Rating: 
Summary: I want to know more
Review: This book provides an almost unique opportunity to hear a voice ring out from Africa and there is so much more I want to know. The second book ought to have given that to me and in some respects I did receive a little more knowledge based on the ten days or so that Waris spent reunited with her family in Somalia. I am heartened to read about courage and fortitude and resilience and I want to know more about the difficulties of being an Nomadic mother in a western culture, about the process of finding synthesis and balance when one strides across several continents. I wanted more photos (and I accept that there will be none from the desert childhood but why not at least one in profile as that was the shot that lifted this wonderful woman from obscurity).
I am interested in other reviews that measure the book against the standards of the west as if the life of this child was exceptional. This little girl of the desert represents millions, literally millions and the great shame is that they are, as yet, unable to get this message through to us. For this beginning I give thanks, and I still want more... Let us sit by the campfires as the hyenas prowl and imagine yet another meal of rice and pick the thorns from our feet and curl up with a family who will drink camel's milk and move on again tomorrow. We need more stories and we need such stories to become more commonplace.
Rating:
Summary: A Cultural Awakening
Review: This ghost-written autobiography of a Somalian nomad who became an international fashion model is certainly an interesting read. The story in broad terms is quite extraordinary and eye-opening. However, there were several sections of the book which just didn't quite ring true. For example, her initial (solo) arrival in London as a young illiterate teenage who spoke no English and who until 24 hours before had never seen a flush toilet or an airplane. There is simply no way that she could have gone through Heathrow arrivals without any questioning. She would not have had any clue how to navigate her way from the plane, through immigration and customs etc. All I am saying is, that I believe there were many embellished stories in this book.However, the book did serve one very important purpose - drawing attention to the abominable practice of female genital mutilation. Waris Dirie now works with the United Nations to stop this atrocity and if her story can help achieve this goal in any small way, then this book has achieved its purpose.
Rating: 
Summary: An extraordinary journey...
Review: That Waris Dirie survived some of her experiences at all is amazing, but that she found success, love and happiness is practically miraculous. She's lived so many different lives, ones that most people can only imagine - as a nomad in Somalia, as a servant in London, as an international super model - yet the voice in which she tells her story is so personal, so warm and informal, that she easily conveys a sense of what she has been through. Waris literally ran away from when her father tried to marry her off to a much older man when she was thirteen. After staying with family in Mogadishu, she goes to London to work as a servant with other relatives before being 'discovered' and going on to model. Waris grew up totally and utterly isolated from the rest of the world - so much so that, when on a plane to London, she is surprised to see non-Africans because she did not even know that 'white' people existed - and a lot of the book focuses on the radical adjustments she must make and how she feels - fascinated, frustrated, excited - about doing so. Always just below the surface is the horrifying procedure of female genital mutilation or circumcision, which Waris underwent at the age of 5. She continues to suffer excruciating pain as a result but eventually, after her initial embarrassment and reluctance, is able to discuss the situation with Western doctors and obtain some relief. Her anger at what she and thousands upon thousands of African women have been through increases as she learns more about the world and realizes that not every woman undergoes the same torture, and she becomes a U.N. ambassador working to end female circumcision throughout the world. Desert Flower would be a rewarding book if it were confined to Waris early years growing up in a nomadic culture. But as it is, Waris' story is truly remarkable, and she succeeds in providing readers at least a glimpse into what she has experienced and endured. One of the best aspects of Desert Flower is its narrative voice, as Waris clearly uses one that is comfortable for her and that comes across as very personal, honest and warm. I recommend this book most highly to just about everyone, as Waris'triumph over her hardships, struggles, and suffering is fascinating while the fact that she maintains her sense of humor, faith and humanity is awe-inspiring.
Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile but disappointing.
Review: I am pleased that I read this book. It is an often harrowing account of Waris Dirie's personal journey from the life of a Somali nomad to that of an international model and special ambassador. It is often brave - Dirie lays out incredibly personal aspects of her life, which goes against all that she learned as a child about the privacy of one's body and of one's own culture.
That anyone suffers the pain and oppression of female genital mutilation is an international crime. It is important that word of what is happening to millions of women should be spread as wide as possible and this is a very accessible means of doing just that. The book is very readable.
Despite this I was left feeling that there was just something lacking that I have found it difficult to pinpoint. It is not a literary masterpiece by any means. Some things just don't ring true, and it seemed rather too self-congratulatory to me.
If you are looking for details about FGM try Hanny Lightfoot Kleins work. If you enjoy memoirs and autobiographies there are much better ones out there.
Rating: 
Summary: A powerful testimony from a wonderfully real person
Review: This book is at times incredibly painful, but can also be extremely entertaining. What I particularly liked about it is the fact that although Waris was clearly a victim of terrible abuse and violation, she does not come across as a flawless heroine. Even though the work is ghost-written, her voice seems very clear and her honesty is one of the most impressive things about her.
In a strange way, I felt for her all the more since I knew that at times I did not necessarily side with her. Occasionally I found her morally dubious and hypocritical - not particularly bothered about having used excessive violence and possibly killed the man who tried to rape her (but at least she admits it), very willing to exploit people (but in many ways she had to), overly-impressed with the glitter of the modelling world whilst at the same time insisting that she still loves the simple life (hmm...). She does seem to rank hardship and pain in relation only to her own experiences - when describing how hard life was as nomad she comments on how "when I came to the Western world I was amazed to find people complaining.[...] I wanted to say to them "Let me give you hard work. You'll never complain about your job again."" Later on, however, we are told about what hell being a fashion model in the Western world actually is: "Then you're wondering, Why am I doing this? Why am I here?" (Call that hard work?, the reader might well wish to cry at this point). I was also a little frustrated by Waris's complaints about being fired for jobs because of her bow legs, "the legacy of growing up in a nomadic family without proper nutrition." Being a model is surely all about prejudices based on appearance. Beauty is a standard. I'd never even be offered a job modelling full stop, the legacy of growing up in a Western family where the women seem to stop growing at 5ft...
In spite of this, I really warmed to Waris precisely because her flaws were exposed and this does not detract from her suffering. On the contrary, this shows her as a real person as opposed to a perfect yet faceless sufferer. What was done to her was outrageous. Although I had read about female genital mutilation before ("Possessing the Secret of Joy") Waris's honesty about the absolute basics eg it's terrible just going to the toilet, made it so much more real and tragic. I admire this woman's courage and truly hope she can do some good. After this website I plan to go on to the one suggested at the end of the book to see what the average person can do to fight this systematic abuse.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect real-life account of a very real terror
Review: Waris Dirie's story is the second book I've read about FGM in Africa. Unlike Fauziya Kassindja (author of Do They Hear You When You Cry), Dirie actually did submit to the horrifying surgery at age five. She lived to tell about it, and she does so in a mesmerizing way. With vivid attention to detail Dirie provides an insider's view of the plight of African women, millions of whom are forced to be "circumsised" in order to be appealing to a prospective husband. Although she escaped to a life of prestige and privledge, Dirie is no stranger to hard work and hard times. Not even her supermodel status assuages the emotional and mental distress caused by her circumsision. She reiterates countless times that she is one of the lucky few--most of her fellow African women will never experience life without pain. Their story is the one worth reading within this book, and Dirie tells it beautifully.
Rating:
Summary: an eye opener...
Review: I found the book and Waris' journey interesting. Amazing in that people outside our lives, can be and are so different to us. 'We' have NO ideal what goes on in other countries, especially that in Africa. Dirie begins as a nomad in Somalia. When she was forced to marry, very young, to an older man-she decided that it wasn't for her and she didn't want to do it. So she ran away in her early teens, on barefoot across the African deserts. Dirie manages, perhaps by pure luck, to be able to make it from one place to another and eventually onto London. Everything feel into place for her. Unfortunately (but that's the law) she had to do things to get around the law. Faking passports, marrying someone to remain in Europe, etc. But I suppose desperation situations calls for desperate measures, at least this is how she clearly felt. Dirie describes her journeys from nomad to superstar model and she is a spokesperson against Female Genital Mutilation-as she and millions of other girls has to go through (especially in tribes in Africa) which causes great physical pain, great humiliation and embarrassment and sometimes even death. But of course, growing up and living in a secluded culture, people grow to know NOTHING else. The book is a real eye opener, especially and moreso than anything else, when it comes to FGM. I recommend the book to male or female to understand, as much as we can, how and what it feels like to be a female Somalia nomad. Short read, easy read but to the point...4 stars...
Rating:
Summary: Among my top 10 books
Review: Waris Dirie's story was stunning to me in many ways. I consider myself fairly aware of the diversity in the world, but the perspective of a woman growing up as a desert nomad was one that I could never have imagined. I love the way she captures the beauty and simplicity (in the best sense of the word) of desert life despite the life-threatening aspects she endured. Her strength, spirituality, and loving perspective remains with me a year later. Her attitude is not just a lot of nice platitudes but it is clearly built on compexity.
It enlightened me more about the complexities of the female circumcision/ genital mutilation debate but this was only one of many enlightening topics. One of my favorite aspects is how she maintains her focus on nature and simplicity even during her modeling career.
Rating:
Summary: A Reason Not to Respect All Cultures Unconditionally
Review: This is the type of book to give to others who preach that all cultures should be respected. With Waris Dirie's bold description of her own female genital mutilation in Somalia, it is enough to say that every culture and religion should be examined for traditions and practices that are outright harmful, undignified for its proud people, and not worthy of rational human beings. Somalian and other Muslim men have been done a favor by Waris Dirie, as her explanation for such mutilation points out the weakness of an entire male population. I came away from reading this book convinced that it is the women who are the absolute strength of these nations, not their men. This is a courageous woman and the story told in simple terms proves it time and again.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: The fascinating true story of the journey of an African woman who ran away from all she knew in order to escape being married off and becoming just another possession to a man whom she didn't love.
|
