O Livro da Inquietude

by Ann Marlowe

A sexy, intimate and fearless account of a shattering love affair between a charistmatic Afghan man and a Jewish American writer infatuated with his culture, The Book of Trouble is also a provocative and original exploration of the so-called "clash of civilizations." Marlowe's vivid, gritty evocation of daily life in Afghanistan brings to life a luminous place she thinks of as "the morning of the world". She finds a similar re-discovery of feeling when she is in bed with Amir, "the gift of loving someone, which is incalculable"--but also, ultimately, a"terrible gap between hearts."

Marlowe finds complexity and beauty in Afghanistan, not the caricature of evil men and oppressed women. In fact, she found much that Americans can learn from in the warmth, tenderness and respect of Afghan family life and marriage. As Marlowe travels from Mazar-i-Sherif to her sophisticated, cynical New York world and then to Baghdad in the aftermath of the American invasion, she makes perhaps her most provocative claim: that we Americans, for all our self-help books, have forgotten how to take love and sex seriously.

A candid, wrenching love letter to the world of feelings we have lost, The Book of Trouble is unique and unforgettable.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mariana Oliveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found it quite interesting specially because of the reflexion regarding how sex, love and marriage is looked at in different cultures and how that can influence relationships.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the fact that this book appears to be non-fiction. It comes from a very real place in that the author truly experienced the events in the book. If she were to read this review I would tell her that it is better to have loved and loss than never to have loved at all. She also makes some keen observations on the nature of American relationships that made me pause and then sigh and comment, "Totally true."