June 2009

This month we instituted rotating responsibility for book and lunch choices with the caveat that we wouldn't complain about choices, but you had the freedom to not read a book you didn't like.  And we could all still be friends.  :)

Cheryl chose "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and we gave it 4 stars; lunch was at Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy.

Alison says: I found the writing to be somewhat uneven - which is sometimes the case in a memoir - but the content of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel is such an important one! That the basic human rights of women and female children can be violated with such little thought and/or in the name of religiosity is tragic, and we all need to be a little more aware of the problem so that we can find a solution. 

Cheryl says: What a shocking book this one was for me. Her descriptions of life as an Islam woman go beyond anything I have ever read before. I tried to remember, as I read the book, that she was someone who left a faith and I have never run into anyone who has done that where their descriptions are bitter and not totally fair. Reading Infidel has increased my commitment to read the Koran, myself, to see if she is accurate in what is found there, or whether her bad (extremely bad!) life's experiences so dramatically colored her objectivity. I think that this book is a must read to understand women's experience in a Muslim world. But, I am choosing to remain a bit skeptical on some of her analysis of what the Koran actually does and does not teach so far as war and peace.