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Discover the acclaimed non-fiction of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks...
‘Frank, enraging and captivating.’
The New Yorker
Australian writer Geraldine Brooks is now known internationally for her bestselling novels, but as a foreign correspondent Geraldine spent six years covering the Middle East. And when her poised and sophisticated assistant at the Cairo bureau of the Wall Street Journal suddenly 'adopted the uniform of a Muslim fundamentalist', Geraldine Brooks set out to discover the truth about women and Islam.
Sometimes adopting a chador as camouflage, she was granted meetings (and often astonishingly intimate insights) by everyone from Queen Noor of Jordan to former Iranian President Rafsanjani's daughter. She met with Palestinians protesting about 'honour killings' for adultery and sheltered girls transformed into warriors by the Emirates' armed forces. Throughout the Middle East, Brooks was invited into the homes and lives of these women where she found real stories that overturn western stereotypes.
This beautiful new edition includes a powerful new Afterword by the author.
Reviews
'Powerful and enlightening ... Brooks presents stunning vignettes of Muslim women ... and carefully distinguishes misogyny and oppressive cultural traditions from what she considers the true teachings of the Koran.' - Publishers Weekly
'There has been nothing finer on the subject from a Western observer... she looks at it from the heart... mixing historical perspective with piercingly observed journalism.' - Newsday
'Avoids both the sensational and the stereotypical ... insightful ... a valid, entertaining account of women in the Muslim world.' - New York Times
'A rare look at a significant segment of the world's population that literally has been cloaked in mystery for generations.' - Seattle Times
