Review of Stealing Ali

[Eriny Youssef]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Stealing Ali" by William and Daisy Serle.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Maggie Alvarez didn't have the easiest of childhoods. Growing up with divorced parents, attending a boarding school, and marrying at the age of eighteen shaped her character. She grew to be a loving, caring, and responsible mother. Out of her three marriages, the second one changed her life in measures she didn't anticipate. Maggie's second husband and Allison's father, Joe Zayyat, was a Lebanese engineer who had several extracurricular businesses that Maggie never knew about. After their marriage ended due to shortcomings from Joe's end, Maggie married Lee Elres and the newlyweds returned from their honeymoon to Joe's unforeseen gift: stealing Ali.

Joe's work spanned across many countries including London, the United States, Lebanon, and Bahrain. The book follows Maggie's and Lee's efforts to bring Ali home to the United States. The already problematic attempt only gets worse when Joe decides to keep Ali in Beirut. From Lebanon to Bahrain, we follow the schemes Joe devised, the workarounds the Elres' tried, and the lucky incidents that made the impossible possible. The book covers themes like obsessive love, parental neglect, abuse of power, and others.

Stealing Ali by William and Daisy Serle is set in the 1970s and 1980s. What I liked the most is that the book viewed the world at that time from legal and cultural standpoints. The newly established countries at that time like the UAE, Bahrain, and Abu Dhabi were unknown to people from the other side of the world. For one thing, it was thought that Abu Dhabi is in India. It was also equally interesting to know how the main characters reacted to the cultural differences they encountered in that part of the world. Due to the nature of their trips, these differences ranged from the way people dressed and what they ate to how their court system worked.

What I didn't like is that some notions about the "exotic" cultures might come across as factual when they were only the opinions of some characters. Also, I found some parts concerning the logistics of the trips and the details of the daily activities to be lengthy, especially towards the end of the book. I understand this was needed to give a full account of the hardship and the arduous journey they went through, but I believe some repetitious details could've been excluded.

I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. The main reason for deducting the fourth star is the presence of some editorial errors in the text. Those errors didn't affect the communication of the events or the dialogue. However, the text could use another round of proofreading.

Stealing Ali should appeal to readers who enjoy eventful novels. It should also be entertaining to those interested in language and culture. It is very informative because although it's a work of fiction, the story is based on real events. The book contains explicit descriptions of sexual intercourse and some profanities. Taking this into account along with the novel's underlying theme of parental child abduction, it is probably more suitable for the mature audience.

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Stealing Ali
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[Kirsi Cultrera]

The story of this book is very interesting. There are more and more multi-cultural marriages, and sometimes they don’t end up so well. Sometimes the parents even steal their children. Even though this story is fictional, I suppose it is realistic enough. Thank you for the insightful review!

[cd20]

Sounds like a very different read. I will skip it due to the graphic scenes, profanity, and parental neglect. Thank you for an informative review.

[Urvashi Tripathi]

I can see on the cover it is written “Based on a true story” if I'm not wrong. I think so it will be exciting read. I want to know with whom Ali ended up. Thank you for your amazing written review.

[marta baglioni]

It is always important to read these kind of stories, especially if they're based on real life. Thank you for the great review!

[Eriny Youssef]

The story of this book is very interesting. There are more and more multi-cultural marriages, and sometimes they don’t end up so well. Sometimes the parents even steal their children. Even though this story is fictional, I suppose it is realistic enough. Thank you for the insightful review!

Yes, true. The story is based on real events. It's crazy the magnitudes it takes when cultures are intertwined in a marriage. Both good and bad, though. Thanks for rrwding the review!

[Eriny Youssef]

Sounds like a very different read. I will skip it due to the graphic scenes, profanity, and parental neglect. Thank you for an informative review.

Yes, always choose what's good for you to read. Thanks for stopping by!

[Eriny Youssef]

I can see on the cover it is written “Based on a true story” if I'm not wrong. I think so it will be exciting read. I want to know with whom Ali ended up. Thank you for your amazing written review.

Yes, it's based on real events. The names and some details were altered, but other than that it truly did happen. Crazy.
Thank you for reading the review!

[Eriny Youssef]

It is always important to read these kind of stories, especially if they're based on real life. Thank you for the great review!

I agree! Thank you for reading it!