Culture Clashes...

So, the books I'm reviewing today have almost nothing in common, except that they describe different cultures, two are novels and one is non-fiction...

The first, Neil MacFarquhar's The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes you a Happy Birthday, is an amazing book. This should be required reading for any American diplomat or newsperson working in or with the Middle East. He lays out, clearly, why the US has such a huge problem in this region of the world. He even lays out some ways we could improve our image. He also, in part because he grew up in Libya, and speaks Arabic fluently, 'gets' a lot of the cultures, the humor, the mindset. So often, the Middle East is portrayed as this dangerous place, full of terrorists, where women are muffled under scarves and draperies... and he really shows some of the true facets of the Middle East. The mentality, the humor, the coping mechanisms.... and he ends, literally, on a note of hope.

The second, a novel, by Sarah Dunant, called Sacred Hearts, is a fabulous book. I felt hesitant when starting it, just because I could not imagine how powerful it would be, how ultimately uplifting. Set in 1570 in the convent of Santa Catarina, in Ferrarra, Italy, it is an incredibly moving book, in part about the power of faith, but also the power of friendship, love, and hope... I would never have dreamed that a book about nuns could be so finely crafted, and so evocative of the lives and times depicted...

The third, The Marriage Bureau for Rich People, is just a sweet book. A love story, in some ways, but also very telling and clarifying of the culture... It just offers a wonderful glimpse into a way of life that doesn't really exist for white-Anglo-Saxon women. You get to see how different arranged marriages are, and just the different ways people are coupled... and how people can grow into a perfect match as well as falling in love. It gives a picture of life for the middle (and upper middle) classes in India. As well as how modern life is impacting. Just a thoroughtly charming book, full of love and hope.

So really, all three of these books have a common theme, as well as that of different cultures, its hope.... they are all uplifting books in the end...