Honor Perdido / Honor Lost (Best Seller)

Posted on March 31, 2008 - Filed Under Paperback |

Binding: Paperback
Creator: Angeles Leiva Morales
ASIN: 849793654X
Average Customer Review: (From 2 total reviews)
List Price: ~~$12.95~~
Amazon Price: $9.87 (3 new 6 used available)
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Customer Reviews

Big sham by Shannon Beth
It’s strange, as I was reading this book, things didn’t sit well with me. Too many things didn’t jive, there were too many contradictions and it seemed weird that she’d give so many details about her life in Jordan- the type of salon, the neighborhood, the names, etc. because it would give away who she was, the family of the Catholic man that supposedly was dating her Muslim friend. And her family and the other family would be upset with her mom for allowing her to call and warn the boyfriend, etc. Plus, the whole concept of their families being OK with the “unisex” salon, but then being so strict didn’t make any sense. She also said all her and her parents had planned for them was marriage, but then that she and her friend purposely tried to get bad grades so they wouldn’t have to attend college. Huh?

And their dads would be nice enough to help them start a salon and let them be there every day and such, but be so cruel? And what about this brother that babysat them all the time at the store - wouldn’t he have something better to be doing with his time- like a job? And if this guy Michael and her friend were sooo in love and it was so dangerous, why didn’t they escape the country like Michael supposedly helped her do? And how did Michael turn out so nice if the other males in his family were so horrid.

Well anyway, when I finished the book, I searched it to see if names and dates and locations had been changed to protect people’s identities (which would explain why she would be at liberty to provide all these details). I found nothing of the sort. So I thought it must be true, cause after all nothing like this would get published if it wasn’t. And so I was then mad at this author for putting her loved ones at jeopardy. And I also thought all she had to say was negative stuff about Jordan, when most of what I’ve heard about the country and its people are quite opposite.

So out of curiousity about this author, I Googled, and guess what I discovered? she’s a fake. Some Jordanian journalist figured this out- quite easily actually. But before she went looking, this book became a big hit and was paraded around.

Now, how did I, a white American with no expertise in Arabic affairs, assume this book was too good to be true, but the book publisher and all the famous people that raved about it on its back cover, and all the book reviewers didn’t have a clue?

Stunned and Duped by Lorrising
Honor Lost is a well-written and very readable book but it’s power lies in the story told. I have often looked at Muslim women and wondered “how can they put up with the way they are treated” and after reading Honor Lost I am realizing that it’s a lot like looking at the Jews in the holocaust and wondering the same thing. “Why didn’t they go down fighting? How could they just take it like that?” There really aren’t any easy answers to those kinds of questions, but Norma Khouri does explain how completely dominated these women are and how the men who should love and cherish them treat them like slaves and possessions.

Unfortunately it has been discovered that Ms. Khouri essentially made up the story in Honor Lost. She was born in Jordan but her father moved her family to the U.S. when she was 3 years old and there never was a young woman named Dalia. The fact that she presented a fictional story as truth gives one reason to seriously doubt the veracity of what she says. However, research has shown that honor killings do still occur, particularly in predominantly muslim countries so Honor Lost does give one a face to put to that harsh reality in much the same way as the novel To Kill A Mockingbird made many people face up to the reality of racism. Being a work of fiction doesn’t affect it’s message but being presented as a work of truth through quotes like “as tragic as it is true” (from the back cover)does detract from it’s impact. After finding out that Ms. Khouri made the whole thing up I edited my first review but unfortunately cannot decrease the number of stars I gave it. It really deserves more like 2 because of the deceptive way in which it was published.

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