The Middle East

[Margaret]

For those disappointed by The Jewel of Medina, there's a new novel just out about Aisha, the Prophet Muhammad's favorite wife. Kamran Pasha's Mother of the Believers is totally different in style, though the source material for both novels is similar. Where Jones presented Aisha's story from the viewpoint of Aisha as a child and teenager, Pasha presents it in the style of a memoir told by Aisha as an elderly woman shortly before her death. So where The Jewel of Medina often feels almost like a YA novel in tone, Mother of the Believers has a mature perspective throughout, even in the early chapters when Aisha is a young child. The incident in which Aisha was accused of adultery is handled very differently, and she comes across as less irresponsible in Mother of the Believers. Unlike Jones, Pasha is a practicing Muslim, and his religious perspective infuses the novel. Sometimes this is reminiscent of Christian fiction, other times not, as when he stresses that Muhammad was fully human and not divine.

I've posted a review at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Mother-of-the-Believers.html and was also lucky enough to snag an interview for my blog (http://www.historicalnovels.info/historical-novels-blog.html).

[Jack]

There's a really nice book written back in the 60's or 50's called Prince of the Omeya. It's written by Anthony Fon Eisen, and it centers on the overturn of the Ummayad Dynasty in Damascus by the Abbassids. The story is really about the last of the Ummayads and his perilous escape from the slaughter of the rest of his family, his journey throughout the Middle East and across North Africa, finally to settle in Spain and begin Ummayad rule in Europe. The book reads very well, and the action is tight and exciting. The characters are well fleshed, and there are several scenes which detail the plight of humanity and the difficulty of being a good person vs. living a good life. One such episode is the scene in which the protagonist is aided by Bedouin who have a particular situation with which they must deal (I don't want to give away an incredibly well written twist, hence my cryptic writing) and the emotional toll it takes on both the hero and a potential heroine. The book is not long-@230pp. or so) but has quite a reach to it. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it.

Another book on a similar line is Khalifah, by John Elray. This deals with the succession of Mohammed as well, but right from the get go. It starts with Abu Bakr ( the first Caliph, according to Sunnis), and goes on through for a very good portrayal of the initial expansion of Islam. It does not treat each character with kindness, nor is kindness deserved in each case, and it is a very worthy rendition of the time and events. I would have assigned it at school but for a couple of sexual scenes that are not gratuitous, but still could get an educator in trouble. I would strongly recommend it to my H.S. aged sons-even a daughter if I had one-for the historical education it gives alone.

The two books together make for fine entertainment and education together. They also seem topical to today's history if for no other fact than that they give a foundation to non muslims for some of the disputes within that faith that remain today-Shia vs. Sunni, Arab vs. Persian, just to name a couple.