Reviews for Khul-Khaal

The average rating for Khul-Khaal based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-07-03 00:00:00 Seth Bacon if it were possible to give this book 10 stars I would. It is one of my favourites that I have enjoyed time and time again. This book presents another side of Egypt that most tourists will never experience. In fact many middle and upper class Egyptians I know were shocked by some of the things in this book. But what really strikes me is that all 5 of the real life protagonists Om Gad, Alice,Suda, Dunya, and Om Naeema are wonderful strong women who I would love to be friends and hang out with. I first read this book not long after it was written in 1985. I have always wondered what happened to these women, in particular Dunya. I wish Atiya would write a sequel

Review # 2 was written on 2012-01-18 00:00:00 Vladimir Joseph This book was written 27 years ago. But is still mirrors situations of today. If you want to know what life is like living in upper small village Egypt- this is what is looks like (even though the stories are of Cairo, low class. Today Cairo and lower Egypt are much more modern and it is upper egypt and the villages that are still superstitious, traditional and religious) This is what it life looks like for women in my village. I am different being a westerner and educated, so I didn't go through some of the "rites" that my sisters have, but I have seen them. FGM is still practiced though not as popular as it once was. You still have to show the virgins cloth on your wedding night. Woman still struggle to get ahead while balancing their role as mothers. Superstitions and "wise men/women" are still consulted in areas of love and revenge.Honor killings, Family Feuds, Feasts, and Poverty are real issues. What I appriciated was some of the more in depth explaining in the book especially in the sayings. It is hard to understand a saying when you don't really grasp a language well (like fil mish-mish which transliterated means "in peaches" but when used in a sentence is means, never-ever)