a wife only means being obedient,do everything as the husband says, never complaining bout how she needs to be loved, and appreciated then i too, need a wife.

hamizao

Perhaps this book rings a bell  too....




A very moving  non fictional story. Mai had to forcefully undergo ancient tribal custom of being "dishonoured"  for
the "crime" purported to have been done by her brother towards a higher caste girl. The customary way to iron
out differences between men is to brutalise the women. In that country the women seem to accept it in scilence.

You can feel for Mai in her effort to take on her oppressers. Even the Government thought that her activities were
unpatriotic. Boy, where were they when she needed protection?? In case some of you may not be familiar with this
case, it happened just a few years back. Women are an economic barter in a tribal system. Females are treated as
nothing.....I thought this had died with the jahiliah era!

schmashion11

care to elaborate more, hamizao? i mean the book.
never read it. is it the same with the honour killing tradition?
y'know, where rape victim need to save the family 'honour' by being punished for the crime in which she is the victim?

hamizao

Story got to be told to a French writer. The book is the English translation.
Mai's young brother was acused of making out with an older girl of a higher cast. So the tribal council decided that to atone the family's honor she had to be raped by 4 men. This is in Northern Pakistan where village/tribal council is very much still ingrain. The Govt seemed to be impotent in such matters. Usually, woman in such situation just simply feel so ashame and commit suicide. Instead Mai, with some help, sued the council at the supreme court whch she won after many anguishing moments. She then continue to fight for the rights of women/girls in her village who would otherwise remain uneducated and illiterate.

As it turned out the accusation on the brother was untrue (he was only 12 years old) and that the girl he was accused of seducing, turned out to be a loose sort. So it was rather convenient then to just do what they did on the young boy.

[ Last edited by  hamizao at 3-11-2008 11:36 PM ]

samjones

anyone read Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters?!

i heard that it's a really good read.

hamizao

How about this gripping experience of two sisters when their father had married them off  without their knowledge.....on the pretex of going for a holiday back to his country. What a dirty trick to play on the girls. A disturbing story indeed. Read it with your tissue box near you!







Editorial Reviews
Review
'This is a fascinating story.' SOUTH WALES ECHO

By her own account, Zana Muhsen's was a troubled family. Her father had already sent an older brother and sister to his family in Aden as small children, and their dual nationality had meant that they could not be returned to England. Nevertheless, when he proposed a holiday for Zana and Nadia to his native Yemen, they could not have expected to find, on their arrival, that he had married them off without their consent, to boys they had never met, and was now abandoning them to life in a village as far removed from life in Birmingham as could be imagined. Raped by their husbands and regularly beaten, the sisters endured daily hardships, and the ordeal of childbirth without proper medical care. Meanwhile, their mother, Miriam, began a furious campaign for their return but once again their dual nationality meant that the Yemeni government need not send them back and it took many years of diplomatic haggling before Zana was permitted to leave, and then only after surrendering her child to her husband's family. Nadia, her spirit broken by the harsh treatment of her family and unable to take her children with her, has remained in Yemen despite continued campaigning and it seems unlikely that anything can be done to rescue her; the legal position is confused and diplomats are reluctant to commit themselves. It seems unbelievable that in this day and age girls can still be sold into unwanted marriages which are little more than slavery. Zana Muhsen's story stands as a stark warning to all those who say that it can't happen here. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description

Zana Muhsen, born and bred in Birmingham, is of Yemeni origin. When her father told her she was to spend a holiday with relatives in North Yemen, she jumped at the chance. Aged 15 and 13 respectively, Zana and her sister discovered that they had been literally sold into marriage, and that on their arrival they were virtually prisoners. They had to adapt to a completely alien way of life, with no running water, dung-plastered walls, frequent beatings, and the ordeal of childbirth on bare floors with only old women in attendance. After 8 years of misery and humiliation, Zana succeeded in escaping, but her sister is still there, and it seems likely that she will now never leave the country where she has spent more than half her life. This is an updated edition of Zana's account of her experiences.

Courtesy of Amazon

day

Originally posted by hamizao at 2-11-2008 10:04 PM


Perhaps this book rings a bell  too....


http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176121181m/594449.jpg

A very moving  non fictional story. Mai had to forcefully undergo ancient tribal  ...

i've been searching for this book all this while..thanks for sharing..

btw, why don't u search on books written by jean sasson..

she writes mainly about women in the Middle East..

hamizao

Thanks, day. I shall get to that in due time. I intend to  post those I have read. Should there be anyone who have read the same book it would be a nice exchange of opinion etc.

day

i love reading books with humanity and feminism as the subject..

its such a wonder for these people to share their stories and inspire others..

i have few of sasson's books and i'm truly moved by her writing..

i already have 'sold' in my hand but haven't started reading it..

will give my 2cent on that book later

mykiwi

I read "A thousand splendid suns" by Khaled Hosseini (The kite runner author).

It was about women in Afghanistan. So hard to imagine how they treated women very bad under the taliban.

I look forward to read "SOLD" by Zana Muhsen and still searching if it is available at any bookstore

hamizao

Indeed mykwi, it appears that the woman's lot is much wanting in many countries more so because of the traditional attitude towards the role of woman in their society.



Though this book is fiction I do wonder how much of the values are true reflection of the truth of the time. Khaled spent only 11 years living in Afghanistan. He later moved to France and  US where he became a medical doctor. The few men in the story don't seem to be trustworthy...just self serving. Reminds me of some of the profiles in Muslimah.com........................just looking for a maid rather than a wife!   While the men may commit anything and go unpunished, the women and children live out their burden.

[ Last edited by  hamizao at 6-12-2008 08:23 PM ]

day

i already finish reading sold..i try searching on wiki for their current update but none really helps..

i really wanna know what happen to nadia muhsen..she's already in her 40's now, rite? if she still couldnt get herself out of yemen, then i guess, she would spent her life forever there..

but one thing for sure, her children is the only reason that keep her from going back to england with her sister..