≫ Download The Terrorists of Irustan Louise Marley 9780441007431 Books

The Terrorists of Irustan Louise Marley 9780441007431 Books

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The Terrorists of Irustan Louise Marley 9780441007431 Books

I enjoyed this book so much. I often think that science fiction, like travel, is an excellent way to examine or contemplate our home cultures. Sometimes a good science fiction book can warn us about the direction in which we are headed.

This book is, in my opinion, about an exaggeration or perversion of Islam, just as The Handmaid's Tale is about a perversion of Christianity.

I would have given it 5 stars, except for the fact that if is riddled with bizarre typographical & grammatical errors.
There are frequent occasions where a space between words has been omitted. Likethis.
The numeral 1 has been substituted for the word "I."
. But the worst errors, by far, concern quotation marks and paragraphs whoever did the final transcription of this book really needs to study the following subjects: What happens when a different character starts speaking? (Just keep writing, or start a new paragraph?) How do you handle quotation marks if a character speaks for a long time, on different subjects, requiring two paragraphs?
Note, please, that I didn't give advice on the quotation mark difficulties. It's not hard to find the answers. These particular errors were especially annoying. They almost caused me to stop reading on several occasions, which would have been a shame. I would have missed a good book.


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The Terrorists of Irustan Louise Marley 9780441007431 Books Reviews

This is a story you will not be able to put down, and certainly it will stay in your mind when you are not reading it. It is science fiction/fantasy that has multiple layers and can lead to some deep questions. The parallels to the Middle East cannot be avoided; but the story is so well crafted, that is not a distraction. Surprises emerge when you think you have the characters and plot figured out. And the characters are so well developed, you really get to understand them. I thought Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" and Walker's "Possessing the Secret of Joy" were the most wrenching books on the repression of women in parts of the world, but Marley is masterful in this book. I can highly recommend this novel and this author. Don't miss "The Glass Harmonica" as well.
The book examines, through placing the action on a hypothetical planetary colony 300 years in the future, a society similar to that in contemporary conservative Islamic cultures to examine it and to cry out for balance and justice for the women trapped in the potential harshness of the mindset that can go along with that culture. I read it because the author had made a passing reference to the Irustan culture in the first of her books that I encountered (The Child Goddess) and I was intrigued to follow up on the reference. This book blindsided me with the inescapable heartache and frustration of an intelligent, compassionate woman married to an intelligent compassionate man, but both victims of the culture that locks them into conditioned responses to their culture, until the woman finally is driven to act until the culture takes notice. The characters absolutely ring true, as does the inevitable outcome of the many plot lines. I would give it 5 stars, but the painful elements are very emotionally challenging for the reader-I could not recommend it for everyone.
I read this book when it was first published. It is truly a classic tale. I read it at least once a year. It is assigned reading for my students and it has been given as a gift multiple times. It is very informative for our society today in the 21st century.
Louise is a very thoughtful and thought provoking author.
It is impossible to read this book without the perspective of 9/11 and the subsequent "war on terror". "Terrorists of Irustan" raises a slew of uncomfortable questions that have gained startling relevance in the last several years, many of which, unfortunately, have been stifled and deflected to the point we're encouraged not to think about them. For this reason, I think "Irustan" - which deals with Islam, women's rights, terrorism, and self-defense vs. pre-emptive action, among other things - has gained in depth and meaning since its original writing.

On the planet of Irustan, Muslim fundamentalists who follow the "Second Prophet" have created a society that's just to the right of the Taliban. One of the peculiarities of Irustani society is the focus on the mind and soul to the exclusion of the body, which means that medicine - with its fixation of disease and imperfection - is seen as a practice fit only for women. Zahra ibSada is a medicant who has had it up to here with patching up abused women and children and sending them back to the husbands and fathers who own them, so when a friend comes to her in desperation because her young daughter is about to be given to a man who has already killed two wives, Zahra steels herself to do the unthinkable.

At first, Zahra tries to limit her actions to self-defense, acting only to save the lives of her friends and their children. Soon, however, she realizes that simply reacting will not be enough. She must seek to outright change her society if the abuse is to stop, and that's when she moves into the tricky realm of terrorism. She starts choosing victims carefully, hoping to send a message, knowing all the while that each step could be her last.

Putting such a human face on terrorism is a bold move, and forces us to question the one-dimensional portrayal we usually accept. When you're absolutely powerless, when you live your life in virtual slavery, the "property" of another human being, what other choice do you have? Is it terrorism for a slave to harm her owner? To harm another slave's owner? How does a slave change the institution of slavery? What happens when terrorism is not only the only answer, but the right one?

As always, I am supremely impressed by Marley's abilities to craft complex, nuanced characters and to make us genuinely care for them. Her vision of Irustan makes it easy to understand the mixed feelings of so many characters; an alien world that is beautiful and harsh, traditional and unforgiving. This book is highly recommended reading for anyone who refuses to accept sound-bite explanations of the current situation in the Middle East or simplistic answers to the most difficult dilemmas facing us today.
I enjoyed this book so much. I often think that science fiction, like travel, is an excellent way to examine or contemplate our home cultures. Sometimes a good science fiction book can warn us about the direction in which we are headed.

This book is, in my opinion, about an exaggeration or perversion of Islam, just as The Handmaid's Tale is about a perversion of Christianity.

I would have given it 5 stars, except for the fact that if is riddled with bizarre typographical & grammatical errors.
There are frequent occasions where a space between words has been omitted. Likethis.
The numeral 1 has been substituted for the word "I."
. But the worst errors, by far, concern quotation marks and paragraphs whoever did the final transcription of this book really needs to study the following subjects What happens when a different character starts speaking? (Just keep writing, or start a new paragraph?) How do you handle quotation marks if a character speaks for a long time, on different subjects, requiring two paragraphs?
Note, please, that I didn't give advice on the quotation mark difficulties. It's not hard to find the answers. These particular errors were especially annoying. They almost caused me to stop reading on several occasions, which would have been a shame. I would have missed a good book.