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A Year Under Sharia Law
- Memoir of an American Couple Living and Working in Saudi Arabia
- Narrated by: Tyler Krzeszewski
- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
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A Year Under Sharia Law
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Summary
Three years into a financial crisis that shows no sign of loosening its grip, a young couple make the unpopular decision to teach English in Saudi Arabia. The choice of Saudi Arabia is based primarily on the best salary offer and an all-expenses-paid round-trip flight. Secondarily, it is to satiate a desire to explore a country steeped in mystery and taboo.
Little do they know that the experience will come with a price and change their lives in a profound way, witnessing human rights violations that go unchecked even up to today and an ultra-conservative culture wrestling with tradition and modernity.
A Year Under Sharia Law is written as a travel memoir with vignettes of daily life and interactions with the community at large. It was also written to shine a spotlight on the plight of impoverished ladies who come to Saudi Arabia in the hopes of earning a salary to send money back to their family. They find work as nannies and house maids, primarily. These ladies are often stripped of their rights in a patriarchy that makes them prime targets for unspeakable abuses. Their passports are held by their Saudi employees, and they essentially become prisoners.
This memoir is not only dedicated to them and their plight, but also the tireless and dangerous work done by journalists who are critical of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Some have paid the ultimate price.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maureen Masters
- 11-05-20
A year under sharia law
An interesting work.
Narration too fast too American
A rip off so short for the price.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sonya
- 22-04-20
Gripping!
I was really drawn into this story, having always been curious about expat life in Saudi but knowing I would never try it. The memoir is informative and gripping; I learned lots of details about how the country works: its quirks and, sadly, its atrocities.
I felt it ended abruptly! I'd have liked a little info on their journey back and feelings on reintegarating to life in the US, just some deeper reflection at the end. If that was a sequel, I'd read it!
The narrator was enthusiastic and clear but I would remove half a star (if I could) for some odd language slips in the text that could have been caught by a good copy editor e.g. 'would have went'.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Stuart Piper
- 14-08-24
Overt racism
The prologue claims the book will refrain from judgement and allow the reader to form their own conclusions, but this turns out to be false advertising. Most pages drip with prejudice and naivety. The mentioning of names they claim sound like terrorists, and descriptions of odours and smells in particular reek of overt racism.
No country or culture is perfect, and while some critiques may have merit, the fact the authors are from America, which currently wages war more than any other nation on Earth, while supporting regimes that violate human rights and perpetrate war crimes, makes their somewhat one-sided heavy-handed judgements pretty hollow.
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