Customer Reviews

The Consequences of Love: A Novel

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Reading The Consequences of Love by new Eritrean author Sulaiman Addonia literally stopped my heart and took my breath away. Addonia delivers a very personal and inside view of a society filled with both religious and governmental repression, a world where love is a luxury, passion forbidden, sex a crime.

Set in present day Saudi Arabia, this is a gorgeous literary debut not to be overlooked. Consequences of Love weaves a story of sensuous secret liaisons between two lovers risking their lives to keep their flame burning, so that one day they may be free from religious tyranny and laws that prevent unwed people to display their love openly. Fiore is a stunning 19-year-old Eritrean woman with long luscious dark hair falling to her waist, she captivates with the mysterious almond eyes of a doe. One day while out shopping she notices a handsome young man named Naser, and from that day on, for Fiore, it is love at first sight. Muslim law states that no unwed man or woman may glance, speak to, or touch a member of the opposite sex or harsh punishment will be issued. Young lovers caught, suffer the pain of disfigurement, stoning, brutal public lashings, imprisonment and eventually death by beheading. Religious police canvas streets day and night searching for offenders. In Saudi Arabia, matches are made ONLY through an arranged marriage, or, a man must be wealthy enough to purchase a bride, paying dowry prices that are beyond affordable. With most Muslim men financially unable to afford a wife, they often resort to the two remaining options of sodomy or becoming a member of the religious order. The author gives the reader an up front and close encounter of both these scenarios, enabling all of us born in other countries to be grateful we have not been exposed to such brutality, or have lived in such a harsh environment devoid of free thought, expression, or love.

One afternoon while Naser sits under a tree watching the world go by, a woman dressed in a full black burqa strolls by and drops a note at his feet. Quickly scurrying to hide and read it, he opens it to reveal that this mystery woman finds him attractive and invites him to respond. Note dropping is the mode of operation regarding secret communication amongst young men and women in Saudi Arabia, however it is also considered a punishable crime. With this one yellow note, begins the journey of forbidden passion that will beckon these two people to each other's hearts and dreams. Naser and Fiore's risky relationship brings courage and devotion to their cause, as they both have lived their entire lives wondering why they were born to such misery and restraint, both always yearning for more. The two use their imagination and ingenuity to find ways to communicate and meet, embracing with their eyes only as Fiore is completely covered by abaya and veil. Through clandestine seaside rendezvous' and secret letters transferred by a creative courier service, Naser and Fiore throw caution to the wind as they plot and maneuver a way to follow their hearts out of repression and a fanatical religious world that keeps their hearts imprisoned. To escape those hell-bent on catching them in their sinful acts, to run from the police who track them like bloodhounds sniffing their scent into entrapment, the two lovers whisper in the dark, disguise themselves in plain sight, and pray to Allah they can outwit and win. Cloaking their identities to those they fear, Fiore buys brightly colored pink shoes for Naser to pick her out in a crowd, Naser dresses as a woman to parade right in front of her father undetected. Friends help, friends betray, and the stakes get raised as they play the game and gamble.

The love between Fiore and Naser is refreshingly innocent and sweet. The author's presentation and writing skills offer the reader a poetic and romantic atmosphere of forbidden love that is sensual, sexy, and evocative of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This novel is elegant in presentation, beautifully written with so much depth of emotion as Addonia breathes tension, fear, laughter, love and erotica to well crafted scenes gracing every chapter of this sensational debut. Every page a masterpiece, the author shows wondrous talent to pen a literary page-turner you can't put down. I read this book in one sitting. As I turned each page I was on the edge of my seat not breathing, so filled with the wonder of Naser and Fiore's devotion, and so wrought with fear knowing what the outcome would be if they were caught. Someone ought to vote this novel in for a Pulitzer, it's that sensational! Don't miss this intoxicating novel.

This book, as past reviewers have said, was breathtaking and eye-opening. It was impossible to put down and so detailed and realistic, that I felt like I was there. It's definitely an amazing book and will have you ruminating over it for days after you have finished it.

My congratulations to Mr. Addonia on an inciteful first novel. This book made me so grateful for the freedoms I enjoy. The freedom to unconditionally love my spouse, my friends, and my country without fear of tyranny. This book gave me a real picture of what it is to be a woman in an Islamac country. A real must read!

This is a beautiful love story set in Saudi Arabia. It is a must read for anyone who believes in love.