Product Description

This is the story of both the terrifying and electrifying journey of Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a Pakistani Muslim woman, trained in four medical specialties in the United States, and her personal two-year quest and journey deep into the Islamic world of Saudi Arabia. For two years, she worked in one of the world s most modern hospitals, in a society where women are not only not allowed to drive cars, but cannot wear seatbelts because they make their breasts more prominent. She evokes lands more exotic than she could ever imagine, and the moments where she finds tenderness and beauty where she would least expect it, at the tattered, curled edges of extremism. Towards the end, the reader joins Dr. Ahmed and two and a half million other Muslims on a Hajj, an electrifying and deeply moving pilgrimage to Mecca. As Azar Nafisi brings alive what it means to live in Iran in Reading Lolita Tehran, Qanta Ahmed reveals the mysteries that shroud the exotic and strange world of Saudi Arabia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23627 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

About the Author
Dr. Ahmed is currently an assistant professor of medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and Assistant Director of the MUSC Sleep Disorders Laboratory. She is quadruple boarded in internal medicine, pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and sleep disorders medicine. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Refreshing, informative and compelling - a unique viewpoint: a must read.
This book is both informative and compelling. It is the account of a British-born Pakistani female, schooled in medicine in Britain and America, signing a contract to work in Saudi Arabia. The journey she recounts comprises her work, her relationships, her colleagues, friends and her faith.

It is fascinating to see the contradiction in the Kingdom, from the dust-stained peasant-boys to the flashy cars and glitzy restaurants; from a repressed society to flesh-baring women - the Kingdom has it all.

It is an engaging journey portrayed from the perspective of the author's uniquely privileged viewpoint, littered with seemingly scripted events and complex characters.

This book has gone some distance toward unveiling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the precariously balanced society which pervades there - and as a British-born Muslim myself, I find it refreshing and heartening that another moderate voice has the courage to join in the debate.

I recommend to all those who are remotely interested in the subject - and who isn't these days?

A book you won't be able to put down
After reading just a few pages of this book, I was drawn in. Qanta Ahmed has quite a talent for describing her experiences, painting a vivid picture of her time in Saudi.

The author tackles a fascinating subject, revealing a side to Arabia that is usually hidden from Western view: a people suppressed by those who manipulate religion to serve their own narrow and contradictory ideals; a people who underneath it all try to carry on with their lives like any modern westerner.

And just as you begin to understand and build up an affinity with the people Ahmed describes, the latter chapters throw in a twist that reveals a sad and grotesque side to them, a side governed by cultural conditioning without logic that flies in the face of their modern and pragmatic thinking.

Another reviewer comments about Ahmed's limited knowledge of Islam, something the author herself clearly states throughout the book. That is not important. Ahmed's personal journey as she discovers Saudi Arabia and rediscovers herself will take you on a journey of your own and leave you craving for more. A fantastic read.

Good and not so good
The courage this woman had makes this a special read. She reports with such honesty and insight.

The editing is horrible, though, and her knowledge of Islam is severely lacking. These drawbacks make a fascinating story seem biased and clumsy. Too bad...it really could have been better.