- Paperback: 316 pages
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (22 Jan 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340862424
- ISBN-13: 978-0340862421
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 32,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Product Description
Jacky was twenty-three when she arrived in Egypt for a holiday with her boyfriend, Dave. Little did she know that an innocent holiday would result in a horror beyond her imagination. Separated from Dave in a bustling street, Jacky fell and twisted her ankle, only to be swept up by a handsome, chivalrous Egyptian called Omar. It was love at first sight. Jacky spent those ten days living with the family - sharing a bed with Omar's sister - irresistibly attracted to Omar. Swept away by her infatuation she married him and converted to Islam before returning to England to her parents.
Returning to Cairo against her parents' advice but full of hopes and plans, Jacky's dream turned into a nightmare. As a blue-eyed blonde she was never going to fit in with life in a poor suburb where the women walked at all times with their heads bowed. During the next eight years she suffered non-stop physical and emotional abuse. She had to escape with her two little girls but how? This tense story never quite ends. Even now, Jacky is living in the shadow of a death threat. A fatwa is issued legitimately under Islamic law to a Muslim woman who leaves her husband. Jacky to protect herself and her daughters minute by minute, day by day, never quite sure what may be around the corner...
Returning to Cairo against her parents' advice but full of hopes and plans, Jacky's dream turned into a nightmare. As a blue-eyed blonde she was never going to fit in with life in a poor suburb where the women walked at all times with their heads bowed. During the next eight years she suffered non-stop physical and emotional abuse. She had to escape with her two little girls but how? This tense story never quite ends. Even now, Jacky is living in the shadow of a death threat. A fatwa is issued legitimately under Islamic law to a Muslim woman who leaves her husband. Jacky to protect herself and her daughters minute by minute, day by day, never quite sure what may be around the corner...
From the Author
If you enjoyed the book and it struck a chord with you, then I have a website which is specifically aimed at moslem girls with worries problems or indeed anyone wanting to take a holiday romance further. You can register your opinion on the book for everyone to read, or you can email me with a private message. I am here to listen and give out objective advice if needed. The web address is: fatwajtrevane.com Please visit.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this a really interesting book and certainly one that had me turning those pages; the very nature of the content and the fact itfs a true story is the books forward momentum.
The story begins in 1979 when Jacky goes on holiday to Egypt with her then boyfriend whom she gets separated from when they try to get off a bus in Cairo. Jacky finds herself alone, with a twisted ankle, in a residential area and is picked up by two young Egyptian men who escort her into the nearest appartment where she is welcomed by the family who nurse her until she can walk again. The appartment is small and Jacky can only communicate with the 15 year old daughter who is learning English at school but she is drawn to Omar, one of the older brothers and even though they canft speak to each other there is clearly a mutual attraction. Over the next two weeks the family take Jacky on outings around Cairo and further afield and Jacky finds herslef falling in love with the family and also with Omar (they both discover that they can just about communicate to each other in French and their friendship blossoms). Before the holiday is over, Omar has not only proposed to Jacky and talked his family but they have also married.
Over the next eight years in Cairo, the once mild mannered and loving Omar changes into a controlling and angry man who beats his wife on an almost weekly basis and makes her life a living hell. The conditions and squalar that her and her children are forced to live in is a world away from the life she knew back home and rather than upset her parents she writes home about the good life that she is living and how happy she is.
The book opens with Jacky and her two childrenfs attempted escape back to England, from Cario to the Israeli border. There are so many challenges along the way that even though the escape has been long planned down to the minutest detail, we are still routing for her and wondering if she will actually make it. The answer doesnft come until the end of the book.
Having lived and worked in the Middle East and spent a lot of time in Egypt, books of this nature do interest me. This is one of the better ones, I feel, as it is written in a way that is accessible to all (it sometimes has the feel of a YA book in its narrative, which I actually think is a good thing -allowing it to be read and understood by different audiences).
The book is the story of what happened to Jacky in the early 80s and it is possible that things have changed since then (with more access to media from across the world) but even so this is a pretty stark warning to think before you act.
Good book. Recommended.
The story begins in 1979 when Jacky goes on holiday to Egypt with her then boyfriend whom she gets separated from when they try to get off a bus in Cairo. Jacky finds herself alone, with a twisted ankle, in a residential area and is picked up by two young Egyptian men who escort her into the nearest appartment where she is welcomed by the family who nurse her until she can walk again. The appartment is small and Jacky can only communicate with the 15 year old daughter who is learning English at school but she is drawn to Omar, one of the older brothers and even though they canft speak to each other there is clearly a mutual attraction. Over the next two weeks the family take Jacky on outings around Cairo and further afield and Jacky finds herslef falling in love with the family and also with Omar (they both discover that they can just about communicate to each other in French and their friendship blossoms). Before the holiday is over, Omar has not only proposed to Jacky and talked his family but they have also married.
Over the next eight years in Cairo, the once mild mannered and loving Omar changes into a controlling and angry man who beats his wife on an almost weekly basis and makes her life a living hell. The conditions and squalar that her and her children are forced to live in is a world away from the life she knew back home and rather than upset her parents she writes home about the good life that she is living and how happy she is.
The book opens with Jacky and her two childrenfs attempted escape back to England, from Cario to the Israeli border. There are so many challenges along the way that even though the escape has been long planned down to the minutest detail, we are still routing for her and wondering if she will actually make it. The answer doesnft come until the end of the book.
Having lived and worked in the Middle East and spent a lot of time in Egypt, books of this nature do interest me. This is one of the better ones, I feel, as it is written in a way that is accessible to all (it sometimes has the feel of a YA book in its narrative, which I actually think is a good thing -allowing it to be read and understood by different audiences).
The book is the story of what happened to Jacky in the early 80s and it is possible that things have changed since then (with more access to media from across the world) but even so this is a pretty stark warning to think before you act.
Good book. Recommended.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I couldn't put this book down, what a life Jacky lead out there in Egypt, I thought how strong she must have been to keep going for as long as she did. I was really glad that she managed to escape with both her daughter's, my heart really went out to her. This is a must read for those who enjoy the 'none fictions'. I'm really interested in the Middle East too and have travelled to Iran, but you don't always realise what happens to some of these poor women, at least being English she had a brilliant country to come home too. Well done.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I agree with the other readers, this was a very compelling read. I read this in 2 days and could not put it down. The book starts at the end and then goes back to the beginning to explain how she got herself into that situation, you are left hanging through the whole book to find out 'did she make it out with the children?'.Knowing this was a true story makes it all so much worse as you couldn't belive that someone would have to suffer like this. I have read a lot of books based on the subject (Sold, Mosiac, out of Iran) of mixed marriages/women forced into marriage etc. This was an outstandingly written account of someones worst nightmare, I cried reading the account of what poor Jacky went through. I am so sorry that Jacky had to experience this. Thank you for sharing this with us Jacky. To my Husband - I love you very much x
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant and Scary
This is a brilliant, scary, page-turning warning to lonely European women who fall for swarthy handsome men from the Middle East and North Africa. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Chrissy Tuttle
A Harrowing Read
The following Review is actually an email to Mr Clifford Thurlow, from myself, about how I might get in touch with 'Jacky Trevane' to tell her how touched I was by her story. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Kat S
must read
this is a brilliant, must read book. It illustrates the differences between cultures in graphic detail, and serves as a warning to anyone blinded by love and lust. Read more
Published 7 months ago by rugsgranny
A Dire Dreadul Warning
This book is totally compulsive. It reads like a great novel. The horror is when you sit back and take in the fact that it's real, it's true - it's a warning to any girl who falls... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Marsha Chase
Powerful & Scary
This is one of the most powerful and moving books I have ever read and cannot recommend it enough. Brave Jacky spends a year saving $50 and escapes across the desert from her... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Larry Roland Taylor
WOW
I brought this book along with `Invisible Women: True Stories of Courage and Survival' when I was at work (about 2 years ago, the book came as a package). Read more
Published 15 months ago by Sparkle
Life Behind The Veil
This book is part of what has become a whole genre of "real life" literature dealing with the dangers and problems facing "Western" (i.e. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Ian Millard
Wow
Fatwa, living with a death threat has been the best book I have EVER read. I just couldn't put it down and the moment I finished reading it, I just wanted to read it again. Read more
Published 20 months ago by hippichiki
What is this?
According to the author, Egyptian girls marry at 13. Egyptians have no real toilets whatsoever. Egyptians don't own washing machines and irons. Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. Bower
Fatwa - totally gripping
Couldnt put this down. Incredible. Also very informative about being wife of a muslim in a foreign country. The author is an amazing woman with great strength. A must read
Published 21 months ago by Mrs. S. Wade
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
