İnternette Balık Avlamak

by Nasreen Akhtar, Zarife Biliz (Translator)

Aranıyor! Birlikte cheesecake yenecek biri. Asla bitmeyecek işlere başlanacak biri. Güzel şeyler yaşanacak biri. Özür dilemekten korkmayacak biri. Düşlerin yaşanacağı biri. Birlikte gülünecek biri. Uçan tabaklardan kaçacak biri. Gözyaşlarını silecek biri. Etrafa iyilik yayacak biri. Bu fani dünyanın gizemlerini birlikte keşfedebileceğin biri. Bu kitap bir kadının arayışını anlatıyor. İyi eğitim almış, Pakistan kökenli bir İngiliz kadının “Müslüman Evlilik” sitelerindeki kimi kez komik, kimi kez ıstıraplı ama çoğu kez hayal kırıklığı dolu yolculuğunu… Bu kitapta aşkı arayan bir kadın var, sonrasında evliliğe giden yolda yürümekte kararlı. Sıra dışı erkeğini bulmayı umut eden, sıradan bir kadının tabulara ayak direyen tavrı var. Ve maçosundan bağnazına, üçkâğıtçısından kaypağına, playboyundan kaçak dövüşenine, eh, az sayıda da olsa, saygın ve çekici olanına, pek çok erkek.İnternette Balık Avlamak içten bir dille kaleme alınmış, esprili, ilginç ve ayrıksı bir ilk kitap.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Mine · Rating 3 out of 5]

bu kitabı aynı anda hem sevdim hem de nefret ettim, 27 yaşından sonra köklerini oluşturan Pakistan kültürün de etkisiyle evde kaldığına inanan ve bunun için sürekli uygun talip arayan bir kadının hikayesi, kitabı yarısından sonra okumakta zorlandım ama bir taraftan da acaba bu müslüman Bridget Jones'un sonu ne olacak diye de merak ettim.

[Bookmaniac70 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well,this book is another evidence that you need a little more than just pouring your heart on the paper in order to produce a good book. The author is a well-educated Pakistan lady,brought up in UK. The book is a non-fiction and is dedicated to her constant (and unsuccessful)search for a husband. A subject, boring enough by itself but the story still could have been saved by showing a little more humor and self-irony,completely lacking in writer`s approach.Honestly speaking,reading this autobiographical novel is a waste of time. It doesn`t entertain you,it doesn`t teach you. In fact,the very fact of its existence is pathetic.

[Çiğdem Yalçın · Rating 2 out of 5]

İlk defa bir kitabı her satırını okumalıyım diye kasmadım, atlayarak okudum. Çünkü o gereksiz açıklamalara filan dayanamadım. İyi kitapları, yetişkinlikten itibaren diyeyim, her yaşta okuyabilirsiniz. Bir kitap insanda, şu yaşımda okusam belki ilgimi çekerdi, diye düşündürüyorsa okunması çok da gerekli ve hatta zevkli bir kitap değil demektir. Kitap 264 sayfa ve bana göre fena halde vakit kaybı. Aman diyeyim!

[Sevgican · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eglenceli, kolay okunan, guzel bir kitap. Musluman bir kadinin, feminizm ve din eksenindeki kafa karisikligi ve arayasini anlatiyor. beklentilerin benzerligini gormek insana iyi hissettiriyor.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A major frustration throughout this memoir was that the narrative was frequently far too rambling (where was the editor?!) and so I found myself being tempted to skip pages. That said, the author writes in an honest, humorous and often self-deprecating way, and her descriptions are often movingly evocative. I often found myself caught up in what at times felt like a reflection of the roller-coaster ride of her emotions; sometimes feeling concerned for her, at other times frustrated with her because, over the years covered by the book, she didn’t seem to be learning from her mistakes! There were occasions when I felt quite distressed by her despair, depression and her apparent psychological vulnerability. However I also admired her determination, her honesty and her willingness to take risks – although I do think she needs to be a little more prepared to accept the notion of compromise!

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly, this book was not aimed at someone like me, a white guy in his 60s. Firstly, the age thing: a book written by someone in her 20s desperately [yes, largely she seemed desperate] looking for a husband is not what I want in a story; Jane Austen did it so much better and I am not a great fan of hers either! Secondly, the gender thing: a book obsessed with a woman's feelings and how so many men let her down [I lost count of the number who were not up to her standards] in so many ways will clearly appeal more to females than males. Then the culture/religious thing: I certainly learned a lot about Asian/Muslim attitudes within families and how we outside that community tend to stereotype them, but it did not need 320 pages to do that; indeed, it did not need a story at all, a documentary would do. The number of quotations from the Qur'an and the totally redundant glossary [the terms were explained within the text] seemed to reinforce my notion that the book was aimed at those interested in joining the Islamic faith. I reckon that if an equivalent book with an evangelical Christian quoting the Bible and explaining its terms were written, readers would query it far more.

So, what did I like about the book? I liked the character of Nasreen herself: I liked her stubborn independence even when it slipped into impossibility; I liked her modern outlook [to technology, to friends, to the world in general]; I liked her self-deprecating humour [I would have liked more of it!]. I guess I like the whole idea of the book, the notion behind the story. The trouble is there was so little story and so many unanswered questions, not least about the fact/fiction nature of the book. Is it a novel? Is it a true tale? How did Nasreen manage to set up her own publishing company just to publish her own story? Did she find the "Prince Charming" mentioned at the end? She deliberately refuses to tell us ... so we'll read her sequel? Am I being manipulated here?

So, I am confused by this book. Maybe, when our Book Club discusses it next month, I'll discover more.