Voices of Jordan

by Rana F. Sweis

Jordan's diverse socioeconomic make-up encapsulates, like no other Middle Eastern state, both the array of pressing short-term problems facing the region, and the underlying challenges that Arab states will need to face once the current spate of civil conflicts is over: meaningful youth employment, female participation in politics, and integration of refugees into society.This book tells the story of Jordan through the lives of ordinary people, including a political cartoonist, a Syrian refugee, a Jihadist and a female parliamentarian. The raw voices and everyday struggles of these people shine a fresh light on the politics, religion, and society of a culture coming to terms with the harsh reality of modernisation and urbanisation at a time of regional upheaval.With her deep knowledge of Jordan's landscape, language and culture, Rana Sweis sketches an intimate portrait of the intricacies and complexities of life in the Middle East. Rather than focusing on how individuals are affected by events in the region, she reveals a cast of characters shaping their own lives and times. Voices of Jordan shares those stories in all of their rich detail, offering a living, breathing social and political history.

Genres: Middle East, Nonfiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2018

Reviews

[Leslie (updates on SG) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read for my AtW challenge. The profiles vary in quality, but I really appreciated the diversity of the interviewees. The U.S. could benefit from this type of book.

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely insightful book! It offers a window on the lives of every day people in Jordan and sheds light on their struggles and their joys; through which you find inspiration and motivation. The book flows smoothly and gives you an effortless and enjoyable reading experience while not undermining any detail.

[Karim Merhej · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book offers an interesting look into the "everyday lives" of 10 "ordinary" individuals connected to Jordan (including one Jordanian expat living in the USA and a Syrian refugee living in Jordan), from a wide array of socioeconomic backgrounds. The individuals include a woman parliamentarian, a public sector official, a caricaturist, a social media influencer, a Salafist from one of Jordan's poorest towns and a soldier from Aqaba, among others. All readers, regardless of whether they are well-versed in and knowledgeable about the Jordanian politico-economic system or not, will find the book entertaining and fascinating. The author's writing style is very smooth, and once one begins reading, it is hard to put the book down.

However, the book is not without its flaws. The book suffers from the fact that it barely offers any explanation of the Jordanian political system and its economy (the Introduction chapter is a mere 7 pages long, and only provides a very brief superficial overview of Jordan's political and socioeconomic context Jordan). The reason why it is important to mention this is because without this background, one may be led to ignore or not take into account the factors that led the individuals depicted in the book to be who they are. As a matter of fact, the book depicts extreme socioeconomic inequalities and injustices in Jordanian society, without really being aware of them or without challenging them! One chapter deals with a man living in one of Jordan's poorest towns and another deals with a Syrian refugee woman living in hardship; a third deals with an extremely wealthy social media influencer married to a "hardcore banker" - yet, despite these dramatic socioeconomic inequalities, the reasons as to why such differences and disparities exist is not tackled by the author. Readers unfamiliar with Jordanian society wouldn't notice anything necessarily wrong with this - which is by itself problematic. Readers aware of the dramatic class differences in Jordan and why one tiny segment of society has collected all the fruits of the neoliberalization of the Jordanian economy at the expense of the majority would find this infuriating.

The book inadvertently justifies the inherently unjust politico-economic status quo in Jordan - after all, the preface is written by a former Prime Minister and Chief of the Royal Court who is very well enmeshed in Jordan's community of business elites. This is unfortunate. The book had tremendous potential: the stories depicted are truly fascinating and easy-to-read, and the author has obviously put in a lot of time and effort to carry out the research and write the book. However, without a chapter grounding the socioeconomic and political realities that the characters depicted live through on an everyday life, and without a class-based analysis (even if brief) of why such societal differences exist between the different characters, the book is ultimately rendered weak and lacking. Journalists should ideally be giving a voice to the voiceless to challenge the injustices, not justify them or take them for granted. The author unfortunately falls in the latter category, even if inadvertently.

[Anika Aze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book served my purpose: after reading Fadi Zaghmont's "The Bride of Amman", I was so shocked that I was interested in learning more about this country that I had always considered as the most stable place in the Middle East. I also knew several Asian domestic workers in Jordan who had told me many things about Jordan, but never about the issues revealed in Fadi's book. So, I was curios what real life was like in Jordan.

I found Rana Sweis's book very educational. She was very objective in her interviews with the 10 people from different backgrounds living in Jordan. The book gave the overall sociopolitical situation in Jordan at the time of writing.

I also liked her writing style that allowed the reader to be in the scene she was describing.

I really enjoyed this book. Now I can even say I know a bit more about Jordan. Thank you Rana!

[Emil Avedisian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like a documentary film showing the lives of 10 different people living in Jordan in the 2010s, in the aftermath of the Arab Spring which now feels for many of us as a distant memory although we are still dealing with its consequences like the war in Syria.
The group is very diverse. This will surprise some because, as the foreword says, diversity is not valued as an asset in the Middle East, and as the introduction explained, we Jordanians 'live in dark' of one another, not knowing what many people who live in the same country go through and how they think.
As some reviewers here have indicated, the book does not explain the explain the history or the political system of Jordan, but it does not seem to have planned to do that. The history of Jordan in the last century is complex and much of it remains uncovered or unwritten about (and we do not learn everything at school!).

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

And Rana Sweiss managed in a way to let the voices of Jordanians be heard in this excellent book that describes the diverse Jordanians that live in this country and that don’t exactly know each other. A wonderful and enlightening read.

[Babette Stolk · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Nothing too special, but interesting slices of life in Jordan. Some of it feels slightly dated.

[nuni · Rating 4 out of 5]

„the story of a country or region cannot be told through the life of just one person or as a memoir, but requires an entire choir of voices. the stories on this book are not entirely separate from each other. They are more like conversations taking place in different rooms of the same building, they are underpinned by similar contours and features even if views and perspective change“.

this is a very insightful book into the lives of very different (!) people living in jordan - from an art cartoonist, to a fashion influencer, to beduins, to (female) politicians. there were many many perspectives reflecting the diversity of jordan‘s population highlighting that home never meant one place, but a mosaic coming to life based in different roots, stories and memories. it was eye-opening and sad to see how different these socio-economic differences were, the struggles were so varying, it made you question how so many could „live in the same building“ not knowing who is living next door.
jordan is an incredibly diverse and culturally rich place, it would have been so important to actually know the why behind the differences, why the gap between „what i have“ vs. „what you dont“ is so huge. it would have added another layer to the stories since there was such complexity in the struggles and issues presented here. outsiders (me being one) wouldnt necessarily understand how problematic such issues are.
it was a great reminder that art has always been political, that women are often at the front line at wars, that the problems of the rich were never the same as the problems of the poor and that sometimes education/ intellect isnt qs strong as deeply rooted culture.
i think if you view this as a collage or documentary of 10 individual stories and introduction to jordan as a country that is much more than just one of the most stable countries in the middle east, i think you will like. and maybe it is a window to learning more about the socio-economic and political context that jordan is embedded in.

[Pickabookbynouf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The aim behind this book is to give a brief idea about the situation & challenges that faces our region, especially Jordan which has a diverse & complex society. Through the stories of 10 ordinary people living around us the author tried to make us aware of the challenges and struggles of our own everyday life. Each one of the 10 stories represents a decent section of the society that has its own dreams, ambitions, problems, and difficulties. This book Spots the light on different issues including political and economic struggles in our region that would let the people living outside this region to see things from different perspective and to change their stereotyped thoughts about the people living in this part of the world. It also give the people living here an insight into the lives of people living around, as each one of us is living only within his small societal circle and we don't actually know how other people are managing their own lives.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to take a glimpse of the current situation in our region.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 to 3.5 stars. This is the first book on Jordan I picked up ahead of a trip to the country (not counting the guide book). Sweis has put together a colourful collage of personal stories, focusing on peoples' lives, experiences and outlook through their own perspective and voice. Although Sweis does not (aim to) offer a detailed socioeconomic or political analysis of Jordan, she demonstrates the vast diversity of present-day Jordan, illustrating some of the key challenges facing the country through the voices and stories of its residents.

[Debra Wills · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed how Rana Sweis told the story of Jordan through many different people. I had no idea how challenged Jordan was and is in the Mideast. They have taken in many refugees and find themselves with a large youth population both give a need for change in dealing with economic strains on the government and the people of Jordan.
Great book and an easy read.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a book about Jordan’s diverse make up. The storytelling is superb with rich details and important background information. If you want to know what Jordan is all about, this is your book. Sweis did an amazing job dissecting the life of modern jordan with its contradictions and complexities. I highly recommend it to tourists and diplomats, academics and the average Arab and Western reader.

[Malika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book for anyone seeking to understand Jordanian society. Stirring account of 10 Jordanian individuals navigating through life in modern day Jordan focusing on its socio-economic problems.

[Andrew Selee · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must-read on Jordan and a beautiful book

This is a beautifully written and highly insightful look into the many faces of Jordan and the modern Middle East in all its complexity, diversity, and change.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on the varying and broad range of experiences of life in Jordan. I enjoyed learning about the specific stories of people Sweis interviewed.

[Isabel O’Keeffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 chapters with each one telling the story of one person from or living in Jordan. A great holiday read to get an insight into the country.