Review: Moving, Enlighting, Beautifully Written!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 10, 2013
Be prepared to leave the world as you know it, travel back in recent time, and experience life in Saudi Arabia, a Muslim state that had just undergone major changes within its borders.  Religion and its customs are harsh, particularly for females, the punishment seems even more harsh for failing to honor millennia-old beliefs.  When a gutsy Muslim woman falls in love with a Christian Englishman, it can only spell disaster if they are caught.  Is it possible for them to have a future, would the cost be worth it?Author Sybil Powell has created a beautiful tale of forbidden love in a country that disdains Western ideals and practices, while welcoming Western business and money.  Even an unknown infraction of the rules of the land can be met with dire consequences, and reading about them can be difficult to understand, because love is good, right?I was fascinated with the in depth look into a Saudi family and their interactions, the depth of their beliefs and the acceptance of "how it has always been."  The cultural differences are eye-opening and will spark an inner debate with yourself, I guarantee it!  Thankfully, it does NOT take away from the love story, but adds to its desperate intensity.  You will smell the markets, see the sand and the rock, feel the grit and dust, and think you have just been on a trip to another way of life.  Whether you return glad to be home or with new questions regarding the choices in made life, in the name of faith or love, you will be changed by this powerful book!  Does it invoke tolerance or further intolerance of others?  Only you can decide.