Cities of Salt

Rating:
Summary: Vibrant
Review: This book is beautifully crafted and wholly absorbing while retaining its resounding message of the effects of economic imperialism. The author shows exceptional skill in his highly detailed descriptions, making the reader actually feel the events as they take place. The author also shows exceptional skill in his character descriptions, bringing the characters to life with such a mastery, the likes of which is rarely seen in any form of literature. There is so much to this book and I do not wish to give any of it away. All I can do is give it my absolute endorsement and hope that anyone wishing to have a more complete grasp of the culture of the Gulf region or the lasting effects of oil development within the area will take the time to enjoy this book and the remaining books in the group.

Rating:
Summary: Vibrant
Review: This book is beautifully crafted and wholly absorbing while retaining its resounding message of the effects of economic imperialism. The author shows exceptional skill in his highly detailed descriptions, making the reader actually feel the events as they take place. The author also shows exceptional skill in his character descriptions, bringing the characters to life with such a mastery, the likes of which is rarely seen in any form of literature. There is so much to this book and I do not wish to give any of it away. All I can do is give it my absolute endorsement and hope that anyone wishing to have a more complete grasp of the culture of the Gulf region or the lasting effects of oil development within the area will take the time to enjoy this book and the remaining books in the group.

Rating:
Summary: Understanding Imperialism
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It leaves the reader with a haunting message about the human condition. This book explains the role of imperialism in every day life like no other book I have read.

Rating:
Summary: A nostalgia to humanity before oil era
Review: This is the first part of the pentology city of the salt.I read this pentology 3 times,and i will read it again and again.In this volume the author described the Saudia,s people"before the oil era"they were poor but happy and how they had changed with the oil drilling and the coming of the Americans,you can feel the nostalgia of the old days.i laugh a lot about the prince when he saw the first radio and how he loaded his gun before he put it on.The next 4 volumes"i do not know how many volumes had been translated to English as i read it in Arabic" described how people there changed,rich but lost their old nobel feelings.you can know easly the real names of the main characters.This book is forbidden in Saudia Arabia ,even there is a debat about rhe real nationality of the author,but surely he feels nostalgia for old days,even the name of this novel,as he said in one of his pages,means ir will collapse for the first rain because it is made of salt.Many members of my family have the same feelings when they read this book,they are so absorbed to the book ,so that they can not even talk to anyone at home.lastely i think this is the second great book written in arabic after mahfouz Cairo triology

Rating:
Summary: A nostalgia to humanity before oil era
Review: This is the first part of the pentology city of the salt.I read this pentology 3 times,and i will read it again and again.In this volume the author described the Saudia,s people"before the oil era"they were poor but happy and how they had changed with the oil drilling and the coming of the Americans,you can feel the nostalgia of the old days.i laugh a lot about the prince when he saw the first radio and how he loaded his gun before he put it on.The next 4 volumes"i do not know how many volumes had been translated to English as i read it in Arabic" described how people there changed,rich but lost their old nobel feelings.you can know easly the real names of the main characters.This book is forbidden in Saudia Arabia ,even there is a debat about rhe real nationality of the author,but surely he feels nostalgia for old days,even the name of this novel,as he said in one of his pages,means ir will collapse for the first rain because it is made of salt.Many members of my family have the same feelings when they read this book,they are so absorbed to the book ,so that they can not even talk to anyone at home.lastely i think this is the second great book written in arabic after mahfouz Cairo triology

Rating:
Summary: Understanding Imperialism
Review: What is most interesting about this book is the perspective from which it is told--that of the indigenous people under siege. You wonder, as they do, what is this strange machinery tearing up their wadi, what do these strange rules imposed by the foreigners mean, and how did this incomprehensible thing come to be in their lives. With each new thrust of progress, the unknowns increase. The reader becomes a sleuth, along with the people of the wadi, trying to understand the 'evil' that has taken over their lives. As the mystery unfolds, we see the devastating effects, both culturally and individually, of imposed economic change. This book is a fascinating account of a people trying to understand unexplained change and its effect on their lives-- all in the name of progress.

Rating:
Summary: story is told from perspective of the locals
Review: What is most interesting about this book is the perspective from which it is told--that of the indigenous people under siege. You wonder, as they do, what is this strange machinery tearing up their wadi, what do these strange rules imposed by the foreigners mean, and how did this incomprehensible thing come to be in their lives. With each new thrust of progress, the unknowns increase. The reader becomes a sleuth, along with the people of the wadi, trying to understand the 'evil' that has taken over their lives. As the mystery unfolds, we see the devastating effects, both culturally and individually, of imposed economic change. This book is a fascinating account of a people trying to understand unexplained change and its effect on their lives-- all in the name of progress.