Review by Yvonne Monique -- Divided World
Posted: 23 Oct 2020, 15:53
[Following is a volunteer review of "Divided World" by Kenneth Pickering.]
In Divided World, Kenneth Pickering offers us a collection of 7 plays by 3 different playwrights (Hannah Khalil, Kate Al Hadid, and Hassan Abdulrazzak) from different Middle Eastern countries. The introduction and first play are written by Kenneth Pickering himself. The plays are different in style, but the underlying red thread is the same: stories about people who have lost their country, their identity, their hope, and even their lives. Most plays are based on historical facts and real testimonials, giving us important background information on the current problems in the Middle East.
Being an avid theatergoer, I was really pleased that this review opportunity showed up. Although I usually prefer to watch plays, as opposed to reading them, I found the plays in this book very descriptive. It was easy to imagine them being performed on stage. The plays are very intense, even if most of them are only short. The longest one is ‘Jump’, consisting of 2 acts of 12 and 9 scenes, respectively. Although the subjects are profoundly serious, there are some humorous parts too, defined by Hassan Abdulrazzak in ‘The Ship No One Wanted’ as “the laughter of the half insane.” This particular play happens to be my favorite of all, telling the heartbreaking story of a family of Syrian refugees that tries to reach London.
In general, I liked how the plays oblige us to reflect on the role that the Western world plays in the political and humanitarian situation of the Middle East, which surely is one of the purposes that the playwrights had in mind. There was nothing I disliked about this book, but I feel that some characters lacked depth due to the shortness of some of the plays. Watching the live performance on stage would probably add more profoundness to the characters.
I did not detect any spelling or grammatical mistakes, but I did find punctuation errors. However, most of these errors were found in the dialogues/monologues of the plays themselves and only a few in the introductory texts.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of the importance of the stories that these plays transmit. The book contains some blasphemy and vulgarity, which is quite essential in order to understand the characters’ distress and anxiety.
I recommend this book to people who are interested in the political situation of the Middle East and the current refugee crisis. Even if you are not used to reading plays, I suggest that you give this book a try. I do not recommend this book to people who are uncomfortable with strong language, people who are not interested in geopolitical issues, people who don’t like theater, or Muslims who might feel offended by criticism of their religion (as happens in ‘The Several Beheadings of Ashraf Fayadh’).
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Divided World
View: on Bookshelves
In Divided World, Kenneth Pickering offers us a collection of 7 plays by 3 different playwrights (Hannah Khalil, Kate Al Hadid, and Hassan Abdulrazzak) from different Middle Eastern countries. The introduction and first play are written by Kenneth Pickering himself. The plays are different in style, but the underlying red thread is the same: stories about people who have lost their country, their identity, their hope, and even their lives. Most plays are based on historical facts and real testimonials, giving us important background information on the current problems in the Middle East.
Being an avid theatergoer, I was really pleased that this review opportunity showed up. Although I usually prefer to watch plays, as opposed to reading them, I found the plays in this book very descriptive. It was easy to imagine them being performed on stage. The plays are very intense, even if most of them are only short. The longest one is ‘Jump’, consisting of 2 acts of 12 and 9 scenes, respectively. Although the subjects are profoundly serious, there are some humorous parts too, defined by Hassan Abdulrazzak in ‘The Ship No One Wanted’ as “the laughter of the half insane.” This particular play happens to be my favorite of all, telling the heartbreaking story of a family of Syrian refugees that tries to reach London.
In general, I liked how the plays oblige us to reflect on the role that the Western world plays in the political and humanitarian situation of the Middle East, which surely is one of the purposes that the playwrights had in mind. There was nothing I disliked about this book, but I feel that some characters lacked depth due to the shortness of some of the plays. Watching the live performance on stage would probably add more profoundness to the characters.
I did not detect any spelling or grammatical mistakes, but I did find punctuation errors. However, most of these errors were found in the dialogues/monologues of the plays themselves and only a few in the introductory texts.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of the importance of the stories that these plays transmit. The book contains some blasphemy and vulgarity, which is quite essential in order to understand the characters’ distress and anxiety.
I recommend this book to people who are interested in the political situation of the Middle East and the current refugee crisis. Even if you are not used to reading plays, I suggest that you give this book a try. I do not recommend this book to people who are uncomfortable with strong language, people who are not interested in geopolitical issues, people who don’t like theater, or Muslims who might feel offended by criticism of their religion (as happens in ‘The Several Beheadings of Ashraf Fayadh’).
******
Divided World
View: on Bookshelves