This is the story of a 30-year-old female journalist living under Muslim law. The country is not named but I didn't find this relevant. She publishes material around gender equality and total desertion of, or departure from, one's religion, principles, party, cause. The book then follows the injustices and effects of doing so despite in some countries being allowed free speech. It is an unjust and unfair tale and the current story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe brings this even more to life. This is a poignant read.
Jane Brown, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
This is a well written and easy to read the book and definitely very relevant in today’s World.
This book started with a lot of promise as the main character Dunya starts to challenge some of her countries religious views resulting in a controversial article that sees her end up in prison. Once Dunya is released from prison the book starts to focus on her recovery and relationships with her family following her controversial article and resulting notoriety. For me, this part of the book loses its way and gets a bit repetitive. I would have preferred to read more about the life of a woman living in an Arab country. However, the last few chapters and ending do make it a book worth sticking with.... Read Full Review
We watch as the ripples of an act spread throughout Dunya's life, her family and her marriage.
Would you risk it all for the truth? When the book starts, the narrator (Dunya) is in a prison cell. First, we learn about her prison. It’s an interesting if uncomfortable read. I don’t think that I have ever imagined in detail what it would be like to be in such a position, either in prison or at the centre of a media storm receiving regular death threats. It also made me wonder if I would have believed sufficiently in a topic to risk experiences, in an unnamed Middle Eastern country. Later we learn why she is there, a result of having written a controversial newspaper article. We watch as the ripples of this act spread throughout her life, her family and her marriage. Throughout it all, she tries to stay true to the idea of telling what she feels to be true.... Read Full Review
I really enjoyed this book; it is an eye-opener and a fascinating read.
Dunya Khair is a woman living in a country under Muslim law. However, being a woman in this country is hard and is made especially hard by the fact that she questions the Muslim religion and writes about it too. She decides to write an article about it which gets published; this results in a spell of imprisonment. This experience is awful, with basic sanitation, minimal food and harsh treatment by the prison guards. It is made worse by the fact that her family are ashamed by what she’s done and are hostile towards her. Following her prison release, she has to repair these relationships alongside remaining true to her beliefs. This is a challenging journey in which she encounters many ups and downs.... Read Full Review
