Rating: 
Summary: A Jordanian woman telling her story of friendship and love
Review: This book touched my heart. Norma Khouri chronicled her friendship in modern day Jordan. I believe it is a powerful book because it is informative and well written for all people, including teenagers. The best way to fight for human rights is to inform the masses and this book can. This is true honor, a woman honoring her friend.
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Summary: Truths that have to be said.
Review: In this review, I'll concentrate on the author's inability to be objective and truthful and her ability to cover it up by exploiting the remaining 'crusade' spirit within the West towards the Arabs/Muslims. About its style, one cannot enjoy its ups and downs if one doubts the story veracity. Unfortunately, as a Jordanian Christian woman, it is my case!
The kind of reaction that this book has generated is a telling example of why and how advertising works in the West: People believe what they want to believe-never mind the evidence or the lack of it as for this book.With not a shred of hard evidence of any kind to back up her story of being involved in a honour killing, Norma Khouri managed to convince many of her Western readers (who never set foot in Jordan) that she is telling the truth and she is the voice of Jordanian feminism all the way from Australia! She is indeed the example of a self-appointed feminist as no one in Jordan relates to her anymore, not because she spoke against honour killing (so many of us have done so for years before she did) but because she told so many lies about us Jordanians and our country in her book.
What seems so illustrative of how Norma Khouri has succeeded in exploiting the latent Western prejudices against the Arabs/Muslims is how some people are reacting towards any criticism of this fictional book. Accusations of being a 'supporter of honour killing' and of being a 'self-declared feminist' are levelled at the critics. The irony is the critics have experienced the real Jordan whereas those applauding this book most probably have never lived in Jordan! So how can they vouch for the authenticity of this fictional book?
In this book, Norma Khouri stumbles from one illogical and self-contradictory statement to the other. I shall mention just two of them:
(a) Once Dalia was supposedly killed (where is the proof of that? How do we know she did not die naturally?), Norma Khouri was so 'horrified' that instead of taking any plane to anywhere to escape she decided to stay in Jordan for the NEXT FIVE YEARS-no less than that! So much for Dalia dying of honour killing!
(b) Once Norma Khouri was supposedly threatened with death by her family (which by the way does not believe in honour killing as it belongs to the ruling establishment-a fact known by us Jordanians), Norma Khouri was so 'horrified' that she chose to stay at home for a FURTHER FIVE YEARS! So much for the family threat!
Her behaviour betrays two simple truths. Norma Khouri never witnessed an honour killing and was never threatened by her family. She left Jordan because, after 5 years of running the salon on her own after Dalia's death, she got bored and decided to seek a new life abroad. There is nothing wrong with that except that to cross the immigration hurdle in Australia, she came up with this fictional story that makes the anti-Arab Western hearts melt and minds explode with indignation, by defaming her own country.
About Dalia, it is clear that she did not die of honour killing. Youth is no shield against death-I lost a friend to brain cancer when she was 32.
As for Michael's existence, the fact that not a single word has come out of him or about him since the publication of this book leads to one and ONLY ONE conclusion: Michael is a fictional character created by the author in her bid to 'cook' this self-contradictory love story that never was. She claims that he is at the forefront of fighting honour killing in Jordan. So how come none of us has heard of this eminent public figure? No one knows who he is-how strange! Our anti-honour killing movement is open by nature to everyone, including members of our royal family. So there is no place and NO NEED for scarlet pimpernels amongst us. The logical implication is then Michael is a creation of Norma Khouri's vivid imagination.
Her amazing creativity, which does not see lying and distorting facts at will as a line not to be crossed, has allowed her not only to create a love story out of thin air but also to create her own version of Jordan in a parallel universe that looks like a concentration camp for women. As a Jordanian woman, I do not recognise my own birthplace in her book but I understand why Western readers are easily taken in by this fictional book. I admit that I too for a while was fooled into believing that Michael existed and Dalia was killed.
Norma Khouri is without a doubt a successful writer of fiction. However honour killing is not a fictional issue to us. It is a real question of life and death. So my advice to the author is to leave the fight against honour killing to us who, unlike her, did not desert Jordan for a new life in the West. If she cared this much about honour killing, she should have stayed in Jordan as it was boredom that made her leave the country and not any 'threat' from her family. Since she has settled in Australia, perhaps she could help better the status of women there by beginning with putting her feminist zeal at the service of the Aboriginal women for whom alcoholism, teenage pregnancy, prostitution and domestic violence and murder are a daily lot. I am looking forward to her book on how she contributed to the welfare of Australian women.
In the meantime, to those interested in serious studies about how a society like Jordan thinks and behaves, I recommend, with your permission, the series of books -written by a former Catholic nun Karen Armstrong- which are available in Amazon. Kind regards from Amman, THE REAL AMMAN!
Rating: 
Summary: Book that Had to be Written
Review: Admittedly naive about Jordan, I found this book to be for me an important read. Because of this, I was surprised to read the many negative reviews written about this book even by the self-proclaimed feminists. Personally, if I lived in a country as repressed as that portrayed by the book, I would also feel compelled to leave it. If my best friend was murdered by his/her father, the murder never making it to the press, and the murderer never punished, I would feel compelled to write about it, not for personal gain, but for the catharsis effect it would have and for my responsibility to my friend. This one incident is important because it actually happened and because it was condoned. Unpunished murder is always serious enough to write about because it points to major flaws in the justice system world wide. One murder is just as important to write about as hundreds. This is not a numbers game. Regarding the accusations of playing to the anti-Muslim sentiments in the US, I couldn't disagree more. I am definitely not intimate with Arabic culture, and only superficially knowledgeable about the Muslim religion, but I have studied with, worked with, and lived among several Muslims and have the upmost respect for them and their religion. I think the claims that the America has an anti-Muslim bias are made by people with little knowledge of true mainstream America. What is shocking about this book is that honor killings are tolerated in this region. If honor killings really don't occur, then the book's errors will in time be uncovered. But if the book succeeds in exposing a reality in Jordan, then it succeeds and becomes important. I am equally hungry to read books exposing evil practices within the U.S. This has nothing to do with anti-Muslim fervor in the America, but has everything to do with free speech and open discussion, allowing everyone a voice. Having said that, I felt the book was not written well. It definitely seemed choppy, and rather hastily written and the details seemed superficial. However, Norma Khouri was not a trained writer, from the sounds of it, had a limited formal education. I was willing to cut her slack because I felt the topic was so important.
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Summary: All i want to say is...
Review: Kelley.... good point. i noticed the same.
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Summary: A biased anti-islamic view of crime and punishment.
Review: As a Canadian/Israeli woman involved in helping abused women, I have found this book utterly disappointing. The 'teenage romance' style of the author is uneven and all too often too dramatic, whilst emphasising the superficial and skipping over providing the hard evidence to support the claims contained in her book. The author has reduced the WORLDWIDE occurrence of violence against women into an unconvincing 'forbidden love' tale between TWO people ONLY. Her story is quite frankly laden with exaggerations and untruths about Jordan in particular and the Muslims in general. It is a typical made-to-order novel to fit within the prevailing anti-islamism of some western media. We must be aware about how prejudices can be created and exploited by writers for financial and personal gains. Norma Khouri is no exception in this respect. The author, by concentrating SOLELY on Dalia's tragedy, IF it is to believed of course, has failed to put honour killing in its proper worldwide perspective. As a Western reviewer pointed out, Dalia's death is no different from that of a Western woman stabbed to death by her husband/boyfriend on the basis that 'if he cannot have her, then no other man can'.
The point missed on purpose by the author in this book is the difference between Dalia's murder and that of a Western woman resides ONLY in the label used: In Jordan, it is given the emotionally charged label of 'Honour Killing' whereas in the West it is simply labelled 'Domestic Violence'. So it is just a question of 'packaging' murder of innocent women; a packaging that is soothing to our Western 'sensitivities' by describing Islam as 'evil' of course! It is obviously clear that Norma Khouri has quite aptly exploited our fears and prejudices against Islam to her advantage by pushing aside the eternal truth that NO society has the monopoly of good or evil.
In this book, the author's portrayal of the West as the 'land of free love' is baseless, as any Western reader, aware of violence against women, will admit to that. By reinforcing the 'holier than thou' attitude prevailing in the West at the expense of her OWN country, the author misleads the unsuspecting reader into believing the dangerous fallacy that women are killed only in Jordan and those who murder women get away with it only in Jordan. This baseless fact brings me to my penultimate point. The author talks about men getting away with murder in Jordan. It is true BUT up to a point because there have been some NEW legal remedies against such an unjust situation which have been adopted in Jordan. These facts are known to the author as she herself admitted to it in many of her interviews to the Western media. So why didn't she include them in her book? Could it be because they will sour the image that the author wants the West to have about Islam? In fact, Islam does NOT condone honour killing, regardless of what the author claims.
Moreover, Norma Khouri is mistaken when she claims that in the West crimes against women land their perpetrators automatically in jail. For example, in the US state of South Carolina, according to a recent study, HALF of the worst offenders against women are discharged and those who are jailed spend less than 2 years behind bars. This situation led a director of a local battered women's shelter to state that 'it is no wonder we are No.1 in the nation for women being killed by men'. So after all, in the West, neither men nor some legal systems are that different from their Jordanian counterparts. This is a fact that the author has tried so hard to conceal, in order not to 'complicate' the simplistic and racist view of good (ie 'us', the Westerners) versus evil (ie 'them', the Arabs and Muslims). In conclusion, people ought to bear in mind that, in the Middle East, the content of this book is dismissed not just by well-meaning men but also by dedicated feminists who have spent their lives fighting for women's rights and who now feel their fight against honour killing has been hijacked by Norma Khouri for her own personal gains; which is a tragedy for their cause. The author's following statement: 'I hope, by building on the work of activists in Jordan, who are constantly frustrated and suppressed, to bring closer to abolishing these crimes' is sadly a mere wishful and grandiose gesture, to impress her naive readership, because -as she has burnt ALL bridges between her and her country- her standing in Jordan is inexistent. As a feminist, I feel let down by this book which is not worth spending one's money and time on.
Rating:
Summary: Did the author use Princess Diana¿s life as a template?
Review: I have bought Ms.Khouri's book in French and borrowed its English version to compare the two contents. Disappointingly, the style of both editions is based on exploiting any latent anti-islamism within us. Even the front cover of the book (with the picture of a veiled paid actress) is a give-away: The author is appealing to our centuries-old anti-islamic prejudices to sell her book. As a European whose neighbours come from all faiths and races, it is obvious to me that Ms.Khouri has created or exploited three myths and prejudices. First, 'Honour killings do not exist in the West'. It is a falsehood because family murders happen all the time -regardless of the country, culture, religion or race- when a member of a family threatens the livelihood, social/religious status or privileges of his/her (especially immediate) relatives. If one believes this book, in Dalia's case, it was the social/religious status of her family that was perceived threatened, by her father and brother. In Princess Diana's case, the whole of the Muslim world and the majority of the French/European people(s) believe that members of the British royal establishment felt that their centuries-old privileges were under threat because Diana (the mother of the future British king - Prince William) had a romantic liaison with a Muslim. The fact that he was not practicing his faith was irrelevant to those members: He was an unwelcome outsider-full stop! Indeed, in France, we had the famous case of Princess Diana and her Egyptian lover Dodi El Fayed. Had they married, the 'purity' of the bloodline of the British royal family would have been 'compromised' forever. The future British king would have had an Arab and Muslim stepfather! So 'something' had to be done to avert such a 'catastrophe'! Of course, to describe what happened in that Paris tunnel, the term 'honour killing' was not used; instead 'accident' was used! 'Honour Killing' is such a 'barbarian' term fit for the 'barbaric and uncultured' people of the Middle-East (as a 5-star reviewer put it), not the 'civilised and cultured' British ruling class! The forbidden love between Diana and Dodi condemned both of them to death. It sounds just like Ms.Khouri's story of Dalia and Michael. However there is one manifest difference: the story of Diana and Dodi is very well documented but the story of Ms.Khouri is without a single shred of evidence. All what we have is her word that it happened. So, one wonders whether Ms.Khouri used the story of Diana and Dodi as a 'template' and inspiration for her book, including the tile of 'Forbidden Love'. Her book can be taxed as fictional because of its lack of evidence and because of another factor: the deceased Dodi can hardly speak of his love for Diana, whereas Michael can. However Ms.Khouri never mentioned, in her book, Michael's willingness to attest of his love for Dalia and speak publicly against honour killing. Is it because, like this book, he is merely a fictional character dreamed up by the author? Second, the author suggests that honour killings ought to deserve a special treatment. Why should it be the case? Is the murder of Dalia worse than the murder of a Western woman by a jealous partner? All these crimes -be they in Jordan or elsewhere- stem from one source: the desire of some insecure men to control their women, by using the ultimate control method - death threat and murder itself if necessary. Religion and culture have nothing to do with it, although they might be used as fig-leaves; just as Christianity is used in Northern Ireland to murderous effect by both Catholics and Protestants. One can quote and misquote from any belief (religious or secular) to justify one's selfish acts and intentions. By picking on Islam only, Ms.Khouri showed her true intention: To milk Western Islamic phobia for her own financial & immigration goals. Third, Ms.Khouri assumes that her Western readers are ignorant of Jordanian life and culture, so she can write anything and she'd be believed. She might be right but only partially. As a European, my history is interlinked with our Muslim neighbours'. So Western readers like me feel offended when they sense that the author is trying to pull wool over their eyes. Islam is no more 'dictatorial' than any other belief, religious or secular. As one of Ms.Khouri's fellow Catholics, I do not feel proud of how the crusaders plunged the whole of the Middle-East in a blood bath for centuries, to impose our Christian 'civilised' values on the 'barbarian' Muslim world; when the real aim of all the crusades was looting. Eventually, the truth will come out about this book and its story. I fear it will not be a pleasant one for the author after so much fictionalisation has been applied and so many lies being injected to Dalia's sad and short life. Don't waste your money/time on this fictional book, as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Smoking or Not Smoking?
Review: Notwithstanding her Jordanian 'flavoured' style, Norma Khouri has fallen foul of one sacred rule that no successful author can afford to breach: The rule of self-consistency. Even if the writing has no relation with reality or contradicts it (as in all types of fiction and as it is in Norma's case), it should not contradict itself at the very least. It seems that, at the turn of almost every page of her book, Norma Khouri has managed to contradict herself. It looks as if she simply does not care about how believable and coherent is her story in the belief that her book has a very important redeeming commercial feature: it is anti-islamic enough to be a success in the western publishing world. Many of your negative reviews have listed such contradictions (a euphemism for 'lies'). However there is one that seems to have escaped people's attention so far that I would like to share with your customers. It relates as to whether Dalia, like Norma Khouri, was a smoker or may be not. Norma Khouri states that Dalia was a secret smoker, as she feared being discovered by her 'strict' family. The contradiction included in this (just) one sentence is full of implications for the whole book. If Dalia was a smoker, then how did she get rid off the tobacco smell from HER CLOTHES AND BREATH before going back home, EVERY EVENING OF EVERY DAY? And how was she able to fool her ever-vigilant brother for FIVE WHOLE YEARS when he could have come into the salon AT ANY TIME for a 'check'? As a woman and a non-smoker, this point caught my attention because, even through passive smoking, my clothes and breath often stink of tobacco for the next 24 hours. Using scents and perfume is of little help in this matter against the pervasive and persistent'ash tray' smell. The answer to all these questions is rather obvious: either the family of Dalia was 'permissive' enough to let her smoke or that Dalia never ever smoked - there is no other way.
The first possibility suggests that such a 'permissive' family (which after all was happy to see Dalia massage men's hair, as a hairdresser, according to Norma Khouri) can hardly have recourse to drastic and murderous measures, such as honour killing, to deal with Dalia, no matter how troublesome she was or became. This observation strengthens the case made by many reviewers who have indicated that most probably Dalia died of natural causes, rather than honour killing, and that Norma Khouri got the original idea about this book by reading or hearing about somebody else's sad demise before 'transplanting' it on the short life story of the deceased Dalia. The second possibility raises the question as to why would Norma Khouri writes that Dalia was a HEAVY smoker (and drinker of black coffee on the top of that) when she did not smoke. Has the unfortunate Dalia, once dead, become the alter-ego of Norma Khouri? Actually this fact can explain, at least partly, the existence of the contradictions regarding Dalia in this book. In one section, Dalia is portrayed being herself as a practicing Muslim woman. In another, Dalia becomes the Catholic alter-ego of Norma Khouri herself who can jump from one Dalia to the other with impunity because Dalia is dead so she cannot defend herself. The same goes for the identity of Michael: is he real or imaginary? The whole book has been conceived on such shaky and flimsy premises that even the simple question of whether Dalia was a smoker or not seems to unravel its credibility. In conclusion, being self-consistent is indeed the first commandment that must be observed by any writer. Unfortunately Norma Khouri has wilfully and repeatedly ignored it, in pursuit of fame and a new life in the west at any cost. The contradictions laid in this fictional book that are being exposed by the reviewers are the penalties of her choice. The greatest victim of her decision is of course the fight against honour killing. This book can hardly be taken seriously in this respect. It has undeservedly stolen the much needed limelight from far worthier efforts to combat honour killing. Buying this book in the west has absolutely no bearing at all on our anti-honour killing fight in Jordan. So if I may, my advice is save your money and time.
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Summary: This book is good news for western misogynists.
Review: I am a Dutch teacher who worked in Jordan for 8 years. Any enjoyment that this book and its style could have brought me was marred by the sheer audacity of Norma Khouri in describing her birthplace so unfairly and so falsely that it seems to have created a wave of self-righteousness in the west. There is an Arab proverb that says: "A camel points at the back of his fellow camel and mocks". Are we, western women, really that free from male and societal violence? The anti-arab and anti-islamic sentiments generated and of course exploited by this book seem to miss one truthful fact: Western men do kill western women also. For example, here in the UK, 5 women were killed within one week. Somehow we see our victims as unfortunate statistics to accept as part of the ugly side of our western life but we are led to see any other women killed elsewhere in the world (especially in the Arab/Muslim world) as a crime to be outraged about. This is a double standard to which this book has contributed greatly. Indeed I believe that in her book Norma Khouri is encouraging unwittingly violence against women in the west by carelessly singling out for condemnation Jordanian men in particular and the Arabs/Muslims in general, giving thus comfort to western misogynists. I was personally a victim of male violence at the hand of my former husband who was neither an Arab nor a Muslim. Norma Khouri writes confidently that all Jordanian men (excepting Michael!) abuse their women. One wonders how she reached such a conclusion. Did she conduct a nationwide thorough statistical study of the Jordanian society? Or did she simply let her disdain towards her own country take over her book? Norma Khouri does not seem to realise that using such over-the-top unproven generalisations and biased exaggerations makes her own book obsolete and definitely not a reference publication to consult when querying about Jordan. Actually, having lived in Jordan, I know that her description of Jordan and especially Amman is quite honestly peppered with lies and distortions destined for the western market.
Of course we must care about and fight violence against women. Unfortunately, it would be a misguided belief to assume that this book is a first-hand account of an honour killing and that, by buying it, one is contributing positively to the cause of eliminating such killings in Jordan because it is very much in doubt that Norma Khouri has had any first-hand experience of honour killing otherwise, as a reviewer noticed, she would have fled the country without delay, once the alleged honour killing of Dalia took place, instead of staying in Jordan for another five years. Also, Norma Khouri has no link whatsoever with Jordan, anymore, apart from Michael whose existence is in doubt too.
I believe that the best way to fight misogynist violence is not by buying this fictional story but it is by helping one's local shelter for women. Once we have eradicated violence at home, we can then set a positive example for others to follow. Otherwise, we are open to the charge of being hypocritical, like the proverbial camel. I heard such an argument in Jordan quite often. It cannot be dismissed that lightly because when one has been a victim of "domestic" violence, one is not inclined anymore to believe that the west is the land of "free love" and "personal freedom" and thus to preach western values to others. There is good and evil wherever we are. However, for obvious reasons, Norma Khouri has written this book to make us believe that Jordan (and Islam "naturally") are the land of evil whereas the west (and Australia "especially") are the land of good. The racist undertone is so plain to see! All in all, Norma Khouri has done a great disservice to the cause that she claims to have espoused by not being objective and truthful in her present book when describing Jordan and its social problems. This book does not even deserve one star.
Rating: 
Summary: Inaccurate picture of life in Jordan
Review: I, a Jordanian-American also a devoted supporter of women's rights and development in the region, was quite disappointed with this book. While most of us agree with Norma that the legal and cultural justifications for honour killings are wrong, we should not go about educating ourselves and others by fostering stereotypes which degrade Islam and Arabs in general. Such seemed to be the case as I read through Honor Lost. While Norma in some ways painted a vivid picture of Jordan by describing its geographic landscape and food, in other ways she merely generalizes and essentializes life in Jordan to a prison and suggests that Arab women are oppressed while western women are liberated. While her life and that of her friend may have been as she described, she cannot assume although she does that this is the life of all women in Jordan. Just like in the West, the Middle East is diverse, not all women live the same. Norma failed to mention the night life in Jordan which includes not only elite women, and that most Muslim men and women in Jordan shake hands and eat together (she writes otherwise). Norma also attacked Islam by selectively citing from the Qur'an, stating that it supported honor killings. In actuality Islam does not openly support honor killings any more than Christianity does. One can selectively cite from the Bible as well to suggest that it is inherently oppressive to women. Also, Jordanians today do not adhere to the Islamic laws of Saudi Arabia, for example, but you would never know that from reading this book. Her numerous references to Muslims reminded me (as a Christian myself) of the discriminatory comments I hear from Arab Christians (and others) about Muslims - she just repeated what she probably heard all her life about Islam to justify the 'superiority' of her religion. We should be writing and promoting books that paint realistic pictures which do not idealize nor stereotype the Middle East. If we do not educate ourselves and others about such matters as honour killings through appropriate channels, we risk doing more harm than good, which is the outcome of this latest book. ...
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Summary: One CAN reject this book AND honour killing too.
Review: As an incurable romantic, I have found the style of this unmistakably fictional book quite appealing. The author is truly impressive with her amazing and vivid imagination for creating such believable situations. Unfortunately, I know they cannot be true as I have many Jordanian friends, Muslims and Christians. In fact, Jordan is not an unknown country to me. The aim of my present review is to comment on five major misconceptions upon which this book seems to be based: /1/ [He/She who questions the motives of the author must be inconsiderate to say the least]: Why? This attitude smacks of intellectual blackmail to silence the critics of this book. As the author has stated publicly that she is out to get even with Jordan and Islam (that she has described as a 'dictatorship'- had she lived in South Africa she would have known the REAL meaning of that word!), her writing is often false and disparaging about her own country. So one can hardly take her writing as gospel truth and her motives as pure and above suspicion. /2/ [He/She who questions the veracity of this book must be a supporter of honour killings]: How intolerant and narrow-minded is this concept! In fact, nothing can be further than the truth. One can reject this book AND STILL condemn honour killing, as I most certainly do. Life is not in black and white. /3/ [Honour killing is a serious violation of human rights]: Who would disagree with that? But this fictional book is definitely not the weapon to fight honour killing with because, as highlighted in previous reviews, the author most probably did NOT even witness an honour killing. Moreover, she managed to unduly vilify and antagonise AT LEAST 96% of the Jordanian population (the Muslims) lowering thus her standing to ZERO LEVEL in her own country. /4/ [It does not matter if the author was not involved in an honour killing tragedy. One is after information only]. This is either a disingenuous or naively misguided claim! If the author did not know an honour-killing victim by the name of Dalia, then why should we buy her book AS IF it was a first-hand account? If it is to document oneself about honour killing, then the United Nations information centre can provide all the necessary information FREELY and in an UNBIASED way. One has just to ask, as I did. /5/ [Michael hesitated to love Dalia out of love for....Dalia.]: What a contradiction in terms! People who are REALLY in love do NOT hesitate to cross ANY frontiers -political, cultural, racial, religious and geographic- to be with their loved ones. SUCH IS THE DEFINITION OF TRUE LOVE. For example, here in my South African homeland, mixed marriages (like mine) were synonymous with a REAL death sentence during the dark days and decades of apartheid. We lived with the REAL fear of being executed, WITHOUT WARNING, by death squads, for inter-marrying (my husband and I lived with that fear for 12 years). Still, people did NOT hesitate to love, across barriers, and inter-marry in secret if necessary. Yet Michael who shared the SAME town as Dalia and was NOT putting his own life on the line AT ALL (by the author's admission herself), could NOT make up his mind whether to love Dalia or not because his allegiance was FIRST AND FOREMOST to his family who wanted him to marry a fellow Catholic-so he did! SO, YES, MICHAEL HESITATED OUT OF LOVE, BUT FOR HIS FAMILY AND NOT FOR DALIA WHO SADLY DIED, PAYING THE HEAVIEST PRICE FOR HIS DITHERING. In conclusion, this book is about absolving the author and Michael of any guilt and responsibilities in the death of Dalia; assuming that Michael and the so-called love story are not figments of her impressive imagination of course! It should not be surprising if it was the case: Had I not known and visited Jordan myself, I would have swallowed her book story -with hook and sink- without questions, like any average western reader! This book has shown that Norma Khouri is, to her credit, a good fiction writer. So, as HONOUR KILLING IS A VITAL AND REAL ISSUE TO REAL PEOPLE, perhaps she should steer clear off it, in her future writing. By doing so, she would honour its unfortunate victims in the best possible way. After all, isn't what she has claimed to be aiming for, regarding Dalia? Thank you Amazon for this much appreciated space! Love & Peace To All Mankind!
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