A French journalist creates an online identity to talk to jihadists, but unwittingly attracts the attention of a crazed ISIS fighter? Sign me up! I'veA French journalist creates an online identity to talk to jihadists, but unwittingly attracts the attention of a crazed ISIS fighter? Sign me up! I've stalked those ISIS idiots on Twitter for more years than I care to admit, and non-fiction about crappy countries is totally my thing. This book should be right up my alley! Right?
Sigh. Goddammit.
In the Skin of a Jihadist is just an extended version of Anna Erelle's NY Times/Daily Mail/Guardian articles promoting her book. If you've read any of those--hell, even if you just skimmed a summary on Buzzfeed--voila!, you've got the entire story. You can skip the book, because in 240 pages, there's not one detail that Erelle hasn't already published online.
Well, that's irritating.
But In the Skin of a Jihadist has bigger problems than being a longform version of Erelle's old web articles. The real issue is that despite its intriguing premise, this book is boring. (I survived Critical Theory in grad school, so "boring" isn't a word I toss around lightly). It's so lifeless that it damn near rivals Waiting for Godot/Moby Dick/anything by Jane Austen or Alessandro Manzoni, etc. as the dullest sh!t in print.
A contemporary book so monotonous that it sparks flashbacks of the bad classics?
Yikes. And it gets worse.
I get that Erelle is a journalist who wants to be taken seriously. I also get that she wants her subject matter to be taken seriously. But when you invent a fake identity to pursue a story, there goes my ability to consider you a serious journalist. As for the story itself? Catfishing some waste-of-life pussy ISIS fighter? Meh. I think I saw that on MTV once.
With her dubious professional ethics, near-zero credibility as a journalist, and a flimsy story, Erelle had nothing to lose when she started writing this. She could have written anything. Why she didn't drop the journalism shtick and focus on breathing life into her corpse of a book is beyond me. But no, she stuck to the (not very exciting) facts and called it good.
Lame.
Come on, Anna! Where's your creativity? I've got a couple of ideas to make your book less of a chore to read. See if you can work these in by the time the second edition rolls out:
Tell the real truth: You know what I mean. Spill it. Was the ISIS guy hot? Were you ever attracted to him? Were there any late night phone calls that your boyfriend didn't know about? Speaking of your boyfriend, he sounds hot. Can you tell us more about him, other than the fact that he sits in the corner brooding? Thx.
Embellish: As noted above, your professional integrity went out the window when you created a fake identity. You're no different than those of us who Twitter-stalk these assholes behind a fake avatar image, so we really only half believe you anyway. Well, run with it! Tell us some sweet little lies and liven up this party! Say you were toying with the idea of converting to Islam but a new-found love for Scientology stopped you. Say that you actually catfished 5 ISIS fighters, 2 of their wives, 1 of their slaves, and a few of their sheep. Describe your pet unicorn. Whatever. It doesn't matter. Just make something up! If it's interesting, we'll pretend we believe it.
Criticize someone, anyone, anything, for fuck's sake! Why be objective when you can engage readers with your opinions about the situation you created with your ISIS bachelor? There's already a fatwa against you, so why the fear of stirring the pot? Go ahead, tell us why you think Islam sucks -- we can handle it. Or tell us how ISIS fighters think they're tough shit, but compared to the hotties in the Légion Étrangère or the Japanese during the Rape of Nanking, they're really just a bunch of whiny little girls. Better yet, make fun of your terrorist beau for being a fucking moron. Come on, tell us how in the hell a 38 year-old was dumb enough to be fooled by your fake identity, and then mock the hell out of him! I mean, being catfished when you're old enough to remember Prodigy and AOL? HAHAHAH!! DUMBASS!! LOL! (See how easy it is, Anna?) Voice an opinion! Just do something! And make it count.
Add some personality. How about French-ifying the text a little? You know, call the ISIS fucker a tête à claques, drop a few meaningless Foucault and Sartre quotes, and remind us of the superiority of France as you blow smoke in our faces with disdain. (God I love French people). See? I like your book better already.
Revise the "purpose." Yeah, yeah, yeah, your selling point is that your fake identity gave you precious insight into how ISIS manages to lure young European women to Syria. But come on, that's about the lamest attempt of all to legitimize your book. Yes, it's shocking when seemingly normal girls disappear from their comfortable lives, only to pop up on Twitter in a niqab, married to a hairy stranger, and posing with Kalashnikovs in war-torn Raqqa. But "How does it happen?" Come on, really? Um. It's called brainwashing, and teenagers are the easiest targets. It's not complicated: teenagers are vulnerable, they long for a sense of purpose, they romanticize dumb things, and they make stupid decisions. And when their parents give them unfettered access to a device that connects them with the world... Well, gee, what could go wrong? When you're 15 and the hot ISIS fighter you met on Twitter tells you that you're "different" and "special," that means something. When that same stud tells you'll get to fire guns learn self-defense, be a sex slave get married in the lawless totally safe caliphate, and bring up the next generation of Muslims...that sounds rad. And when the hot stranger packages it all as a sacred mission that guarantees a spot in heaven? Holy sense of purpose, Batman! That's way cooler than sitting through 10th grade chemistry! Something tells me you already knew this, Anna.
Find better material. When it really comes down to it, I don't care about some dumbass jihadist in Iraq. Call me when a bomb falls on his head. Or not. I don't care. This whole war thing has been going on, ad nauseam, since the beginning of time, and there's absolutely nothing new or noteworthy about ISIS...well, other than their propensity for blowing themselves up in their quest for world domination, but you can't expect a Milennial terrorist to know that "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." But even laughing at ISIS gets old. If you really want to get my attention, use your fake identity something interesting. Infiltrate a group of young French women planning to move to Syria, and give us the scoop on what hell they're thinking. Or, trick a local imam into dating you and tell us what happens. Better yet, see if you can become 2nd wife to that ass-clown Anjem Choudary and write a salacious tell-all. Or, if Anjem doesn't pan out, become wife #4 to some devout Muslim/secret polygamist living in Paris and let us know how it goes.
See what I'm getting at here?
Save the dry reporting for your articles. You're hardly a journalist in the book, so give us the goddamn goods or go home.
I first came across Wafa Sultan the way most Americans did: In 2006, someone sent me a link to a YouTube video of Sultan participating in a debate on I first came across Wafa Sultan the way most Americans did: In 2006, someone sent me a link to a YouTube video of Sultan participating in a debate on Al-Jazeera. I thought she was courageous, well-spoken, and right -- I like any woman who debates men in authority and uses her superior intelligence to makes them look stupid. Then I stopped caring for a good 7 years or so.
I downloaded her book a few weeks ago because it seemed a lot better than reading the Daily Mail's wall-to-wall coverage of ISIS and Syria.
What can I say? I don't like Islam (and don't comment that I'm an Islamophobe, as I have 3 whole Muslim friends). I'm not into an ideology that hasn't reformed for 1400 years and, as Bill Maher said on Friday, is “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will fucking kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book.”
The recoil effect that Islam has with me, Bill Maher, and any rational human being is nothing compared to what Wafa Sultan feels about the religion. This chick hates Islam, and she should. She saw barbaric murders occur in the name of Allah; she had female patients whose beatings and rapes went hushed away because Islamic societies punish the woman and not the perpetrator; she had no rights or autonomy until she left Syria for the United States.
The only problem with this book is that Wafa Sultan is too good of a writer. She explains the Muslim mentality with sweeping, easy-to-understand sound bytes that are alarmingly simple. She makes statements that are meant to encompass all Muslims, and she has the remarkable ability to get you to agree with her.
As much as I like Sultan and enjoyed her book, the lack of wiggle room she allows strikes me as dangerous. I may not like Islam. Wafa Sultan certainly doesn't. But I'm sure there are at least a few Muslims out there who don't hate Jews, who don't believe in some America-Zionist-kufar conspiracy, who don't think women need to wear a niqab, who don't think adulterers should be publicly executed, who don't agree that drawing a cartoon of Muhammad should land a person in jail, etc. etc.
There must be a handful of these people, right?
I mean...fundamentalists like Anjem Choudary who call for global jihad? Round them up and deport them. The little ISIS punks who like to play with knives and lop off the heads of journalists and aid workers? Hunt them down and kill them. People who plot terror attacks? Send them to Cuba. Then plant some leaders in the region who can start enforcing a secular education, bring the mentality of the religion to the 21st century, and take people's minds beyond the madrassa. (It all sounds so simple when I'm in charge, doesn't it?)
But for those who aren't fundamentalists, who are rational people who just want to follow their religion and do good for humanity? I wish Sultan had taken a few pages to focus on them as well.
Maybe she can drop that in her next book. Either way, I'm buying it. Debates aside, the woman can write, and I found the book to be educational and entertaining.
The chick has some serious gonads. I like it. ...more
I wanted a biography of Pat Tillman, not a scathing critique of the Bush administration. While the actions of George W. Bush and his staff regarding tI wanted a biography of Pat Tillman, not a scathing critique of the Bush administration. While the actions of George W. Bush and his staff regarding the events surrounding Tillman's death are totally relevant to the story, here Krakauer abandons his usual objectivity and jumps head-first into an attack on Bush that leaves the author sounding like nothing more than a pissed-off liberal Seattle-ite. (And I can say that because was a pissed off liberal Seattle-ite.) Ugh. Go cry into your cappuccino.
It's infuriating that such a beautiful and well-told biography suddenly veers off course and tosses the reader in the middle of an old political debate.
I don't need Jon Krakauer to tell me Geroge W. Bush was a horrible president. I lived through 8 years of that smug bastard and I don't want any more. I DON'T WANT ANY MORE. The only thing that pisses me off more than George W. Bush are people who keep going on about him. Let's drop it, shall we?
I wish Krakauer had dropped it. He let his anger at Bush destroy his own story, taking an otherwise perfect biography and turning it into a story of old-hat politics.
Sucked. But because half was good, I'll put it on my meh-whatever shelf. ...more
This author has watched and adored Sex and the City so much that she decided to write her own book about it, with the backdrop of Riyadh instead of MaThis author has watched and adored Sex and the City so much that she decided to write her own book about it, with the backdrop of Riyadh instead of Manhattan. No, it doesn't say that anywhere in the book, but it's obvious enough from reading it.
So, four superficial girls with too much money, who can't appreciate the lives and opportunities they have (I boldly assume it's better to be filthy rich in Saudi Arabia, as the characters are, than poor), whine about equally superficial stories, including men and the constraints of their oppressive society. Could be more interesting if not completely contrived, and in my opinion, made up in the author's Carrie-Miranda-Charlotte-Samantha worshiping mind.
I hate Sex and the City, but at least the show asks a few interesting questions like, can you be friends with an ex? or, are all men freaks? This book just backs up most womens' stereotypes of Islamic/Saudi society (uhh, it sucks, esp. if you're a woman) and offers no insights at all.
I read this in three days, totally couldn't put it down.
When I went to the States last year, I totally felt it my right as an American to on-demand tI read this in three days, totally couldn't put it down.
When I went to the States last year, I totally felt it my right as an American to on-demand this film and eat some chocolate chip cookies and drink some Bud Light.
God Bless America ... and FUCK YEAH! :)
In all seriousness, though, entertaining, chilling read. ...more
This is one of the best books I've read about the Middle East since Reading Lolita in Tehran. The cover blurb about a terrifying prison survival storThis is one of the best books I've read about the Middle East since Reading Lolita in Tehran. The cover blurb about a terrifying prison survival story couldn't be more wrong, and I'm assuming that they wrote it just to promote book sales.
This is one woman's extraordinary story not just of her time in a torture jail (the torture part is actually minimal in the book), but of surviving a life in which she watches her friends die along with their old way of life with the Iranian revolution. It's a story of love, life, death, faith, and triumph. Truly a great memoir.
I really admire the author not only for her story and her moving reflections and insights, but for her courage in realizing that there is no point in violence or hate or going into graphic detail about what she was subjected to in prison. Her purpose in writing this memoir was to give a voice to those she left behind in the prison, those who the world seems not to know or care about. What a great woman. ...more
After pondering long and hard, I'm going to try now to articulate just what it was about this book that sucked so much, why it has offended me so greaAfter pondering long and hard, I'm going to try now to articulate just what it was about this book that sucked so much, why it has offended me so greatly, and why its popularity has enraged me even more. This book blew so much that I've been inspired to start my own website of book reviews for non-morons. So let us explore why.
First, let's deal with the writer himself. Hosseini's father worked for Western companies while in Afghasnistan. While daddy (who I am guessing, from Hosseini's tragic account of the "fictional" father, never accepts his son) worked and got wealthy, normal Afghans lived their lives. When war broke out, Hosseini's father was offered a safe position in Iran. Just before the revolution in Iran, his father was offered another job in Paris, before finally taking the family to the USA.
That's fine ... some of us are lucky in life. Others are not. What bothers me, though, is that The Kite Runner is so obviously what Hosseini WISHES had happened.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Hassan character really did exist in some form or another. Surely Hosseini had a friend/sometimes playmate/servant who was left behind while Hosseini's powerful family escaped. Surely, Hosseini feels guilty for leaving his homeland by simple privilege while the less fortunate were left behind to fight the Soviets, the Mujahideen, and then the Taliban. And surely, Hosseini wishes he were some flawed hero that didn't simply get lucky. He wishes he'd majored in English, as the protagonist does, and published fiction books instead of becoming a run-of-the-mill doctor; he wishes his father had depended upon him in the USA as happens in the book, instead of getting by just fine as a rich exile with a daddy-doesn't-love-me complex; he wishes he could go back to Afghanistan, risking his life to make ammends for his shitty and cowardly past, instead of remaining a wealthy outsider living happily in the USA.
Hosseini is simply some guy who feels guilty about having escaped what so many of his fellow countrymen couldn't, and he makes up for it in fantasy in a million ways: accepting his fallen father, marrying an "unsuitable" woman, listening to a voice from the past, saving the son of his friend he watched being raped decades before (when he was too selfish to intervene), stomaching the live stoning of a burka-clad woman and her adulterous lover, taking a beating from an old enemy/Taliban child molestor, giving $2000 to a poor smuggler who tries to feed his kids on $3 a week, and saving a 12 year-old from suicide. If Hosseini REALLY did all this, what a hero he would be. Instead, he just makes it up and calles it a novel ... and people devour this shit with tears, labeling it as "inspirational" and "moving."
What really bothers me? Besides all of the contrived and predictable plot twists?? What really disturbs me is that people not only eat this shit up, but they also call it "literature," award it, and give this guy money and license to write another book.
For lack of better words ... WTF?!!!??! Has everyone just gone STUPID?!!?!?
I could go on about how the writing sucks, especially when the author admits to using cliches (elephant in the room, dark as night, thin as a rake, et fucking c) but I won't.
Why? A couple of reasons:
1) If you liked this book, a part of you is sick, and a larger part of you is an idiot
2) I could write a 100-page thesis about how much this book blew monkey chunks, but it's not worth my time
3) This shit sells, and Hosseini, between his stupid book and movie deals, is an even richer man than he was before ... which in the end, makes him smarter than you, me, and everyone else .... He understands the market and fed it back to us. We probably deserve it. ...more
Am I the only one that hates this book? Found it insulting? Stupid?
Look, I'm not a muslim and I think the way that women are treated in most Islamic Am I the only one that hates this book? Found it insulting? Stupid?
Look, I'm not a muslim and I think the way that women are treated in most Islamic countries is pretty damn barbaric.
Come on, people! This book is FICTION, and with all the efforts people have made to out fake writers like James Frey, Laura Albert, and Kaavya Viswanathan, I can't believe that no one has so much as questioned the veracity of this one.
Saudi princesses don't go making friends with American writers (who can't even speak Arabic, by the way)and then entrust them to their secret diaries. Funny how author Jean Sasson just seems to have a trusting, anonymous female friend in every Arab hot-bed in the world.
Don't believe me? Go to her website and look at her piture for chrissakes, her image is oozing fake writer/hack/fraud. http://www.jeansasson.com/...more
I don't know what to say. I'm still reading this, I'm about half-way through it. It started as a seemingly over**One of the best books ive ever read**
I don't know what to say. I'm still reading this, I'm about half-way through it. It started as a seemingly overly mushy account of a woman's bond with her female students while reading forbidden Western literature in Iran. What kept me reading was the undercurrent, the sense that the author had experienced something huge ... I hoped she'd eventually get to it.
Well, she did.
I could go on for several paragraphs about why I appreciate this book, but I'll sum it up by saying that it underlines the importance of art in the most unimaginable of circumstances (and this is coming from someone who is weary of "oh, how my home country oppressed me" books -- as the authors usually benefitted from the regime until it turned against them -- then they go West and write the horrors others experienced and rake in the cash).
This is the kind of book a person should read if they want a true and intelligent account of life under extremism in the Middle East. Throw The Kite Runner and the Saudi Princess bogus trash to the dogs. ...more
Heh. A unique page-turner, pretty self-explanitory, what you read is what you get. I liked this book, and it was almost theraputic after the hideous sHeh. A unique page-turner, pretty self-explanitory, what you read is what you get. I liked this book, and it was almost theraputic after the hideous shit-storm that was The Kite Runner.
I had a few problems, though ... like what kind of person leaves her kids behind so she can go help strangers in Afghanistan? Why live a secret life married to a stranger, again, while your kids are home with your mom in the USA? And why write a book that endangers the very women you've written about?
However, it was a quick, easy read. One too many stomach-churning, hopeless horror stories, but ultimately a positive and uplifting book. ...more
La Petite Américaine
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