Wednesday, January 2, 2019

The Kingdom of Bahrain - Yummah

Book #12: Yummah - Sarah A. Al Shafei 


Yummah is the story of Khadeeja, a woman who entered an arranged marriage at the age of 12. It appears to be the fictionalized story of the author's grandmother, and so is simultaneously both a good look inside life in Bahrain in the mid 20th century, and also a highly romanticized account. The author provides a good sense of the day-to-day, but glosses over the relationship between the child bride and her deeply flawed husband. Which makes sense, if that man is actually her grandfather. In addition to an interesting, if somewhat shallow, account of Khadeeja's rather tragic life, the book also shows the evolution of customs and life trajectories, particularly for the women of Bahrain. Where Khadeeja had no choices, a mother multiple times over by the age of 23, her granddaughter ends up attending Harvard. This progression, in the span of three generations, makes the book a worthwhile read. 

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