by Mohsin Hamed. Changez’s personal journey of transformation and the conflicts driving it were believable enough I guess, but not particularly dramatic or striking (and lacking almost entirely in fundamentalism). His critique of American society/empire was also fairly tepid. I suppose that’s where the “Reluctant” comes from in the title, but it made the novel […]
Tag Archives: review
No God But God
… and Reza Aslan is the Author. Tight composition, fast pacing, authoritative tone: it’s no surprise it was a bestseller. Of politics and history it is a good introduction for the non-muslim. But if the intent was to present a vision of how muslims should understand their faith under the challenge of modernity, it falls way […]
Three Ways to be Alien: Review
By Sanjay Subrahmanyam Three very interesting lives in interesting moments of history. The author assumes a specialist’s level of background knowledge. I would have preferred a lot less academic argument and more storytelling. Goodreads Page
Review: Crusades through Arab Eyes
by Amin Maalouf Not only did our troops not shrink from eating dead Turks and Saracens; they also ate dogs! Documentation of rampant cannibalism among the Franj comes from the Franj themselves, but the historical accounts from Arab witnesses are what makes this book so enjoyable: the cannibalism, the elective surgery by battle-axe, the trials-by-ordeal,all […]
Raffles: Invasion of Java
Raffles & the British Invasion of Java by Tim Hannigan The book covers a fascinating, obscure moment in colonial history: the launching of Stamford Raffles’ career with the five-year invasion of Java. Those five years are rich with material that Hannigan presents with a fresh eye, sensitive to the Javanese side of the story. The […]
Removal of Confusion: Review
by Ibrahim ibn Abd-Allah Niasse A basic treatise and theological defense of sufism and its practices; fine, but not much different from a lot of similar material available from other tariqats. I would have enjoyed learning more about the history and activities of the Tijaniyya, who are said to be the most active Islamic missionaries […]
A Short History of Malaysia
by Virginia Matheson Hooker. Straightforward introduction to Malaysian history; key individuals, important dates, broadest themes. It feels comparable in depth to what I remember of high school US History class. A good preparation for further reading, I hope. Goodreads Link
The Jungle is Neutral: Review
The Jungle is Neutral, by F. Spencer Chapman The memoir of a British lieutenant in WWII Malaya who conducts guerilla warfare against the Japanese. It’s not a very gripping story. All the successful guerrilla work takes place in the first quarter of the book, and from there on it is one long anticlimax of malaria, […]