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حب في جدة
يتعرف قارئ الرواية من خلال بطلها «ناصر» كيف يمكن أن يتعايش الأفارقة مع كفلائهم؟ وما يقومون به من أعمال مضاعفة لضمان حياتهم وأمنهم المادي، وكيف أن ارتباط البطل بأمه جعله يفكر فيها دائماً ويجدّ في جمع قدر كبير من المال حتى يستطيع العودة إليها في السودان، إذ كان عليه العمل طوال يومه في مغسلة السيارات أولاً، ثم في مقهى «جاسم» في حي النزلة الذي يسكنه الأغنياء، ويقوم ناصر وأقرانه من الفقراء على خدمتهم.
في هذا الحي (يقع في جنوب جدة الآن، وهجره الأغنياء للفقراء) تدور أحداث الرواية ووقائعها، وينقل لنا أدونيا في 375 صفحة فيلماً بالأبيض والأسود - كما يسميه - عن حياة الناس الاجتماعية، وعن سلوكياتهم الأخلاقية في هذه المدينة الساحلية.
يقول: «في جدة الكثير من الناس الذين تمتزج أيامهم ولياليهم في رحلة طويلة من الحزن وأنا واحد من هؤلاء الناس، لكنني لم أكن أعرف أن حبي الحقيقي ينتظرني في طيات ثوب زفاف جدة، ولا بد أنني أول رجل في التاريخ يقع في حب امرأة بسبب حذائها».
ثم يسرد قصة لقاء ناصر بإحدى فتيات حي النزلة، وكيف استطاعت هذه الفتاة «فيور» التي تنحدر من أصول إريترية، لأب لم يُمنح الجنسية السعودية بخلاف أمها التي هي ابنة رجل مصري، استطاعت أن تجذب إليها الفتى الوسيم الأسمر وتصنع قصة حبهما من خلال رسائلها التي تلقيها عند صندوق قمامة بعد أن يلحق بها ناصر ويلتقطها.
في هذا الحي (يقع في جنوب جدة الآن، وهجره الأغنياء للفقراء) تدور أحداث الرواية ووقائعها، وينقل لنا أدونيا في 375 صفحة فيلماً بالأبيض والأسود - كما يسميه - عن حياة الناس الاجتماعية، وعن سلوكياتهم الأخلاقية في هذه المدينة الساحلية.
يقول: «في جدة الكثير من الناس الذين تمتزج أيامهم ولياليهم في رحلة طويلة من الحزن وأنا واحد من هؤلاء الناس، لكنني لم أكن أعرف أن حبي الحقيقي ينتظرني في طيات ثوب زفاف جدة، ولا بد أنني أول رجل في التاريخ يقع في حب امرأة بسبب حذائها».
ثم يسرد قصة لقاء ناصر بإحدى فتيات حي النزلة، وكيف استطاعت هذه الفتاة «فيور» التي تنحدر من أصول إريترية، لأب لم يُمنح الجنسية السعودية بخلاف أمها التي هي ابنة رجل مصري، استطاعت أن تجذب إليها الفتى الوسيم الأسمر وتصنع قصة حبهما من خلال رسائلها التي تلقيها عند صندوق قمامة بعد أن يلحق بها ناصر ويلتقطها.
372 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
32 people are currently reading
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About the author
Sulaiman Addonia
8 books105 followersSulaiman S.M.Y. Addonia is an author residing in London. He was born as the son of an Eritrean mother and an Ethiopian father in Eritrea. He spent his early life in a refugee camp in Sudan, following the Om Hajar massacre in 1976. In his early teens, he lived and studied in Saudi Arabia. He sought the asylum with his brother in London in 1990, and studied at the University College London.
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July 5, 2013
*تحذير : هذه ليست مراجعة أكثر منها أحاسيس أبثها لموطني الأول*
ما الذي يمكنني قوله ؟!
مجرد ذكر اسم جدة في العنوان هو الذي دفعني للقراءة .. أردت أن أعرف ما الذي يقوله الناس عن موطني، عن طريقة الحياة فيها .. كيف تعيش الجنسيات الآخرى حياتها هنا .. أردت أن أعود بالزمن لما قبل أكثر من عشرين عام ..
النظرة التي أخترقتني مرة من رجل أسود وهو يغسل السيارة المجاورة لنا جعلتني أفكر فيهم .. تملكني الفضول
و المرة التي أخذني فيها أبي ليصلح السيارة في الصناعية المكان القذر بالنسبة لفتاة مثلي و المركوم بالسيارات وفضﻻتها ..
كنت أسترق النظر في أوجه الناس و لحسن حظي أن السيارة كانت مظللة بشكل كامل، إذ رأيت رجلا تمﻷ لحيته البياض يقاوم قبضة يده لكيلا يضرب الفتى الذي يحمل منشفة حمراء .. وجه الولد كان عارما بالهدوء الذي لم يزد الرجل إلا حقدا عليه،
أتراه كان يظن و لو لحظة أن أحدا يكمن خلف الزجاج ويراه !؟ و ما ظروف الفتى التي جعلته يقاوم بهدوء و يكظم غيضه ؟!
صرت أردد : مكانه ليس هنا، ثم ترد علي نفسي : و من أنت لتقرري !
دائما ما كنت أحب منطقة البلد أو كما تسمى بجدة القديمة .. أحب أشكال الناس المختلفة، و أتمنى لو أنني أستطيع أن أحوم بها لوحدي .. وأن أنتشل خوفي، أن أجلس مع الناس .. أن أسمع حكاياهم، و ألا يقول لي أحدهم هذا ﻻ يصح !
كم واحدا مثل ناصر هنا .. هنا من حولي و ﻻ أشعر به ؟!
لماذا ننظر لهؤﻻء على أنهم غرباء وأنهم ينهبون بلدنا ؟ لماذا نعمم !
و السؤال الذي سيظل يؤرقني لماذا عﻻقة الرجل بالمرأة تحذو هذا المنحنى ؟
و قصر السرور الذي ما إن أخبر أبي برغبتي في زيارته سيفجع ..
أيضا .. نسيت أن أقول أنني أحب الحارات الشعبية، وأشعر بأن الحياة تكمن هناك، و أعرف الكثير من القصص التي تدور بها، و أرغب بأن أحكيها يوما ﻷحدهم
أحب جدة .. و سأصرخ في وجه سليمان ﻷقول له : جدة عروس البحر الأحمر و لم تعطَ يوما لباسا أكبر منها؛ لكنها تقاوم الغرق .
على غرار أغنية فيروز لبيروت أقول لك يا جدة .. أنت لي آه عانقيني .
ما الذي يمكنني قوله ؟!
مجرد ذكر اسم جدة في العنوان هو الذي دفعني للقراءة .. أردت أن أعرف ما الذي يقوله الناس عن موطني، عن طريقة الحياة فيها .. كيف تعيش الجنسيات الآخرى حياتها هنا .. أردت أن أعود بالزمن لما قبل أكثر من عشرين عام ..
النظرة التي أخترقتني مرة من رجل أسود وهو يغسل السيارة المجاورة لنا جعلتني أفكر فيهم .. تملكني الفضول
و المرة التي أخذني فيها أبي ليصلح السيارة في الصناعية المكان القذر بالنسبة لفتاة مثلي و المركوم بالسيارات وفضﻻتها ..
كنت أسترق النظر في أوجه الناس و لحسن حظي أن السيارة كانت مظللة بشكل كامل، إذ رأيت رجلا تمﻷ لحيته البياض يقاوم قبضة يده لكيلا يضرب الفتى الذي يحمل منشفة حمراء .. وجه الولد كان عارما بالهدوء الذي لم يزد الرجل إلا حقدا عليه،
أتراه كان يظن و لو لحظة أن أحدا يكمن خلف الزجاج ويراه !؟ و ما ظروف الفتى التي جعلته يقاوم بهدوء و يكظم غيضه ؟!
صرت أردد : مكانه ليس هنا، ثم ترد علي نفسي : و من أنت لتقرري !
دائما ما كنت أحب منطقة البلد أو كما تسمى بجدة القديمة .. أحب أشكال الناس المختلفة، و أتمنى لو أنني أستطيع أن أحوم بها لوحدي .. وأن أنتشل خوفي، أن أجلس مع الناس .. أن أسمع حكاياهم، و ألا يقول لي أحدهم هذا ﻻ يصح !
كم واحدا مثل ناصر هنا .. هنا من حولي و ﻻ أشعر به ؟!
لماذا ننظر لهؤﻻء على أنهم غرباء وأنهم ينهبون بلدنا ؟ لماذا نعمم !
و السؤال الذي سيظل يؤرقني لماذا عﻻقة الرجل بالمرأة تحذو هذا المنحنى ؟
و قصر السرور الذي ما إن أخبر أبي برغبتي في زيارته سيفجع ..
أيضا .. نسيت أن أقول أنني أحب الحارات الشعبية، وأشعر بأن الحياة تكمن هناك، و أعرف الكثير من القصص التي تدور بها، و أرغب بأن أحكيها يوما ﻷحدهم
أحب جدة .. و سأصرخ في وجه سليمان ﻷقول له : جدة عروس البحر الأحمر و لم تعطَ يوما لباسا أكبر منها؛ لكنها تقاوم الغرق .
على غرار أغنية فيروز لبيروت أقول لك يا جدة .. أنت لي آه عانقيني .
June 14, 2023
Sulaiman Addonia nasceu na Eritreia, passou a infância num campo de refugiados no Sudão e mais tarde mudou-se para Jeddah na Arábia Saudita. Anos mais tarde conseguiu asilo em Inglaterra, e actualmente vive em Bruxelas com a esposa e o seu filho.
Nasser, a personagem principal deste romance, partilha parte da própria história com o autor.
Após a eclosão da guerra na Eritreia a mãe de Naser entrega-o, juntamente com o irmão mais novo, a um tio na Arábia Saudita. Quando chega a hora do tio pagar ao seu Kafeel* este envia Naser assegurando-se que ele seria forçado a usar o seu corpo como pagamento. Começa aqui a introdução de Naser aos horrores da sociedade saudita.
Abandonado quando o tio e o irmão se mudam para Riade, ele torna-se amigo de outros rapazes perdidos com quem snifa cola, bebe perfume, e especula sobre as mulheres escondidas que passam em burqas negras.
Men in white thobes... women in black abayas. The scene made you feel like you were in an old black and white movie
O dia-a-dia é aborrecido, a lavar carros no elefante azul lá do sítio, um dos trabalhos de homens que os estrangeiros são autorizados a realizar na Arábia Saudita, e deambulando com os seus amigos até que um dia, quando está debaixo da árvore em frente da casa em que o seu tio vivia, uma mulher encoberta deixa cair uma carta aos seus pés. De repente, o seu mundo a preto e branco ganha alguma cor. Envolta na sua burqa, ela apaixonou-se por ele; mas ele só a pode reconhecer pelos sapatos dela, especificamente o rosa dos sapatos debaixo da sua burca negra e sufocante. É o início de uma história sincera de amor proibido, interpretada à sombra do regime fundamentalista.
Habibi,
Read this quickly and follow me from a distance. When you walk behind me, look down and take a look at my shoes. I bought them especially for us. (...) They are unique shoes and no one in Al-Nuzla has them. They will set me apart from other women in Al-Nuzla—when I am in the street, you will be able to recognise me.
A história de amor entre Naser e Fiore é o centro da trama, mas o livro tem mais a dizer sobre a sociedade saudita e as suas hipocrisias do que sobre o amor. O amor é proibido e todos os casamentos são arranjados, mas sodomizar os jovens rapazes, mesmo os que não querem, é socialmente, se não religiosamente, aceitável. Este mundo masculino desprovido de todas as mulheres é um clube do bolinha – menina não entra. Certos livros, álcool e outras coisas são proibidos pelos imãs, mas se um homem for suficientemente importante, pode contrabandear o que quiser e pode fazer o que quiser sem medo de represálias. Mas um estrangeiro a quem seja oferecido asilo deve ter o máximo cuidado ou pode ser sumariamente executado, mesmo por um crime que não cometeu.
É o retrato de uma sociedade profundamente horrenda na Arábia Saudita moderna, que fecha os olhos aos erros dos homens poderosos, que oprime e pune as mulheres. E no meio desta sociedade profundamente doente Addonia criou uma história de amor ao estilo Romeu e Julieta. Naser é o retrato de todos os emigrantes. Fiore é uma jovem que quer arriscar tudo porque sente que ainda não viveu a sua própria vida. Uma personagem singular, principalmente numa sociedade que oprime os direitos das mulheres.
* Kafeel: a sponsor. Every non-Saudi living or working in the country has to be sponsored by a Saudi. The kafeel system gives full control to the Saudis over the lives of the foreigners they sponsor. The kafeel has the power to withhold the passports of those under their control and deport them whenever they choose.
59/198 – Eritreia
Nasser, a personagem principal deste romance, partilha parte da própria história com o autor.
Após a eclosão da guerra na Eritreia a mãe de Naser entrega-o, juntamente com o irmão mais novo, a um tio na Arábia Saudita. Quando chega a hora do tio pagar ao seu Kafeel* este envia Naser assegurando-se que ele seria forçado a usar o seu corpo como pagamento. Começa aqui a introdução de Naser aos horrores da sociedade saudita.
Abandonado quando o tio e o irmão se mudam para Riade, ele torna-se amigo de outros rapazes perdidos com quem snifa cola, bebe perfume, e especula sobre as mulheres escondidas que passam em burqas negras.
Men in white thobes... women in black abayas. The scene made you feel like you were in an old black and white movie
O dia-a-dia é aborrecido, a lavar carros no elefante azul lá do sítio, um dos trabalhos de homens que os estrangeiros são autorizados a realizar na Arábia Saudita, e deambulando com os seus amigos até que um dia, quando está debaixo da árvore em frente da casa em que o seu tio vivia, uma mulher encoberta deixa cair uma carta aos seus pés. De repente, o seu mundo a preto e branco ganha alguma cor. Envolta na sua burqa, ela apaixonou-se por ele; mas ele só a pode reconhecer pelos sapatos dela, especificamente o rosa dos sapatos debaixo da sua burca negra e sufocante. É o início de uma história sincera de amor proibido, interpretada à sombra do regime fundamentalista.
Habibi,
Read this quickly and follow me from a distance. When you walk behind me, look down and take a look at my shoes. I bought them especially for us. (...) They are unique shoes and no one in Al-Nuzla has them. They will set me apart from other women in Al-Nuzla—when I am in the street, you will be able to recognise me.
A história de amor entre Naser e Fiore é o centro da trama, mas o livro tem mais a dizer sobre a sociedade saudita e as suas hipocrisias do que sobre o amor. O amor é proibido e todos os casamentos são arranjados, mas sodomizar os jovens rapazes, mesmo os que não querem, é socialmente, se não religiosamente, aceitável. Este mundo masculino desprovido de todas as mulheres é um clube do bolinha – menina não entra. Certos livros, álcool e outras coisas são proibidos pelos imãs, mas se um homem for suficientemente importante, pode contrabandear o que quiser e pode fazer o que quiser sem medo de represálias. Mas um estrangeiro a quem seja oferecido asilo deve ter o máximo cuidado ou pode ser sumariamente executado, mesmo por um crime que não cometeu.
É o retrato de uma sociedade profundamente horrenda na Arábia Saudita moderna, que fecha os olhos aos erros dos homens poderosos, que oprime e pune as mulheres. E no meio desta sociedade profundamente doente Addonia criou uma história de amor ao estilo Romeu e Julieta. Naser é o retrato de todos os emigrantes. Fiore é uma jovem que quer arriscar tudo porque sente que ainda não viveu a sua própria vida. Uma personagem singular, principalmente numa sociedade que oprime os direitos das mulheres.
* Kafeel: a sponsor. Every non-Saudi living or working in the country has to be sponsored by a Saudi. The kafeel system gives full control to the Saudis over the lives of the foreigners they sponsor. The kafeel has the power to withhold the passports of those under their control and deport them whenever they choose.
59/198 – Eritreia
February 13, 2017
موتورة .. تحمل اشواكا تحت الكلمات
September 21, 2009
The Consequences of Love is a book about love, about political and social and cultural constraints, and the consequences of following your heart in direct conflict with those rules and constraints. The novel is set in the year 1989, in Saudi Arabia, where the women are covered head to toe in black cloth, and the men move freely in light coloured cotton through the streets. Naser, a 20 year old man, feels like an outsider. His life from a little boy has been to serve others and survive, but Naser dreams of one day falling in love with a woman. This is something his peers scoff at, knowing that Naser's westernised conception of being 'free to love' does not exist in Saudi Arabia, with its arranged marriages and complete segregation of women from men. Then, one day, much like any other, a note is dropped by a woman in a tradional black abaya at Naser's feet. When Naser reads the note, his fate is sealed.
This novel is quite precious. It's unique and strange, and pretty. It's at the same time, quite dark, and swimming with youthful desire. It opened my eyes to Saudi Arabia's view on women and their inherently 'evil' natures which must be kept in check by the men. If a man falls prey to such deceitful wiles instead of staying true to his God, he will be punished, but it is the true fault of the woman and she will be punished worse. Having just been to Egypt last month, this novel resonated with me. I could smell it, I could taste it, I could feel the dust on my skin and I could see the women in their flowing darkness.
I was told that in comparison to the bulk rest of the Middle East, Egypt was westernised. Even though I was groped, stared at, offered camels for my hand in marriage no less than 13 times, and just basically made to feel like a piece of meat, I could wander though the city of Cairo in shorts and a t-shirt without getting stoned. I never wore singlets, and the shorts never came above my knee, but even that was considered provocative enough to be the centre of attention. I thought that perhaps once I got there I would wear a veil to be respectful, but in reality my open-mindedness with regard to their culture narrowed. I suddenly felt insanely proud of my Western freedom and waved it about like a flag. I decided I didn't want to wear a veil, because I felt that to wear one when I didn't believe in their culture would be more disrespectful than being categorised as a filthy Western slut.
So to have this book set in a country that was even more strict - I felt the pain of the women, and in particular, the imprisonment of this one woman wearing the pink shoes peeking out from her traditional abaya, for Naser's benefit. Naser refers to her as 'Fiore' which means flower, and we never come to learn her real name. She becomes a symbol of scent, fragility, beauty and strength in Naser's world. But Fiore is also, much of the time, a mystery.
I had a bit of a lightbulb moment with this book as well, that I didn't recognise in my time in Egypt - it's that a man living in this culture is equally as imprisoned and bound by cultural restraints. Their thoughts have to be restricted, and though they may be aroused by the mystery of what lays behind the veil, they must never act on it in fear of the whip, or even death.
The characterisation of Naser is perfect - he is a romantic, and dreams of Egyptian actresses with their sparkling eyes and generous smiles, but he is also realistic and attempts to act rationally in his protection of Fiore, knowing that they will both suffer the consequences in they are caught. It makes you feel all the more anxious as Naser becomes more and more brave (some would say stupid) in his acts of love and worship to Fiore. You *will* them not to get caught, but you can't see how they can continue on like this forever. Fiore is equally heroic, perhaps even more so, considering if caught she will be punished the most severely, and yet she takes the first step by dropping the note at Naser's feet, signalling her wish to be involved with him.
The writing in this book is wonderful: it's clean and innocent, and sweet and symbolic. Even when describing Naser's duty to provide his body to men in order to survive in a city where women are off limits, the writer weaves compassion and strength in Naser's retelling, in equal measure. Even if you are not much into learning about the culture of this world that seems so far away, but in reality is so prevalent to our own society right now, you should read this book because it is a lovely piece of literature. I'll finish with a teaser bit just so I can show you what I mean...
------'I followed her and looked down at her feet. As she walked in front of me, her shoes came and went under her black abaya. They were of a deep pink colour made of soft leather, and I could see that the leather sat comfortably around her feet, as it bent easily with every step she took. From behind her, the only thing I could see well were the medium-sized heels peeping out from under her robe. All of a sudden, the black and white set of Al-Nuzla Street was coloured. It was as if a pair of pink flamingos had arrived from a faraway tropical island.'------
It really is just gorgeous, and I urge you to read it. 4 stars for this little treasure.
This novel is quite precious. It's unique and strange, and pretty. It's at the same time, quite dark, and swimming with youthful desire. It opened my eyes to Saudi Arabia's view on women and their inherently 'evil' natures which must be kept in check by the men. If a man falls prey to such deceitful wiles instead of staying true to his God, he will be punished, but it is the true fault of the woman and she will be punished worse. Having just been to Egypt last month, this novel resonated with me. I could smell it, I could taste it, I could feel the dust on my skin and I could see the women in their flowing darkness.
I was told that in comparison to the bulk rest of the Middle East, Egypt was westernised. Even though I was groped, stared at, offered camels for my hand in marriage no less than 13 times, and just basically made to feel like a piece of meat, I could wander though the city of Cairo in shorts and a t-shirt without getting stoned. I never wore singlets, and the shorts never came above my knee, but even that was considered provocative enough to be the centre of attention. I thought that perhaps once I got there I would wear a veil to be respectful, but in reality my open-mindedness with regard to their culture narrowed. I suddenly felt insanely proud of my Western freedom and waved it about like a flag. I decided I didn't want to wear a veil, because I felt that to wear one when I didn't believe in their culture would be more disrespectful than being categorised as a filthy Western slut.
So to have this book set in a country that was even more strict - I felt the pain of the women, and in particular, the imprisonment of this one woman wearing the pink shoes peeking out from her traditional abaya, for Naser's benefit. Naser refers to her as 'Fiore' which means flower, and we never come to learn her real name. She becomes a symbol of scent, fragility, beauty and strength in Naser's world. But Fiore is also, much of the time, a mystery.
I had a bit of a lightbulb moment with this book as well, that I didn't recognise in my time in Egypt - it's that a man living in this culture is equally as imprisoned and bound by cultural restraints. Their thoughts have to be restricted, and though they may be aroused by the mystery of what lays behind the veil, they must never act on it in fear of the whip, or even death.
The characterisation of Naser is perfect - he is a romantic, and dreams of Egyptian actresses with their sparkling eyes and generous smiles, but he is also realistic and attempts to act rationally in his protection of Fiore, knowing that they will both suffer the consequences in they are caught. It makes you feel all the more anxious as Naser becomes more and more brave (some would say stupid) in his acts of love and worship to Fiore. You *will* them not to get caught, but you can't see how they can continue on like this forever. Fiore is equally heroic, perhaps even more so, considering if caught she will be punished the most severely, and yet she takes the first step by dropping the note at Naser's feet, signalling her wish to be involved with him.
The writing in this book is wonderful: it's clean and innocent, and sweet and symbolic. Even when describing Naser's duty to provide his body to men in order to survive in a city where women are off limits, the writer weaves compassion and strength in Naser's retelling, in equal measure. Even if you are not much into learning about the culture of this world that seems so far away, but in reality is so prevalent to our own society right now, you should read this book because it is a lovely piece of literature. I'll finish with a teaser bit just so I can show you what I mean...
------'I followed her and looked down at her feet. As she walked in front of me, her shoes came and went under her black abaya. They were of a deep pink colour made of soft leather, and I could see that the leather sat comfortably around her feet, as it bent easily with every step she took. From behind her, the only thing I could see well were the medium-sized heels peeping out from under her robe. All of a sudden, the black and white set of Al-Nuzla Street was coloured. It was as if a pair of pink flamingos had arrived from a faraway tropical island.'------
It really is just gorgeous, and I urge you to read it. 4 stars for this little treasure.
April 24, 2011
This is a love story set around the middle east, had read Finding Noufa couple of months ago and found it a much better read. The Consequences of Love: A Novel is a slow book to get into and a little depressing although it is a good insight into the Saudi culture, Not one of my favourite books and was glad to finish it.
January 17, 2014
خلصتها بس لغاية دلوقتي مش قادرة أحدد إنطباعي العام عنها يمكن بدايتها كانت مقززة بكمية التفاصيل والاحداث
الغريبة عن مجتمعنا الإسلامي وده اللي خلاني مترددة في تكلمتها لكن بعد كام جزء ومع الأسلوب الرائع للكاتب في تسلسل الأحداث ونجاحه في إنه مش يشعر القاريء بالملل أثناء الرواية كملتها وخلصتها وكان ليا بعض المأخذ عليها زي العلاقة غير الشرعية بين البطل وحبيبته وتشويهه لبعض الملامح الدينية رغم إني ألتمس نوعاً ما العذر ليه نتيجة الأحداث اللي حصلت له والتنفير اللي اتعرض له من بعض الشيوخ لكن ده ل�� يشفع ليه إنه يعمم ده على كل المجتمع الإسلامي.
الغريبة إني لما حبيت أشوف أنطباع العرب عن الرواية لقيت العدد اللي قرأ الرواية قليل جداً وإنطباعاتهم غير مشجعة إطلاقاً وأغلبهم شاف إن الرواية اساءت للمجتمع السعودي وعشان كده تقييمهم ليها سيء في حين إن الرواية واخدة تقييمات عالية لدى القراء الأجانب ومعجبين جداً بيها.
اما بالنسبة لمدى مصداقية أحداث الرواية فبالبحث عن الكاتب واللي للأسف مش لقيت ليه أي تعريف بالعربي لكن ليه سيرة ذاتية بالإنجليزية وبالمقارنة بين السيرة الذاتية ليه والرواية فمتهيألي إن الرواية دي في جزء منها بيمثل حياة الكاتب
في النهاية أنا مش بشجع على قراءة الرواية وبردو مش بنهي عن قراءتها بس اللي هيأخد قرار وهيقرأها يأهل نفسه إنه هيقرأ حاجات مش هتعجبه نهائي وفي النهاية القرار في قراءتها راجع ليه.
الغريبة عن مجتمعنا الإسلامي وده اللي خلاني مترددة في تكلمتها لكن بعد كام جزء ومع الأسلوب الرائع للكاتب في تسلسل الأحداث ونجاحه في إنه مش يشعر القاريء بالملل أثناء الرواية كملتها وخلصتها وكان ليا بعض المأخذ عليها زي العلاقة غير الشرعية بين البطل وحبيبته وتشويهه لبعض الملامح الدينية رغم إني ألتمس نوعاً ما العذر ليه نتيجة الأحداث اللي حصلت له والتنفير اللي اتعرض له من بعض الشيوخ لكن ده ل�� يشفع ليه إنه يعمم ده على كل المجتمع الإسلامي.
الغريبة إني لما حبيت أشوف أنطباع العرب عن الرواية لقيت العدد اللي قرأ الرواية قليل جداً وإنطباعاتهم غير مشجعة إطلاقاً وأغلبهم شاف إن الرواية اساءت للمجتمع السعودي وعشان كده تقييمهم ليها سيء في حين إن الرواية واخدة تقييمات عالية لدى القراء الأجانب ومعجبين جداً بيها.
اما بالنسبة لمدى مصداقية أحداث الرواية فبالبحث عن الكاتب واللي للأسف مش لقيت ليه أي تعريف بالعربي لكن ليه سيرة ذاتية بالإنجليزية وبالمقارنة بين السيرة الذاتية ليه والرواية فمتهيألي إن الرواية دي في جزء منها بيمثل حياة الكاتب
في النهاية أنا مش بشجع على قراءة الرواية وبردو مش بنهي عن قراءتها بس اللي هيأخد قرار وهيقرأها يأهل نفسه إنه هيقرأ حاجات مش هتعجبه نهائي وفي النهاية القرار في قراءتها راجع ليه.
March 1, 2017
#NadirasPointOfReview. "I decided it was better to continue holding on to an idea, even if it was dangerous, in the hope that it would one day become more, rather than continue living in a loveless world."
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I just finished reading The Consequences of Love by Sulaiman Addonia. What I thought started off as average writing, turned out to be a thoroughly engrossing tale of Caged Emotions and Love before Sight. I never came across a book that gave me chills and goosebumps throughout. It was a fast-paced book, never had a slow, boring moment and kept u on the edge, biting ur nails, turning the pages to find out what happens next. This beautifully written love story with its dramatic conclusion is a compelling, gripping story indeed!
.
I just finished reading The Consequences of Love by Sulaiman Addonia. What I thought started off as average writing, turned out to be a thoroughly engrossing tale of Caged Emotions and Love before Sight. I never came across a book that gave me chills and goosebumps throughout. It was a fast-paced book, never had a slow, boring moment and kept u on the edge, biting ur nails, turning the pages to find out what happens next. This beautifully written love story with its dramatic conclusion is a compelling, gripping story indeed!
January 5, 2018
دائماً أحب أن أبدأ من العنوان. العنوان الإنجليزي الأصلي ترجمته "عواقب الحب"، وفعلاً هذا العنوان يلخّص حبكة الرواية أو المتوقع منها، لكن برأيي أن الناشر العربي كان مصيباً بتغييره إلى "حب في جدة"، فهذا العنوان مشوّق وملفت أكثر لنظر القارئ، وأعترف أنني لو رأيتها بعنوانها الأصلي ربما ما كانت لتجذب اهتمامي.
الغلاف قصة أخرى. جعلني غلاف هذه الرواية أعود إلى الكتب الموجودة في مكتبتي والصادرة عن دار الجمل وأتساءل: ما مشكلة دار الجمل مع الأغلفة؟! لماذا يعجزون عن تصميم غلاف جيد وجاذب للاهتمام؟! وببساطة لماذا لا يبقون على الغلاف الأصلي؟! فالغلاف الأصلي على بساطته (يحوي صورة لحذاء نسائي وردي فقط!) يلخص لك أهمية هذا الحذاء في مجريات الرواية! أما غلاف الطبعة العربية فلم أستطع حتى أن أفهم كنهه.
باختصار هي رواية تحكي المسكوت عنه، وما لا يحب السعوديون قراءته عن مجتمعهم. إذا كنتَ قد أحببت رواية "عداء الطائرة الورقية" فإنك على الأرجح ستحب هذه الرواية. وهي متوفرة بنسخة إلكترونية مجانية للتحميل.
عموماً الكاتب موهوب ولا أدري لماذا لم تصدر له أي رواية ثانية رغم مرور عشر سنوات على صدور هذه الرواية، الأولى والوحيدة.
الغلاف قصة أخرى. جعلني غلاف هذه الرواية أعود إلى الكتب الموجودة في مكتبتي والصادرة عن دار الجمل وأتساءل: ما مشكلة دار الجمل مع الأغلفة؟! لماذا يعجزون عن تصميم غلاف جيد وجاذب للاهتمام؟! وببساطة لماذا لا يبقون على الغلاف الأصلي؟! فالغلاف الأصلي على بساطته (يحوي صورة لحذاء نسائي وردي فقط!) يلخص لك أهمية هذا الحذاء في مجريات الرواية! أما غلاف الطبعة العربية فلم أستطع حتى أن أفهم كنهه.
باختصار هي رواية تحكي المسكوت عنه، وما لا يحب السعوديون قراءته عن مجتمعهم. إذا كنتَ قد أحببت رواية "عداء الطائرة الورقية" فإنك على الأرجح ستحب هذه الرواية. وهي متوفرة بنسخة إلكترونية مجانية للتحميل.
عموماً الكاتب موهوب ولا أدري لماذا لم تصدر له أي رواية ثانية رغم مرور عشر سنوات على صدور هذه الرواية، الأولى والوحيدة.
April 30, 2018
A beautiful love story, just when I thought I've read everything there is to read about Muslim countries. Such a pleasant surprise!
January 26, 2018
I wanted to like this book more. I was looking forward to reading a story about an Eritrean man's time in Saudi Arabia, given that the author is an Eritrean man who lived in Saudi Arabia. The story had promise and I enjoyed certain aspects of it, but overall I found it rather disappointing. I read it quickly so I could finish it and move on to something else.
The writing itself was average. I don't know if that's due in part to the translation or just the fact that this was Addonia's first novel, but it definitely felt like a first novel. (I say that as someone who admires the work that goes into writing a novel and who has never done it personally. It takes a lot of dedication and passion and hard work to write a first novel and I think Addonia should continue writing and improving.) The language was at times trite, with a harlequin romance novel feel to it, and I thought the ending was rather predictable.
It did manage to make me feel angry at parts, and I appreciated that it discussed religious oppression, sexual abuse, and immigrant rights in Saudi Arabia. I had never considered how immigrants might be treated in that country, so that part was illuminating.
But at the end of the day I think it fell flat. It was an entertaining story that no doubt other people will enjoy reading, but it wasn't much more than that.
The writing itself was average. I don't know if that's due in part to the translation or just the fact that this was Addonia's first novel, but it definitely felt like a first novel. (I say that as someone who admires the work that goes into writing a novel and who has never done it personally. It takes a lot of dedication and passion and hard work to write a first novel and I think Addonia should continue writing and improving.) The language was at times trite, with a harlequin romance novel feel to it, and I thought the ending was rather predictable.
It did manage to make me feel angry at parts, and I appreciated that it discussed religious oppression, sexual abuse, and immigrant rights in Saudi Arabia. I had never considered how immigrants might be treated in that country, so that part was illuminating.
But at the end of the day I think it fell flat. It was an entertaining story that no doubt other people will enjoy reading, but it wasn't much more than that.
March 27, 2009
Once i started this book, i couldn't put it down anymore. The central love story is gripping, sensual, dangerous and makes your heart beat. All what you need from a great novel! The focus is on Naser and Fiore, who live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and because they are not married are not allowed to meet in public under the strict Wahhabi regime of Saudi Arabia. While the story is thriving, many other aspects are highlighted - like the situation of immigrants in Saudi (Naser is a refugee from Eritrea) as well as the budding homosexuality in a country that forbids contact between men and women when they are not married.
Highly recommended!!
Highly recommended!!
October 8, 2009
Ummmm....disturbing, oppressive, hypocritical, sick. Wondering how much truth there is to the story and the acts that take place in it. I know so little about our Saudi allies and their seemingly oppressive culture but if there is even a glimmer of truth to this. It's sad and disgusting....what a rotten interpretation of the Koran. Just to clarify I'm not talking about the writer or the writing itself just what takes place in the story..
December 10, 2023
صادمة...
مؤلمة...
نفاق باسم الدين...
مؤلمة...
نفاق باسم الدين...
October 28, 2012
Browsing in the library, I was intrigued to find a book about an African immigrant in Saudi Arabia, written by an author who went through that experience himself. No doubt this is what caught the publishers’ attention as well. I don’t really blame them--exotic locales and unique experiences sell (I’m as responsible for that trend in publishing as anyone else), and so I suppose they’d be thrilled to take something like this as long as it’s minimally competent, with proper grammar and scene construction and so on. It does have that, but otherwise isn’t a novel I’d recommend.
The first-person narrator, Naser, came to Saudi Arabia as an Eritrean refugee at age 10. When the book starts, ten years later, he's alienated from his family, but has built a sort of life for himself--he has his own apartment, a job at a car wash, and friends with whom he sniffs glue and drinks perfume (um, okay) at night. But due to the strict separation between genders, he hasn't spoken to a woman in ten years, and falls head over heels the moment a veiled girl starts dropping love notes at his feet.
The relationship between Naser and the girl is at the heart of the book, and disappointed me. She's "in love" with him because of his looks; he's "in love" with her because she's available. Which could have been promising--not every fictional relationship need be a beautiful love story--except that it's never acknowledged that this relationship is founded on lust and loneliness and that the chances these two are actually compatible are slight. I'm willing to read a book about a pair of horny, repressed, desperate kids, but I want to see the actual consequences (pardon the pun) of that relationship, rather than just being told over and over that this is some earth-shaking romance.
And does this book ever tell, rather than show! I was willing to overlook some awkward exposition--"my fifty-year-old Chadian boss let me have some time off"--given that it's a first novel, but the larger problem is the constant, heavy-handed effort to manipulate readers' emotions. If you're already invested in Naser's plight, you don't need passages like (paraphrasing) "What would happen next? What would happen to me? What would happen to Fiore? Would we ever see each other again?" whenever he's in danger. And if you're not, this melodramatic filler won't do the trick. The repetitive, flatly-written, and yet overwrought detailing of emotions is equally off-putting:
"I feared going back to my lonely room. I didn't want to leave her. I wanted to be with her forever. I didn't want to let go of her pink painted nails, her parted lips. I loved looking at her eyes; the fact that one was slightly smaller than the other gave the impression than she was eternally searching for something, for her life. As I caressed her delicate lips with my finger and gazed at her wild hair, I was happy that she was my woman and I was her man. We belonged to each other, I thought. We deserved to grow old together because we had made the impossible possible. I hoped fate would be kind to us."
The characters don't get much development either. Naser starts off very sympathetic if not particularly vivid, but later veers between seeming overly sensitive and responding to obstacles with clumsy attempts to blackmail whomever gets in his way. The girl, who never gets a name--Naser dubs her "Fiore"--has little personality, to match. Everyone else is minor and one-note.
The constraints of the setting also seem to be adjusted arbitrarily as the plot requires. As an immigrant, Naser's life is precarious, and yet he has sufficient savings to quit his job and chase "Fiore" full-time for months. She can walk the streets alone to find Naser and drop him notes, but says it's too dangerous for her to bend over and pick up his. Then later, they meet in public places and go off together. And then he starts regularly visiting her house disguised as a woman. But wait: if it's inappropriate for her father, the man of the house, to see or speak to a "female" guest, then why are love affairs so difficult?--any man whose body type might pass for a woman's when shrouded from head to toe could come and go without notice. And why is Fiore's mother complicit? Few parents even in the U.S., with a completely different view of relationships, are so happy to facilitate their teenage children's having sex. Let alone with a virtual stranger and in a society where women are expected to be virginal at marriage.
The setting, though, is what saves this book from total disaster. It provides a vivid view of Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, a country as restrictive as many a dystopia. The author clearly hates that country, and I'd like to read another book by a Saudi author for an insider's view, but it's a fascinating setting nonetheless.
This is a quick, easy read, with a fairly interesting plot, and who knows, if you consider yourself a romantic, you may like it better than I did. However, I would not recommend it.
The first-person narrator, Naser, came to Saudi Arabia as an Eritrean refugee at age 10. When the book starts, ten years later, he's alienated from his family, but has built a sort of life for himself--he has his own apartment, a job at a car wash, and friends with whom he sniffs glue and drinks perfume (um, okay) at night. But due to the strict separation between genders, he hasn't spoken to a woman in ten years, and falls head over heels the moment a veiled girl starts dropping love notes at his feet.
The relationship between Naser and the girl is at the heart of the book, and disappointed me. She's "in love" with him because of his looks; he's "in love" with her because she's available. Which could have been promising--not every fictional relationship need be a beautiful love story--except that it's never acknowledged that this relationship is founded on lust and loneliness and that the chances these two are actually compatible are slight. I'm willing to read a book about a pair of horny, repressed, desperate kids, but I want to see the actual consequences (pardon the pun) of that relationship, rather than just being told over and over that this is some earth-shaking romance.
And does this book ever tell, rather than show! I was willing to overlook some awkward exposition--"my fifty-year-old Chadian boss let me have some time off"--given that it's a first novel, but the larger problem is the constant, heavy-handed effort to manipulate readers' emotions. If you're already invested in Naser's plight, you don't need passages like (paraphrasing) "What would happen next? What would happen to me? What would happen to Fiore? Would we ever see each other again?" whenever he's in danger. And if you're not, this melodramatic filler won't do the trick. The repetitive, flatly-written, and yet overwrought detailing of emotions is equally off-putting:
"I feared going back to my lonely room. I didn't want to leave her. I wanted to be with her forever. I didn't want to let go of her pink painted nails, her parted lips. I loved looking at her eyes; the fact that one was slightly smaller than the other gave the impression than she was eternally searching for something, for her life. As I caressed her delicate lips with my finger and gazed at her wild hair, I was happy that she was my woman and I was her man. We belonged to each other, I thought. We deserved to grow old together because we had made the impossible possible. I hoped fate would be kind to us."
The characters don't get much development either. Naser starts off very sympathetic if not particularly vivid, but later veers between seeming overly sensitive and responding to obstacles with clumsy attempts to blackmail whomever gets in his way. The girl, who never gets a name--Naser dubs her "Fiore"--has little personality, to match. Everyone else is minor and one-note.
The constraints of the setting also seem to be adjusted arbitrarily as the plot requires. As an immigrant, Naser's life is precarious, and yet he has sufficient savings to quit his job and chase "Fiore" full-time for months. She can walk the streets alone to find Naser and drop him notes, but says it's too dangerous for her to bend over and pick up his. Then later, they meet in public places and go off together. And then he starts regularly visiting her house disguised as a woman. But wait: if it's inappropriate for her father, the man of the house, to see or speak to a "female" guest, then why are love affairs so difficult?--any man whose body type might pass for a woman's when shrouded from head to toe could come and go without notice. And why is Fiore's mother complicit? Few parents even in the U.S., with a completely different view of relationships, are so happy to facilitate their teenage children's having sex. Let alone with a virtual stranger and in a society where women are expected to be virginal at marriage.
The setting, though, is what saves this book from total disaster. It provides a vivid view of Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, a country as restrictive as many a dystopia. The author clearly hates that country, and I'd like to read another book by a Saudi author for an insider's view, but it's a fascinating setting nonetheless.
This is a quick, easy read, with a fairly interesting plot, and who knows, if you consider yourself a romantic, you may like it better than I did. However, I would not recommend it.
Read
January 25, 2013تحكي الروية عن شاب أرتيري أسمه ناصر تخلت عنه أمه عندما كان في العاشرة من عمره ،
حيث أرسلته إلى خاله الموجود في السعودية مع أخيه الأصغر
وذلك خوفاً على حياتهما من الحروب القاسية في بلاده.
ولأنه حُرم من أمه و غابت الأنثى عن عينيه في مدينة جدة ،
فقد شعر بنقص عاطفي شديد ، خواء داخل نفسه ،
ومما زاد ألمه
أ��ه عندما بلغ سن الخامسة عشرة أغتصبه كفيله وبرضا من خاله مقابل تجديد الإقامة
التي لم يستطع دفع ثمنها المرتفع.
تدور الأحداث حول لقاء ناصر بإحدى فتيات حي النزلة،
وكيف استطاعت هذه الفتاة «فيور» التي تنحدر من أصول إريترية،
لأب لم يُمنح الجنسية السعودية بخلاف أمها التي هي ابنة رجل مصري،
استطاعت أن تجذب إليها الفتى الوسيم الأسمر
وتصنع قصة حبهما من خلال رسائلها التي تلقيها عند صندوق قمامة بعد أن يلحق بها ناصر ويلتقطها.
الرواية وصفت أيضاً الحاله الأجتماعيه اللتي يعيشها المغتربين الأفارقة في السعودية،
ومايعتريهم من الخوف والرهبة وعلاقتهم بالمؤسسة الدينية وبالمسؤول.
أجمالا هي ترسم للقارئ صورة مجتمع ،
تحاول أن تتوغل في التفاصيل المؤرقة والمزعجة أيضاً،
وهي تتخطى الحضور العادي إلى اجترار المسكوت عنه
الذي سبق وتطرقت له أقلام سعودية روائية وغالبتها نسائية
في أعمال رواية جسدت طفرة قبل فترة
وكلها تعرضت بشكل أو بآخر لعرض جوانب كان يتم تجنبها قبل عقد من الزمن .
حيث أرسلته إلى خاله الموجود في السعودية مع أخيه الأصغر
وذلك خوفاً على حياتهما من الحروب القاسية في بلاده.
ولأنه حُرم من أمه و غابت الأنثى عن عينيه في مدينة جدة ،
فقد شعر بنقص عاطفي شديد ، خواء داخل نفسه ،
ومما زاد ألمه
أ��ه عندما بلغ سن الخامسة عشرة أغتصبه كفيله وبرضا من خاله مقابل تجديد الإقامة
التي لم يستطع دفع ثمنها المرتفع.
تدور الأحداث حول لقاء ناصر بإحدى فتيات حي النزلة،
وكيف استطاعت هذه الفتاة «فيور» التي تنحدر من أصول إريترية،
لأب لم يُمنح الجنسية السعودية بخلاف أمها التي هي ابنة رجل مصري،
استطاعت أن تجذب إليها الفتى الوسيم الأسمر
وتصنع قصة حبهما من خلال رسائلها التي تلقيها عند صندوق قمامة بعد أن يلحق بها ناصر ويلتقطها.
الرواية وصفت أيضاً الحاله الأجتماعيه اللتي يعيشها المغتربين الأفارقة في السعودية،
ومايعتريهم من الخوف والرهبة وعلاقتهم بالمؤسسة الدينية وبالمسؤول.
أجمالا هي ترسم للقارئ صورة مجتمع ،
تحاول أن تتوغل في التفاصيل المؤرقة والمزعجة أيضاً،
وهي تتخطى الحضور العادي إلى اجترار المسكوت عنه
الذي سبق وتطرقت له أقلام سعودية روائية وغالبتها نسائية
في أعمال رواية جسدت طفرة قبل فترة
وكلها تعرضت بشكل أو بآخر لعرض جوانب كان يتم تجنبها قبل عقد من الزمن .
November 7, 2019
Good book. Very different. I don't think there is another book just like this one in bookstores. A rare find. There is a lot to learn in this book, I would say. One gets to understand and learn about a culture and its practices, however unfair or gruesome it might be. The author writes with a lot of frustration, anger and a sense of desperation that I could feel as a reader, which speaks a lot of the quality of this novel. Some parts are a little hard to read, it's gritty and painful to pass through those pages. I found a great deal of satisfaction in reading this book. It has all that a book should have, love, loss and pain. There are some unrealistic elements in this book though. I find that the writer has a lot of hatred for Saudi Arabian lifestyle and culture, thus I could not fully immerse in the cultural elements of the book. I wish there was just a little more on Saudi Arabia and its beauty. It is a lovely story. I especially like the Pink Shoes. There is such a significance in such a small item, which is very real. I am compelled to recommend this book for its uniqueness and complexity.
December 21, 2012
ثلاثة نجمات ونصف ، لا للقصة ، ولكن لأنها أثارت الكثير من الألم ..
لكم المشاعر وكم الحقيقة الكبير ..
.............
مما أعجبني ..
" حدقت في الرف الذي تتكدس عليه أكداس من الكتب من شتى الأنواع . فقد كانت ، مثلي ، تعيش حياة شخص آخر من خلال ماتقرأه ؛ تتنفس وتأكل من صفحات كتبت في أرض بعيدة. كنا نعيش حياةً مستوردة. لماذا نحن هنا؟ أشعر كأن رفوف الكتب تميل فوقنا وتحاول أن تخرجنا من الغرفة، وكأنها تريد أن تقول : إن الحياة هناك . والكتب هي الوسيلة التي تنقلنا إلى أماكن بعيدة ، أغلفتها ترفرف ، جاهزة لتحلق بنا بعيداً إلى المكان الذي نريد حقاً أن نكون فيه ، إلى مكان يمكننا أن نكون فيه معاً ونعيش أحلامنا "
" إن أفضل الأشياء مخصصة للسعوديين ، ولا يسمح للأجانب بأن يدرسوا في الجامعات السعودية ، وأفضل الوظائف مخصصة للسعوديين ، حتى الكرامة مخصصة للسعوديين وحدهم "
لكم المشاعر وكم الحقيقة الكبير ..
.............
مما أعجبني ..
" حدقت في الرف الذي تتكدس عليه أكداس من الكتب من شتى الأنواع . فقد كانت ، مثلي ، تعيش حياة شخص آخر من خلال ماتقرأه ؛ تتنفس وتأكل من صفحات كتبت في أرض بعيدة. كنا نعيش حياةً مستوردة. لماذا نحن هنا؟ أشعر كأن رفوف الكتب تميل فوقنا وتحاول أن تخرجنا من الغرفة، وكأنها تريد أن تقول : إن الحياة هناك . والكتب هي الوسيلة التي تنقلنا إلى أماكن بعيدة ، أغلفتها ترفرف ، جاهزة لتحلق بنا بعيداً إلى المكان الذي نريد حقاً أن نكون فيه ، إلى مكان يمكننا أن نكون فيه معاً ونعيش أحلامنا "
" إن أفضل الأشياء مخصصة للسعوديين ، ولا يسمح للأجانب بأن يدرسوا في الجامعات السعودية ، وأفضل الوظائف مخصصة للسعوديين ، حتى الكرامة مخصصة للسعوديين وحدهم "
November 30, 2009
I thought this was a remarkable book. Naser is an Eritrean (Ethiopian) refugee who ends up in Muslim controlled Saudi Arabia. As a refugee Naser is forced to endure sexual abuse by his employers, sponsors and supposed friends – all men who turn to boys due to the controls imposed against relations between men and women by the controlling fanatical Imams and religious police. Against all odds Naser begins a relationship with a daring woman, known only to him by her pink shoes, worn under her head to toe abaya and the notes she drops at his feet on the street. The language and writing is beautiful and while the story is an incredibly sad one, Naser’s love affair is inspiring.
November 26, 2012
Iako je ljubav okosnica priče, srž knjige "Posljedice ljubavi" Sulaimana Addonie jest život eritrejskog emigranta (i ostalih emigranata) u Saudijskoj Arabiji 80-tih i 90-tih godina prošlog stoljeća. Dvadeseto i dvadesetiprvo stoljeće, a žene su i dalje samo lelujave sjenke, sjenke u svakom pogledu. Homoseksualizam, podvođenje dječaka i njihovo poniženje tolerirano je pod "budnim" očima vjerske policije, dok je kamenovanje preljubnika pa i onih koji to nisu, normalna, čak tražena i priželjkivana kazna. Ostala sam nad pričom - zgranuta.
January 30, 2016
Set in Saudia Arabia this love story between Eritrean immigrant and Saudi born woman certainly lives up to the "love conquers all" premise. It is a beautifully told tale and the descriptions of the environment and culture really set the scene and draw the reader in to this closed community. It is also at times a thrilling, edge of the seat read - I thought the ending was set at just the right level - how accurate to what would likely happen in a case of forbidden love I don't know, but it worked for me as a reader. A fascinating read of many levels.
November 14, 2017
Dugo vec duuuuugo nisam se ovako svako nalo hvatala da razmisljam o procitanoj knjizi. Jutros sam ju zavrsila uz kavu i evo sad cu opet jednu popiti,dok su klinci vani, ali ne ide nista u ruku,jer jos uvijek imam osjecaj da sam s ljudima iz ove knjige.
Prica sa Istoka. Odavno me Pustinjski cvijet zaintrigirao za te “manje poznate“ teme i cinjenice i kad god imam priliku, citam o tome.
Ova knjiga je jedna od tih.
Naser, izbjeglica iz svoje domovine,biva neprihvacen, neshvacen, nedorastao jednom “miskom“ svijetu u kojem nema neke logike. Bar njemu! Vjera se krsi sa ljudakim, zemaljsko za onozemaljskim, a sve sto on zeli je ljubav i to ljubav zene, a ne onu koja mu se nudi.
Fascinantno je,a ujedno i skokantno to sto se daju cinjenice i spoznaje o odnosu prema zenama, o misljenju o njima, o iznosenju vjerskog stajalista prema njima, gdje je zena toliko nisko rangirana, da je kriva samim time sto se rodila.
Ali ljubav je cudo. Ljubav je rjesenje. Ljubav je smisao, svjetlo u dnu tunela.
Fascinantan roman, pomalo podsjeca na Gonica zmajeva, meni osobno cak i bolja.
Cista 10-ka i tople preporuke od mene.
Prica sa Istoka. Odavno me Pustinjski cvijet zaintrigirao za te “manje poznate“ teme i cinjenice i kad god imam priliku, citam o tome.
Ova knjiga je jedna od tih.
Naser, izbjeglica iz svoje domovine,biva neprihvacen, neshvacen, nedorastao jednom “miskom“ svijetu u kojem nema neke logike. Bar njemu! Vjera se krsi sa ljudakim, zemaljsko za onozemaljskim, a sve sto on zeli je ljubav i to ljubav zene, a ne onu koja mu se nudi.
Fascinantno je,a ujedno i skokantno to sto se daju cinjenice i spoznaje o odnosu prema zenama, o misljenju o njima, o iznosenju vjerskog stajalista prema njima, gdje je zena toliko nisko rangirana, da je kriva samim time sto se rodila.
Ali ljubav je cudo. Ljubav je rjesenje. Ljubav je smisao, svjetlo u dnu tunela.
Fascinantan roman, pomalo podsjeca na Gonica zmajeva, meni osobno cak i bolja.
Cista 10-ka i tople preporuke od mene.
August 4, 2023
Esta es la primera novela del escritor Eritreo que casualmente nombra protagonista a Naser que también es Eritreo y que es enviado a Arabia Saudí gracias a su madre para que no tenga que vivir en guerra pero Arabia Saudí no es tan bonita como parece.
En ese país las mujeres van tapadas con un burka negro de cabeza a pies y los hombres nacidos allí no saben ni como son. Únicamente pueden conocer a las mujeres dentro de un matrimonio pactado y hasta entonces se dedican a satisfacer sus deseos sexuales con otros hombres.
Naser no tiene esa oportunidad por ser extranjero pero se niega a tener relaciones con hombres, aunque más de una vez se ha visto obligado a sucumbir para poder mantener su trabajo y no verse en la calle, y mantiene la esperanza de encontrar algún día a una chica con la que ser feliz.
Finalmente sus plegarias son escuchadas y un día inicia una relación a escondidas de la ley con una chica que se atrevió a lanzarle la primera nota de amor a sus pies.
Tendrán tan difícil verse a escondidas hasta el punto de poner en peligro sus vidas.
Esta es una novela muy dura que me ha costado en algunos momentos y que entiendo porque había olvidado que ya la había olvidado pero aún así creo que merece la pena leer.
En ese país las mujeres van tapadas con un burka negro de cabeza a pies y los hombres nacidos allí no saben ni como son. Únicamente pueden conocer a las mujeres dentro de un matrimonio pactado y hasta entonces se dedican a satisfacer sus deseos sexuales con otros hombres.
Naser no tiene esa oportunidad por ser extranjero pero se niega a tener relaciones con hombres, aunque más de una vez se ha visto obligado a sucumbir para poder mantener su trabajo y no verse en la calle, y mantiene la esperanza de encontrar algún día a una chica con la que ser feliz.
Finalmente sus plegarias son escuchadas y un día inicia una relación a escondidas de la ley con una chica que se atrevió a lanzarle la primera nota de amor a sus pies.
Tendrán tan difícil verse a escondidas hasta el punto de poner en peligro sus vidas.
Esta es una novela muy dura que me ha costado en algunos momentos y que entiendo porque había olvidado que ya la había olvidado pero aún así creo que merece la pena leer.
April 24, 2025
Het plot is nog slechter dan de stijl
October 20, 2011
Reading The Consequences of Love by new Eritrean author Sulaiman Addonia literally stopped my heart and took my breath away. Addonia delivers a very personal and inside view of a society filled with both religious and governmental repression, a world where love is a luxury, passion forbidden, sex a crime.
Set in present day Saudi Arabia, this is a gorgeous literary debut not to be overlooked. Consequences of Love weaves a story of sensuous secret liaisons between two lovers risking their lives to keep their flame burning, so that one day they may be free from religious tyranny and laws that prevent unwed people to display their love openly. Fiore is a stunning 19-year-old Eritrean woman with long luscious dark hair falling to her waist, she captivates with the mysterious almond eyes of a doe. One day while out shopping she notices a handsome young man named Naser, and from that day on, for Fiore, it is love at first sight. Muslim law states that no unwed man or woman may glance, speak to, or touch a member of the opposite sex or harsh punishment will be issued. Young lovers caught, suffer the pain of disfigurement, stoning, brutal public lashings, imprisonment and eventually death by beheading. Religious police canvas streets day and night searching for offenders. In Saudi Arabia, matches are made ONLY through an arranged marriage, or, a man must be wealthy enough to purchase a bride, paying dowry prices that are beyond affordable. With most Muslim men financially unable to afford a wife, they often resort to the two remaining options of sodomy or becoming a member of the religious order. The author gives the reader an up front and close encounter of both these scenarios, enabling all of us born in other countries to be grateful we have not been exposed to such brutality, or have lived in such a harsh environment devoid of free thought, expression, or love.
One afternoon while Naser sits under a tree watching the world go by, a woman dressed in a full black burqa strolls by and drops a note at his feet. Quickly scurrying to hide and read it, he opens it to reveal that this mystery woman finds him attractive and invites him to respond. Note dropping is the mode of operation regarding secret communication amongst young men and women in Saudi Arabia, however it is also considered a punishable crime. With this one yellow note, begins the journey of forbidden passion that will beckon these two people to each other's hearts and dreams. Naser and Fiore's risky relationship brings courage and devotion to their cause, as they both have lived their entire lives wondering why they were born to such misery and restraint, both always yearning for more. The two use their imagination and ingenuity to find ways to communicate and meet, embracing with their eyes only as Fiore is completely covered by abaya and veil. Through clandestine seaside rendezvous' and secret letters transferred by a creative courier service, Naser and Fiore throw caution to the wind as they plot and maneuver a way to follow their hearts out of repression and a fanatical religious world that keeps their hearts imprisoned. To escape those hell-bent on catching them in their sinful acts, to run from the police who track them like bloodhounds sniffing their scent into entrapment, the two lovers whisper in the dark, disguise themselves in plain sight, and pray to Allah they can outwit and win. Cloaking their identities to those they fear, Fiore buys brightly colored pink shoes for Naser to pick her out in a crowd, Naser dresses as a woman to parade right in front of her father undetected. Friends help, friends betray, and the stakes get raised as they play the game and gamble.
The love between Fiore and Naser is refreshingly innocent and sweet. The author's presentation and writing skills offer the reader a poetic and romantic atmosphere of forbidden love that is sensual, sexy, and evocative of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This novel is elegant in presentation, beautifully written with so much depth of emotion as Addonia breathes tension, fear, laughter, love and erotica to well crafted scenes gracing every chapter of this sensational debut. Every page a masterpiece, the author shows wondrous talent to pen a literary page-turner you can't put down. I read this book in one sitting. As I turned each page I was on the edge of my seat not breathing, so filled with the wonder of Naser and Fiore's devotion, and so wrought with fear knowing what the outcome would be if they were caught. Someone ought to vote this novel in for a Pulitzer, it's that sensational! Don't miss this intoxicating novel.
Set in present day Saudi Arabia, this is a gorgeous literary debut not to be overlooked. Consequences of Love weaves a story of sensuous secret liaisons between two lovers risking their lives to keep their flame burning, so that one day they may be free from religious tyranny and laws that prevent unwed people to display their love openly. Fiore is a stunning 19-year-old Eritrean woman with long luscious dark hair falling to her waist, she captivates with the mysterious almond eyes of a doe. One day while out shopping she notices a handsome young man named Naser, and from that day on, for Fiore, it is love at first sight. Muslim law states that no unwed man or woman may glance, speak to, or touch a member of the opposite sex or harsh punishment will be issued. Young lovers caught, suffer the pain of disfigurement, stoning, brutal public lashings, imprisonment and eventually death by beheading. Religious police canvas streets day and night searching for offenders. In Saudi Arabia, matches are made ONLY through an arranged marriage, or, a man must be wealthy enough to purchase a bride, paying dowry prices that are beyond affordable. With most Muslim men financially unable to afford a wife, they often resort to the two remaining options of sodomy or becoming a member of the religious order. The author gives the reader an up front and close encounter of both these scenarios, enabling all of us born in other countries to be grateful we have not been exposed to such brutality, or have lived in such a harsh environment devoid of free thought, expression, or love.
One afternoon while Naser sits under a tree watching the world go by, a woman dressed in a full black burqa strolls by and drops a note at his feet. Quickly scurrying to hide and read it, he opens it to reveal that this mystery woman finds him attractive and invites him to respond. Note dropping is the mode of operation regarding secret communication amongst young men and women in Saudi Arabia, however it is also considered a punishable crime. With this one yellow note, begins the journey of forbidden passion that will beckon these two people to each other's hearts and dreams. Naser and Fiore's risky relationship brings courage and devotion to their cause, as they both have lived their entire lives wondering why they were born to such misery and restraint, both always yearning for more. The two use their imagination and ingenuity to find ways to communicate and meet, embracing with their eyes only as Fiore is completely covered by abaya and veil. Through clandestine seaside rendezvous' and secret letters transferred by a creative courier service, Naser and Fiore throw caution to the wind as they plot and maneuver a way to follow their hearts out of repression and a fanatical religious world that keeps their hearts imprisoned. To escape those hell-bent on catching them in their sinful acts, to run from the police who track them like bloodhounds sniffing their scent into entrapment, the two lovers whisper in the dark, disguise themselves in plain sight, and pray to Allah they can outwit and win. Cloaking their identities to those they fear, Fiore buys brightly colored pink shoes for Naser to pick her out in a crowd, Naser dresses as a woman to parade right in front of her father undetected. Friends help, friends betray, and the stakes get raised as they play the game and gamble.
The love between Fiore and Naser is refreshingly innocent and sweet. The author's presentation and writing skills offer the reader a poetic and romantic atmosphere of forbidden love that is sensual, sexy, and evocative of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This novel is elegant in presentation, beautifully written with so much depth of emotion as Addonia breathes tension, fear, laughter, love and erotica to well crafted scenes gracing every chapter of this sensational debut. Every page a masterpiece, the author shows wondrous talent to pen a literary page-turner you can't put down. I read this book in one sitting. As I turned each page I was on the edge of my seat not breathing, so filled with the wonder of Naser and Fiore's devotion, and so wrought with fear knowing what the outcome would be if they were caught. Someone ought to vote this novel in for a Pulitzer, it's that sensational! Don't miss this intoxicating novel.
November 3, 2024
قصة حب تبدو مستحيله
في بلد و زمن منع فيه الحب و الاختلاط بين الجنسين
لكنهم التقوا بطريقة ما .
مليئ الكتاب بمشاعر مؤلمه و واقع مرير ، و استطيع ان اجزم ان هذا حال الكثير من الهاجرون في وطن ليس لهم ، تكون غريب مهما حاولت تندمج معهم.
عشت 22 عام من حياتي في وطن ليس لي، و نعم تشتاق لوطنك و لا تعرف الانتماء لا هنا ولا هناك.
لا احد يمكن ان يعلم مقدار صحت الاحداث المؤلمه التي عاشها البطل ، لكن كل ما يمكن قوله ان العالم و البشر مليئين بسوء لو علمناها لما استطعنا المضى قدما.
في بلد و زمن منع فيه الحب و الاختلاط بين الجنسين
لكنهم التقوا بطريقة ما .
مليئ الكتاب بمشاعر مؤلمه و واقع مرير ، و استطيع ان اجزم ان هذا حال الكثير من الهاجرون في وطن ليس لهم ، تكون غريب مهما حاولت تندمج معهم.
عشت 22 عام من حياتي في وطن ليس لي، و نعم تشتاق لوطنك و لا تعرف الانتماء لا هنا ولا هناك.
لا احد يمكن ان يعلم مقدار صحت الاحداث المؤلمه التي عاشها البطل ، لكن كل ما يمكن قوله ان العالم و البشر مليئين بسوء لو علمناها لما استطعنا المضى قدما.
December 30, 2014
لو كانت هناك علامة تقييم خمس نجمات بالسالب لكانت أعدل تقييم في وصف الرواية
تقييمي نجمة واحدة فقط لأني عرفت جانب آخر وآراء مختلفة من مقيم
الرواية فيها من المبالغة بالسلبيات لو غير جدة مدينة البطل لاسم مدينة من الخيال لكان أفضل وأكثر مصداقية
لأنها ستكون رواية خيالية
مختصر القصة حكاية ولدين من ارتريا أمهم أطفال والدتهم بذلت روحها لتهربهم من مخيمات اللاجئين في السودان إلى جدة حيث يعمل أخوها
كان هذا في بدايات الثمانينات الميلادية محور القصة
الغريب أن خال الكاتب وضح أن علاقته مع والدته اشد درجات الكراهية،فكيف لأخ لا يحب أخته ويبغضها أن يستقبل أطفالها في غربته لأجل غير محدود ولامعروف متى انتهائه؟
يتحدث عن التشدد الديني والضرب بالعصا لمن يتأخر عن الصلاة من الهيئة أو كما سماهم (الشرطة الدينية ) وتحدث أيضاً عن نظرة المجتمع الدونية له كونه مقيم أفريقي
غير صحيح وأسلوب مبالغة واضح
الهيئة أو الشرطة الدينية كما سماها كانت متسامحة محببة علاقتها طيبة بالمجتمع ولم يبدأ زمن التشدد إلا بعد عام ١٩٩٠م بعد حرب الخليج
والصور القديمة في شوارع جدة والخبر والرياض وكل السعودية قبل التسعينيات الميلادية تشهد بذلك بل حتى كان غير المسلمات يمشون دون حجاب وعبائة
الأمر الآخر النظرة الدونية له كونه غير سعودي وصفها بالعموم على كل السعوديين،هذا تجني وافتراء بالعكس جدة كانت ومازالت لليوم متقبلة للآخر متسامحة ومرنة مع كل الجنسيات لأسباب أهمها أنها بوابة الحرمين وكونها مدينة ساحلية وتجارية جعل الآخر او المقيم جزء من يوميات سكانها فلايرفضوه أو يكرهوه بسبب اختلافه عنهم
بالذات أيام الثمانينات لم يكن مصطلح سعودي وأجنبي معروف ولايهم إلا فئة قليلة من العنصريين فقط
كان الأجنبي والمقيم بسهولة يشتغل ويعمل ويضمن مستقبله دون خوف بل يحق له او لها الدراسة الجامعية مجانا
الرواية باختصار مشاعر سلبية وكره وبغض من مقيم سابق ينشر غسيل ويشوه صورة بلد آوته واستقبلته بوقت كان الموت والحرب أمام عينيه هكذا رد الجميل فكتبتها بالانجليزية
رواية سمراويت لكاتب ارتيري أيضاً كانت رائعة وصف الحياة والذكريات الجميلة وبعض المتاعب والسلبيات في حياته والمجتمع فكانت واقعية
أما هذه كأنها تصفية حسابات سابقة فقط
تقييمي نجمة واحدة فقط لأني عرفت جانب آخر وآراء مختلفة من مقيم
الرواية فيها من المبالغة بالسلبيات لو غير جدة مدينة البطل لاسم مدينة من الخيال لكان أفضل وأكثر مصداقية
لأنها ستكون رواية خيالية
مختصر القصة حكاية ولدين من ارتريا أمهم أطفال والدتهم بذلت روحها لتهربهم من مخيمات اللاجئين في السودان إلى جدة حيث يعمل أخوها
كان هذا في بدايات الثمانينات الميلادية محور القصة
الغريب أن خال الكاتب وضح أن علاقته مع والدته اشد درجات الكراهية،فكيف لأخ لا يحب أخته ويبغضها أن يستقبل أطفالها في غربته لأجل غير محدود ولامعروف متى انتهائه؟
يتحدث عن التشدد الديني والضرب بالعصا لمن يتأخر عن الصلاة من الهيئة أو كما سماهم (الشرطة الدينية ) وتحدث أيضاً عن نظرة المجتمع الدونية له كونه مقيم أفريقي
غير صحيح وأسلوب مبالغة واضح
الهيئة أو الشرطة الدينية كما سماها كانت متسامحة محببة علاقتها طيبة بالمجتمع ولم يبدأ زمن التشدد إلا بعد عام ١٩٩٠م بعد حرب الخليج
والصور القديمة في شوارع جدة والخبر والرياض وكل السعودية قبل التسعينيات الميلادية تشهد بذلك بل حتى كان غير المسلمات يمشون دون حجاب وعبائة
الأمر الآخر النظرة الدونية له كونه غير سعودي وصفها بالعموم على كل السعوديين،هذا تجني وافتراء بالعكس جدة كانت ومازالت لليوم متقبلة للآخر متسامحة ومرنة مع كل الجنسيات لأسباب أهمها أنها بوابة الحرمين وكونها مدينة ساحلية وتجارية جعل الآخر او المقيم جزء من يوميات سكانها فلايرفضوه أو يكرهوه بسبب اختلافه عنهم
بالذات أيام الثمانينات لم يكن مصطلح سعودي وأجنبي معروف ولايهم إلا فئة قليلة من العنصريين فقط
كان الأجنبي والمقيم بسهولة يشتغل ويعمل ويضمن مستقبله دون خوف بل يحق له او لها الدراسة الجامعية مجانا
الرواية باختصار مشاعر سلبية وكره وبغض من مقيم سابق ينشر غسيل ويشوه صورة بلد آوته واستقبلته بوقت كان الموت والحرب أمام عينيه هكذا رد الجميل فكتبتها بالانجليزية
رواية سمراويت لكاتب ارتيري أيضاً كانت رائعة وصف الحياة والذكريات الجميلة وبعض المتاعب والسلبيات في حياته والمجتمع فكانت واقعية
أما هذه كأنها تصفية حسابات سابقة فقط
April 11, 2015
I don't know whether it's because I'm slowly going through the A section in my library and there's a lot of authors from Muslim backgrounds with names beginning with A or my library has a secret Muslim fanatic but this is the fourth book I've read in the past six months that has a religious Muslim theme.
So far they've been very much hit and miss. It is nice to read about other peoples cultures and traditions especially when they're so different from your own. However because they're SO different sometimes they can be a little hard to enjoy or understand.
This was by far the most enjoyable of all the Muslim books I've read. It was nice to see that a love story could still happen in a country where freedom and women's rights are so repressed and forbidden. It was exciting too as you rooted for the couple to be together and not to be discovered by the religious police.
It still shocks me that there are places like Saudi Arabia in the world where a woman cannot leave her house without being covered from head to toe. Where women are really treated like possessions that can be bought and sold. Where they have absolutely no rights or allowed opinions. It's scary. I understand that there are different cultures and religions involved and obviously I respect that but I suppose because it seems so extreme to me its very hard to accept.
Every time I read a book like this I thank my lucky stars that I was born where I was.
So far they've been very much hit and miss. It is nice to read about other peoples cultures and traditions especially when they're so different from your own. However because they're SO different sometimes they can be a little hard to enjoy or understand.
This was by far the most enjoyable of all the Muslim books I've read. It was nice to see that a love story could still happen in a country where freedom and women's rights are so repressed and forbidden. It was exciting too as you rooted for the couple to be together and not to be discovered by the religious police.
It still shocks me that there are places like Saudi Arabia in the world where a woman cannot leave her house without being covered from head to toe. Where women are really treated like possessions that can be bought and sold. Where they have absolutely no rights or allowed opinions. It's scary. I understand that there are different cultures and religions involved and obviously I respect that but I suppose because it seems so extreme to me its very hard to accept.
Every time I read a book like this I thank my lucky stars that I was born where I was.
October 6, 2013
It has taken me more than two months to finish this book – mainly because I assumed that a novel about an illicit love affair in Saudi Arabia would not have a happy ending and therefore felt anxious about reading on.
I know more about Saudi Arabia from having read this book, which I appreciate, and as a feminist, it has made me furious and further opened my eyes to what women's lives are like in some places of the world.
The book complements the picture given in the novel Girls of Riyadh, which I also recommend.
I know more about Saudi Arabia from having read this book, which I appreciate, and as a feminist, it has made me furious and further opened my eyes to what women's lives are like in some places of the world.
The book complements the picture given in the novel Girls of Riyadh, which I also recommend.
February 27, 2019
Imagine the situation
You are a refugee from war in your homeland. Your mother sold her body to raise the money to send you and your brother out of the country to the ‘safety’ of another land where you live with your uncle, a man who loathes his sister for what she’s had to do to keep her children alive.
You’re young, pretty and poor and the only way to get your residency paperwork renewed is to go to your ‘sponsor’ who holds the power of life or death (residency or deportation) over you and your brother. He tells you that the fee for processing the application is equivalent to 4 months of your uncle’s salary but he thinks that you should pay. You tell him you have no money and he says that you have something that’s ‘worth’ that much. He assaults you and you can’t sit down for days. Your uncle takes your brother and moves away leaving you homeless. You get a job in a café where the owner sells you to one of his customers, a fat ugly man who has sex with you in the back room of the building. You turn to sniffing glue and drinking perfume to escape the pain in your body and the sadness in your heart.
You are from Eritrea, sent to live in Saudi Arabia and you are a fifteen year old boy.
If this is ‘sanctuary’ what does hell look like?
Naser is sitting under a palm tree one day missing his mother and longing to be in a land where women are human beings and not just amorphous black tents floating down the street, covered head to toe in the black abaya. He grew up surrounded by his mother and her friends, enjoying their warmth, their laughter and their attention but in Saudi he has no contact with female human beings at all. He can’t see their faces through their veils and he wonders what hope there can ever be for him, a poor immigrant with no family connections, to find someone to love. Suddenly a woman in black passes him and drops a note into his lap. She’s been watching him, she writes, and felt she had to make contact.
Who is she? Can he recognise her again? Is it a trap or has this woman really fallen for him and decided to take enormous risks to let him know.
As the book progresses Naser and the girl we know only as Habibi (darling) or by the name he gives her, Fiore, take colossal risks to get to know each other. This starts with notes in the street, then moves to passing notes in the bag of a blind imam. In a land where every woman looks the same, he recognises her only by her pink shoes. They meet discretely – the abaya giving Habibi total anonymity but still entailing enormous risk. They know the dangers and the punishment to expect if they are caught. All the while Naser must look over his shoulder not just for the friends who’ve turned against him but more importantly for the evil officer from the morality police who’s intent on getting (ironic) revenge on Naser for spurning his advances. Can there ever be a possibility for a happy ending in this most miserable of lands?
Addonia raises a lot of very disturbing questions about Saudi Arabia and its Wahibist regime. How can it be wrong to see a girl’s face or talk to an unmarried woman who isn’t your relative yet completely OK to force a young boy to have sex with you? How can a father so totally control the life of his daughter in one of the richest countries in the world? How can any man and woman have a relationship such as marriage in a land of such inequality and suppression? And how can a nation treat its immigrant workers with such total contempt that their lives hang on a thread on the goodwill of their patrons? This novel is disturbing on so many different levels and you cannot help but wonder why the rest of the world sits back and lets the Saudi system continue to perpetuate such offences. OK, we all know the answer to that one – it’s black and runny and we can’t get enough of it. If Saudi Arabia wasn’t sitting on a large chunk of the world’s known oil reserves wouldn’t we be in there quicker than an American President could say ‘taliban’, justifying our battles on the grounds of human rights abuses?
Once the initial shock of Naser’s sexual abuse started to fade, I wondered if this book was ever going to progress beyond the slow, yearning exchange of love notes. I didn’t MIND that it was moving so slowly, I just wondered if they were ever actually going to meet. You can be forgiven for thinking that epistolary love affairs are probably more fun for those involved than for those watching on and reading and some of the letters do get a bit ‘Mills and Boon’ although there’s nothing unbelievable about that. As a young person living in a repressive country where would you get your benchmark and inspiration for love letters from in a land where all such things are very much forbidden? We must wonder how Naser can keep body and soul together without a proper job as he devotes all his time to his false life pretending to be a religious activist in order to have contact with his Habibi. I’m ashamed to say that there was a little voice at the back of my mind wondering “What’s he going to think if she’s REALLY ugly under that veil?” and “What if it’s all a set up?” but that’s just me seeking an alternative plot direction.
I was reminded of Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘ in which women are valued only for their reproductive potential. They’re kept in ignorance, forbidden to learn to read or write or to have access to books. The problem is that this book isn’t science fiction and Saudi Arabia is a very real and factual place. Whilst Addonia’s book is fiction, the shocking thing is that all the events and the potential punishments from flogging to stoning are totally believable.
You are a refugee from war in your homeland. Your mother sold her body to raise the money to send you and your brother out of the country to the ‘safety’ of another land where you live with your uncle, a man who loathes his sister for what she’s had to do to keep her children alive.
You’re young, pretty and poor and the only way to get your residency paperwork renewed is to go to your ‘sponsor’ who holds the power of life or death (residency or deportation) over you and your brother. He tells you that the fee for processing the application is equivalent to 4 months of your uncle’s salary but he thinks that you should pay. You tell him you have no money and he says that you have something that’s ‘worth’ that much. He assaults you and you can’t sit down for days. Your uncle takes your brother and moves away leaving you homeless. You get a job in a café where the owner sells you to one of his customers, a fat ugly man who has sex with you in the back room of the building. You turn to sniffing glue and drinking perfume to escape the pain in your body and the sadness in your heart.
You are from Eritrea, sent to live in Saudi Arabia and you are a fifteen year old boy.
If this is ‘sanctuary’ what does hell look like?
Naser is sitting under a palm tree one day missing his mother and longing to be in a land where women are human beings and not just amorphous black tents floating down the street, covered head to toe in the black abaya. He grew up surrounded by his mother and her friends, enjoying their warmth, their laughter and their attention but in Saudi he has no contact with female human beings at all. He can’t see their faces through their veils and he wonders what hope there can ever be for him, a poor immigrant with no family connections, to find someone to love. Suddenly a woman in black passes him and drops a note into his lap. She’s been watching him, she writes, and felt she had to make contact.
Who is she? Can he recognise her again? Is it a trap or has this woman really fallen for him and decided to take enormous risks to let him know.
As the book progresses Naser and the girl we know only as Habibi (darling) or by the name he gives her, Fiore, take colossal risks to get to know each other. This starts with notes in the street, then moves to passing notes in the bag of a blind imam. In a land where every woman looks the same, he recognises her only by her pink shoes. They meet discretely – the abaya giving Habibi total anonymity but still entailing enormous risk. They know the dangers and the punishment to expect if they are caught. All the while Naser must look over his shoulder not just for the friends who’ve turned against him but more importantly for the evil officer from the morality police who’s intent on getting (ironic) revenge on Naser for spurning his advances. Can there ever be a possibility for a happy ending in this most miserable of lands?
Addonia raises a lot of very disturbing questions about Saudi Arabia and its Wahibist regime. How can it be wrong to see a girl’s face or talk to an unmarried woman who isn’t your relative yet completely OK to force a young boy to have sex with you? How can a father so totally control the life of his daughter in one of the richest countries in the world? How can any man and woman have a relationship such as marriage in a land of such inequality and suppression? And how can a nation treat its immigrant workers with such total contempt that their lives hang on a thread on the goodwill of their patrons? This novel is disturbing on so many different levels and you cannot help but wonder why the rest of the world sits back and lets the Saudi system continue to perpetuate such offences. OK, we all know the answer to that one – it’s black and runny and we can’t get enough of it. If Saudi Arabia wasn’t sitting on a large chunk of the world’s known oil reserves wouldn’t we be in there quicker than an American President could say ‘taliban’, justifying our battles on the grounds of human rights abuses?
Once the initial shock of Naser’s sexual abuse started to fade, I wondered if this book was ever going to progress beyond the slow, yearning exchange of love notes. I didn’t MIND that it was moving so slowly, I just wondered if they were ever actually going to meet. You can be forgiven for thinking that epistolary love affairs are probably more fun for those involved than for those watching on and reading and some of the letters do get a bit ‘Mills and Boon’ although there’s nothing unbelievable about that. As a young person living in a repressive country where would you get your benchmark and inspiration for love letters from in a land where all such things are very much forbidden? We must wonder how Naser can keep body and soul together without a proper job as he devotes all his time to his false life pretending to be a religious activist in order to have contact with his Habibi. I’m ashamed to say that there was a little voice at the back of my mind wondering “What’s he going to think if she’s REALLY ugly under that veil?” and “What if it’s all a set up?” but that’s just me seeking an alternative plot direction.
I was reminded of Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘ in which women are valued only for their reproductive potential. They’re kept in ignorance, forbidden to learn to read or write or to have access to books. The problem is that this book isn’t science fiction and Saudi Arabia is a very real and factual place. Whilst Addonia’s book is fiction, the shocking thing is that all the events and the potential punishments from flogging to stoning are totally believable.
March 3, 2012
I think this is one of the best love stories I have ever experienced. I purchased this title as an audio book on a whim and I'm so glad I did! The pace of the story was slow and deliberate, but this story of forbidden love required careful language. The story takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the Religious Police enforce Islamic law with an iron fist. Sulaiman Addonia, reveals a world that is staunch and rigid, and weaves a tale of danger and hope. I don't want to give away too much, but this book is definitely worth reading!
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