Official Review: Salami Leh Beirut by Nadia B. Porter

[Pluma]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Salami Leh Beirut" by Nadia B. Porter.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Salami Leh Beirut by Nadia B. Porter is a short book of 38 pages that narrates the stories of two women in Beirut whose lives are linked by the explosion at Beirut Port in August 2020. Though the characters are fictional, the book is based on the real event.

One of the women—Asmahan—is a refugee from Syria, forced to flee her homeland to Beirut because of the civil war. She and her two children are on their own, forced to beg on the streets to make ends meet. The other woman—Mona—is a student at AUB, involved in an interfaith relationship discouraged by her family and society. The book centres on the lives and stories of these women, and through them provides a glimpse into the city, country and region itself.

The book touches on many topics prevalent in Beirut and the surrounding region today. It mentions the effects of the pandemic on the country, which relies largely on tourism for its economy, as well as issues present in the Middle East in general; for example, the civil war in Syria and its effects on the women and children caught in the middle, providing a unique and moving perspective on these matters. The situation is described as, “Men running around with guns playing war games, the elderly, women and children paying the price.” As Asmahan says, “I don’t want your freedom and democracy if it means sitting on a pile of rubbles and ash,” an attitude no doubt reflected by many who share her plight in real life, and which is tragically relevant to the event on which the story is based. Mona’s story, in turn, provides perspective on some of the laws and restrictions those in the Middle East still live under—ones we in western countries may consider backwards or old-world; “How times have changed, whilst the world is moving forward; the Middle East going backwards.”

Something I enjoyed about the book was the way the author challenged preconceived views about Middle Eastern culture, specifically regarding women; stereotypes such as all women wear head coverings: “Asmahan had never worn the headcover bar to the odd funeral or going to the mosque for prayers. None of the women in her family covered.” She also provides other insights, mentioning how the Islam the women grew up with had nothing to do with the ideals of those such as ISIS—a distinction which is important to make. The author intersperses the story with observations about politics and culture in the Middle East which are interesting and thought-provoking, and this was by far my favourite element about the book.

Though the message in this book was excellent, there were many errors that interfered with the reading experience. The language and writing style is poor and sometimes confusing, such as here: “Oh! How misses her husband and her old life.” There are errors such as random capitals in the middle of a sentence and other examples of bad punctuation including lack of commas. This makes it hard to flow with the story. There were other things I didn’t enjoy; often, it felt as if the author were ranting, putting too much of her opinion in where she could have just been showing it through the story. There is also too much background information in places, such as explanation of history, that interrupts the story and could have been integrated better.

This book contains only infrequent mild profanity and no sexual content. The themes could be disturbing to some—e.g. war and poverty—but overall I think this book is suited to most readers.

Salami Leh Beirut provides interesting and important perspectives on politics, history and life in the Middle East, squashing preconceived views and prejudices and educating readers more truthfully. However, due to the issues I mentioned, I would have to give the book a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to readers interested in matters such as Middle Eastern politics and history and also those who are looking to gain a greater perspective and understanding of the world.

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Salami Leh Beirut
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[Jennifer Aldo]

I love that the stereotypical views were rebutted in the book. Women have as much right as their counterparts even with regards to their dressing. Thanks for the review

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

While I will not be reading this book, I found your review to be insightful. It also sounds like the author did a great job in addressing stereotypes and injustices. Hopefully, the book will be subjected to another round of editing. Thanks for the review.

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for your honesty. It's a shame that while this is a nice work with a refreshing concept, it bundles too many personal opinions and pieces of information in such a short book.

[Raluca_Mihaila]

I love it that the author is trying the bring a fresh perspective about the Middle East, but I hope the editing will be improved. Thank you for your interesting review!

[Saint Bruno]

Sorry about the editing mishaps that you encountered. I hope the editor does the needful in that aspect at least. Thanks for the wonderful and honest review.

[Ayora]

This book tackles some controversial issues. Thanks for a detailed review.

[Tarilan]

The plot sounds intriguing, but the errors can be a turn off. Am glad some injustices and stereotypes are mentioned. Thanks for the insightful review.

[Harty Muli]

The happenings in the middle east have been quite confusing for me. I like this story as it tells of how ordinary people are affected by instability in that country. Thanks for the insightful review.