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The belt
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
17 posts | 3 read | 16 to read
An enchanting coming-of-age story, The Belt explores the religious, social and intellectual forces at work in the Arabian Peninsula, challenging conventional perceptions of the region.
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review
squirrelbrain
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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Pickpick

A beautifully written series of vignettes about village life in #saudiarabia. This is back when the villagers didn‘t trust schools, plumbed toilets or women wearing trousers.

That‘s trivialising this book rather - the women come out of it as strong, essentially managing the men and running the village. This is a coming-of-age story where going to school in the city challenges the author‘s culture and changes his life. ⬇️

#readingasia2021

squirrelbrain Thanks for sending me this @rockpools 😘. Happy to send it on if anyone else would like to read it. 3y
Librarybelle Great review! 3y
BarbaraBB Wonderful review! I‘m going to read Arabia for this country later in August. The book I sent you about Bhutan never arrived, did it? 🥲 3y
squirrelbrain No it hasn‘t arrived(yet) @BarbaraBB 😢- I bought a cheap book on Kindle instead which I‘ll read soon, but I‘m still holding out hope! 3y
BarbaraBB I am so sorry to hear that. Let‘s hope it‘ll arrive one day! 3y
64 likes3 stack adds5 comments
blurb
squirrelbrain
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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Thank you so much for the lovely gifts @rockpools ! (Hubby found the parcel actually *in* the bin - good job it wasn‘t bin day! 😠)

The book looks great for #readingasia2021 #saudiarabia and I love the journal - it‘s perfect for trips in Tufty!

And as for the local Devon chocolate, I‘m not sure that will survive until tomorrow! 😘

rockpools That was bizarrely quick! But I didn‘t mean to send our postie up to deliver it 😬 - glad you found it before bin day! Where are you & Tufty heading for next? 3y
squirrelbrain We had a random postie the other day and he said at least 25% of them were off having been pinged so I guess that‘s why it ended up in the bin! 🤦‍♀️ No Tufty trips booked until Sept - we might try a last-minute before then but it‘s school holidays so… 🤷‍♀️ @rockpools 3y
rockpools @squirrelbrain Eek! That‘s probably a good plan - it is DEFINITELY school holidays round here. 3y
61 likes3 comments
review
rockpools
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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Pickpick

This is such a gorgeous read. A short novel (possibly autobiographical) of a young boy growing up in a traditional Saudi Arabian village, at a time of great change. His close friendship with Hizam, one of the village sages is just lovely. Also, fields and water and knives and circumcision and poetry and family and school and legends and The City and ‘letter-writing‘... Highly recommend this one!

#SaudiArabia #readaroundtheworld

Freespirit Ooh this sounds interesting. I lived in Saudi for 2 years back in the early 90‘s. 4y
sprainedbrain That does sound interesting! I‘m struggling with the book I chose, but hoping it gets better. 😬 4y
rockpools @Freespirit Oh, I bet that was interesting! I‘d love your thoughts if ever you do read this. 4y
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rockpools @sprainedbrain On no! Good luck 🤞 4y
Freespirit @RachelO I will look out for it 4y
BookwormM Sounds good I haven‘t started mine yet 4y
65 likes7 stack adds6 comments
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rockpools
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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charl08 Oh what a wonderful quote! 4y
42 likes1 stack add1 comment
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rockpools
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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I wasn‘t too sure for the first couple of chapters, but this story of a young boy growing up in a traditional Saudi Village, and the conflicting views school opens up for him, is just great.

This is going to be my #ReadAroundTheWorld book for #SaudiArabia this month.

review
shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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Pickpick

This beautifully written novel of traditional Saudi village life complicated my preconceptions: I'm so grateful. Poetry, belts, knives, and public circumcisions for the teenaged boys, who must recite their genealogies confidently without any wavering of tone or cries of pain during the ceremony. Sassy, confident women, and even more surprises.

shawnmooney This one needs a fuller review so please have a look if you're so inclined: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1997774401 7y
rockpools Fantastic review. 7y
LeahBergen ❤️ 7y
38 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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26 likes1 stack add
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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LeahBergen Braggarts. 😏 7y
saresmoore I actually learned about this from a well-traveled friend who prefers morning showers. She learned the awkward way. 7y
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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saresmoore 😹 7y
LeahBergen Awesome! 😂 7y
31 likes2 comments
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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🤔

tpixie lol I need to map this out!! 7y
saresmoore Whoa. 7y
shawnmooney @tpixie @saresmoore For me, the genealogical meltdown began in earnest when I learned a page or two later that the man married his father-in-law's sister so that his father-in-law became his brother-in-law. 7y
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Cinfhen Ummm...what??!??? 7y
tpixie Oh my!! 7y
julesG This is a bit complicated. But only a tiny bit. 😜 7y
JanuarieTimewalker13 Not before coffee. 7y
Dragon Huh? That's a tangled family tree. 7y
30 likes1 stack add8 comments
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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saresmoore Yeesh. Grimace. 7y
Cinfhen 😱😱 7y
24 likes2 comments
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shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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💜

saresmoore This picture is perfect! 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore Thanks! I had all but given up on finding a corresponding image and then lucked out to find this one. 7y
26 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
shawnmooney
The belt: a novel | Ahmed Abodehman
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USED BOOKSTORE HAUL - BOOK 4 of 4

A coming-of-age novel out of Saudi Arabia

andrew61 That sounds like an amazing used book store - jealous ☺ 7y
LeahBergen This sounds good! 7y
41 likes2 comments