<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Unconventional View
Review: As I live in Bahrain I was interested in Peter Theroux's book. Unfortunately he got carried away with his name and thought he could actually write a travel book. Reading it was depressing. Exactly how he spent the seven long years he supposedly took to write this book was never exactly described, but this book could have been written in seven weeks. His attitude is one of smirking cynicism mixed with alienation from those he seeks to emulate. I never stop halfway through a book I have paid good money for but I came close on this one. My main complaints are that he is a pretty poor writer and secondly that he had nothing to say. I think Mr. Theroux realized he had written a dud by page 187 when he began to randomly attack other writers who had written books about the area; no doubt aware that he would be compared to them once the book was published. I was reading Jonathan Raban's "Arabia" at the same time as I was reading this book and the contrast could not have been greater. It is unfortunate that Raban was one of the writers Theroux chose to attack. "Arabia" is not only an interesting book but Raban is a good writer. One day Theroux may be, but somehow I doubt it. Paul Cleaver Bahrain
Rating: 
Summary: Sand in his Eyes.
Review: As I live in Bahrain I was interested in Peter Theroux's book. Unfortunately he got carried away with his name and thought he could actually write a travel book. Reading it was depressing. Exactly how he spent the seven long years he supposedly took to write this book was never exactly described, but this book could have been written in seven weeks. His attitude is one of smirking cynicism mixed with alienation from those he seeks to emulate. I never stop halfway through a book I have paid good money for but I came close on this one. My main complaints are that he is a pretty poor writer and secondly that he had nothing to say. I think Mr. Theroux realized he had written a dud by page 187 when he began to randomly attack other writers who had written books about the area; no doubt aware that he would be compared to them once the book was published. I was reading Jonathan Raban's "Arabia" at the same time as I was reading this book and the contrast could not have been greater. It is unfortunate that Raban was one of the writers Theroux chose to attack. "Arabia" is not only an interesting book but Raban is a good writer. One day Theroux may be, but somehow I doubt it. Paul Cleaver Bahrain
Rating: 
Summary: lots of sand but not much water in this oasis
Review: I enjoyed much of the book until the end when I became fed up with Theroux's endless ruminations about the whereabouts of Moussa Sadr. I began to feel that since the author was unable to gleam anything new, he threw together some anecdotes because he still had to write a book.
Rating:
Summary: lots of sand but not much water in this oasis
Review: I enjoyed much of the book until the end when I became fed up with Theroux's endless ruminations about the whereabouts of Moussa Sadr. I began to feel that since the author was unable to gleam anything new, he threw together some anecdotes because he still had to write a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Reporting, and Autobiography too
Review: Peter Theroux offers here an understanding of the Arab mindset not to be gleaned from any other book. In particular, of course we all know from Freud that we're all obsessed with sex. But the double standard in Arab culture was truly amazing as revealed throughout the book, particularly in the passage where an Arab, in the most vulgar terms, talks to Theroux about procuring foreign women. And, Theroux, finally fed up with his harangue tells the Arab man he has just the kind of women the women he wants....and they are Arab. The man never spoke to Theroux again.-The best part of the book is in Chapter 9 where he parodies ignorant visiting reporters' accounts of Saudi Arabia as if an Arab had come to report on New York City: I'll just quote a few lines from it "Lucy Ricardo might not recognize New York today....Business fluorishes with the intersection of Broadway("broad" signifying impure woman).(and 42nd) This district is known as Times Square, after the Jewish-owned New York Times newspaper. A few blocks away in Fifth Avenue ("fifth" is a measure of whiskey)...The officials....like many Americans whose intellectual capacity has been diminished by a diet of pork and alcohol....were sluggish and incurious when asked why a five cent piece is bigger than a ten cent piece:"-That's drollery at its best, Peter. The reason I'm only giving the book four stars is that it seems to me that Theroux can't decide whether he's reporting or writing a personal journal. He's obviously doing both. But this combination leads to some awkward transitions and not too swell writing at times. Personally, I think he should stick exclusively to the autobiographical. It's much more interesting and, in the end, tells us much more about the author AND about Saudi Arabia than mere reporting.
Rating:
Summary: Unconventional View
Review: This book is entertaining, and also offers a different perspective about the political climate in the Middle East. It was written when the Iran/Iraq war was the big issue, before Desert Storm in 1991. Interesting to see that the Saudi attitudes toward the US haven't changed much, and a read of this book should serve to describe culture in a long-term perspective. Highly recommended for anyone that wishes to learn a little more about the differences in our modern cultures.
<< 1 >>
| 
