Ahmed Abodehman

An expatriate Saudi living in France has written this novel that reads very much like a memoir of growing up in a traditional tribal village. Most of the short chapters revolve around coming of age, particularly of going to school and being exposed to the world beyond the village and, eventually, France. I found the writing perfectly adequate and the stories mildly interesting but also found myself confused from time to time because this book needed a stronger editorial hand. There is a good deal about traditional beliefs, mythology, customs, and so forth, some of it well-described. There is also, from time to time, things poorly explained or confusing. Having read this I feel no need to seek out anything further by this particular author. Pleasant, informative, but no more.… (más)

A story about life in Saudi Arabia, that is Riem. An autobiographical tale about growing up in a culture that quickly changes with the advent of western education. And how interesting that sounds, this book didn't work for me. The language was too poetic, I was loosing thread of what was happening too often.

Nevertheless, not that I haven't learned anything from the story of growing up in a small town and after that lives in alarger city. The somethings about the culture that made me more aware, as the position of the woman, who leaves her husband when she thinks she has nothing to offer him anymore..

But it took me some energy to get through this story, unfortunately.

http://boekenwijs.blogspot.com/2011/07/riem.html… (más)