A review by morebedsidebooks
The Bride of Amman by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, Fadi Zaghmout

  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

 
Perhaps people’s lives never stop intersecting and revealing a new truth with every minute that passes.

 

The Bride of Amman by Fadi Zaghmout follows four women and one man in Jordan. Leila, a graduate, also works for a bank but her accomplishments are overshadowed by the expectation of marriage. Salma, her single older sister already treated as a spinster nearing thirty. Hayat, a friend suffering under the abuse from her father has trouble in relationships. Rana another friend, is from a conservative Christian family but falls for a Muslim man. Last, Ali an Iraqi closeted gay man also succumbing to the pressure, so he proposes to Leila. 

The Bride of Amman by Fadi Zaghmout was a controversial novel upon publication. A reader can see why, not only is it an incisive look at Jordanian society but, also contains some unflinchingly written heavy topics. Though the book does struggle with character voice written in parts with each chapter alternating through the five. Still, this title was one recommended to me and it is exactly the sort of feminist book in translation, translated in English by Ruth Ahemedzai Kemp, that appeals. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings