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Summary: book
Review: Mernissi's book is a refreshing departure from the usual stories out of the Muslim world. Mernissi does not focus on the sterotypes of Muslim women present in the Western world, but she also shows mixed feelings about the system in which she was raised. It's an easy read, and her style is light and airy. Mernissi's varied childhood experiences are fun to read.
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Summary: interesting, relaxing
Review: Nice book - describing her childhood. All readers should bear in their minds, though, that Morocco is not like that anymore. This is a story from her past.
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Summary: Delusions of a would-be feminist
Review: once again, mernissi has used the literary forum to vent her personal venom against her faith. As a reader searching for actual scholarly or literary value, I find her books an absolute abomination. A "bayt arabi" (arab-style house with a courtyard in the middle) is not a haram, nor is the extended family setting Mernissi describes. At least not in most households. But an account of life in a "haram" is sure to sell. I've travelled widely throughout the middle east and have spoken to countless women, in seclusion and privacy, learning their language in order to gain their trust, and rarely have I encountered the kind of frustration Mernissi depicts in this, or any of her books.
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Summary: The seclusion of women through the eyes of a child
Review: Subtitled, "Tales of a Harem Girlhood," this is the story of the author, Fatima Mernissi's Moroccan childhood in the 1940s. Now a sociologist at the University Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco, she has skillfully recreated the sense of wonder and observation of a child. Her own father had only one wife, but she lived in an extended family with an aunt, uncle, cousins, divorced female relatives, and even some women who had once been slaves and who no had nowhere else to go. The term "harem" as she uses it, means the seclusion of women. Her mother, who was illiterate, dreamed moving beyond the walls, but did not even have the privilege of simply walking down the street as western women do. Instead, she rebelled by embroidering birds of flight and encouraged her daughter to get an education. The household was lively, and I felt myself drawn right in, getting to know each person through Ms. Mernissi's eyes. I was treated to their storytelling and home theatrical productions; I observed them sneaking up to the roof to get a bit of privacy; I understood why the act of chewing gum was considered a rebellion; I left the walled compound in the city with her when she visited her maternal grandmother who lived on a farm, one of eight co-wives, who gets to "cuddle" with her husband only one out of eight days.As I'm about the same age as the author, I couldn't help thinking about my life and how much I took for granted in my own childhood - such as the simple act of walking down the street and being exposed to the outside world through newspapers, radio and television. This book provided a magnificent glimpse into a world that seems as strange to me as mine would have seemed to her. And it certainly opened my eyes. At only 242 pages, "Dreams of Trespass" was much too short. I could have gone one reading and reading. And my only criticism is that it was only about her childhood. I wished it would have gone on and described the next fifty years. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The seclusion of women through the eyes of a child
Review: Subtitled, "Tales of a Harem Girlhood," this is the story of the author, Fatima Mernissi's Moroccan childhood in the 1940s. Now a sociologist at the University Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco, she has skillfully recreated the sense of wonder and observation of a child. Her own father had only one wife, but she lived in an extended family with an aunt, uncle, cousins, divorced female relatives, and even some women who had once been slaves and who no had nowhere else to go. The term "harem" as she uses it, means the seclusion of women. Her mother, who was illiterate, dreamed moving beyond the walls, but did not even have the privilege of simply walking down the street as western women do. Instead, she rebelled by embroidering birds of flight and encouraged her daughter to get an education. The household was lively, and I felt myself drawn right in, getting to know each person through Ms. Mernissi's eyes. I was treated to their storytelling and home theatrical productions; I observed them sneaking up to the roof to get a bit of privacy; I understood why the act of chewing gum was considered a rebellion; I left the walled compound in the city with her when she visited her maternal grandmother who lived on a farm, one of eight co-wives, who gets to "cuddle" with her husband only one out of eight days. As I'm about the same age as the author, I couldn't help thinking about my life and how much I took for granted in my own childhood - such as the simple act of walking down the street and being exposed to the outside world through newspapers, radio and television. This book provided a magnificent glimpse into a world that seems as strange to me as mine would have seemed to her. And it certainly opened my eyes. At only 242 pages, "Dreams of Trespass" was much too short. I could have gone one reading and reading. And my only criticism is that it was only about her childhood. I wished it would have gone on and described the next fifty years. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Oh, to trespass OUT rather than to trespass into...
Review: Subtitled, Tales of a Harem Girlhood, this is a most fascinating tale of the realities of a Moroccan harem. Most Westerners take the word harem and think Turkish harem - hundreds of women floating around large tiled rooms waiting to serve the lord and master. Mernissi, a western schooled sociologist, feminist, and scholar, takes us into the life of a young girl born into a family in Fez (in Western Morocco) in the 1940's. Her harem is not the rooms of I-Dream-of-Jeannie look-alikes but rather the complex social structures of the Moroccan/Muslim family in the middle of this century. Her harem is the world of women, daughters, mothers, aunts, and grandmothers who live 'inside' the urban home (but interestingly, live more freely out on the country farm). We learn about the feelings she and her brother (with whom she is close) experience when they come of an age to be separated; he relegated to the world of the men, and she to the hidden world of the harem. Mostly, though, this beautiful book tells the stories of the women in Fatima's harem who have dreams and fantasies (that will never come true), including the dreams of trespass into the outside world, the world of men. After having worked in Morocco in the early 1990s, I could see that much has changed for Moroccan women, but thoughout the Arab world there still exist plenty who still have those dreams of trespass.
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Summary: A delightful book.
Review: The author, Fatima Mernissa, was a professor of Sociology at Muhammad V University, Rabat, Morocco. The book tells of her life growing up in her father's home. It describes the richness of her life, living among an extended family of cousins, aunts and sisters. It tells of nights of communal story telling and play acting, of special outings like going to the public baths and the movies and life in the country side. The men in the book have no names but the women are richly described with their many interests and backgrounds. What makes this book interesting and different is that it is told from the point of view of a 10 year old girl rather than an adult looking back on her childhood. Therefore the book is full of wonder as she is seeking to describe life, trying to figure out what life is about and seeking to define the concept of harem. She discovers that a harem in the city means being locked inside a very large house with a guard on the door and having to seek permission of the men of the house before a woman is permitted to leave, however in the countryside, harem means something much different. The book gives one another picture of women in the Muslim world
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Summary: Dreams of Trespass
Review: The book Dreams of Trespass was easy and enjoyable book to read. It tells the story of the author as a young girl. The story portrays life in the harem and the author's journey to understand what the harem is all about. Through her journal, she tells of the stories her aunt tells, the beauty rituals she partakes in, and her time spend with her male cousin. Reding the book a is valuable experience for all- not only is it enjoyable, but the reader learns about the islamic culture and values.
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Summary: Dreams of Tresspass
Review: The struggles of a girl's life in Harlem brings together the major ideas of this book together. In the book Dreams of Trespass a girl tries to understand her place in society, but doesn't want to accept what might lay ahead in her life. As generations go by women want more out of their life and ultimately want to be considered equal with men. Unfortunately not only Men stand in their way, older women are content sticking to the old traditions and it was hard to even explain why they would want a life out of Harlem. The plot in this book in nearly non-existent, the book itself is merely a description of life experiences that will shape a young girls life later life. Untimately I didn't realy like this book because its lack of plot. I was hoping for more of a continuing story, but this book is a series of stories. The author does a good job in blending these stories together, but this is not the kind of book that I would normally ever like.
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Summary: It is an excellent book.
Review: This book is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning about a childhood very different than the Western culture. Fatima tells a story about her life as a child growing up in a harem. It is very easy to read, similar to a journal of a young woman. You will really get into the book and not want to put the book down. It has a very unique way of teaching you about a different culture without you even knowing it, while also keeping you interested in what is going on. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone not familar with the Muslim World.
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