Customer Reviews

Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Waris Dirie is from Somalia, home of some of the most beautiful women in the world, many of whom become supermodels like the famous Iman and Dirie herself. This book is a story of her desert semi-nomad life, the story of the horrifying practice of Pharonic circumcision of women that she suffered, and Dirie's escape from several oppressive situations ultimately to a better life.

The practice of female circumcision or FGM (female genital multilation) is not well-understood by Europeans and Americans. The practice, though not ordained by the Koran, is common in parts of Islamic Africa. It may have had tribal origins before some of the lands became Islamic. Dirie gives a blunt description of the primitive practice that leads to the death of many girls and to constant pain and suffering for those who survive it.

In addition to the story of FGM, Dirie also tells how she escaped her engagment to a man she didn't know, how she got to London to live with relatives, only to escape virtual enslavement and ended up working at a MacDonalds. From there, fame and success.

This book is written well, in a plain but well-told style. In addition to enlightening people about FGM, it tells a story of great courage.

It naturally just goes to your heart. The language is simple and honest, so you can read the book in a day or two. Her story was just remarkable and the book was well-written. People should be made aware of FGM and its effects. They should know that it exists. I particularly liked the way she ended the book. She says that if the existance of FGM has any meaningful explanation, maybe she would think twice about denouncing it...but this practice has no significant reason to exist what so ever! There were, however, too many "In Africa..." generalizations in the book. FGM is not ubiquitous in Africa, in fact, most Africans don't even know that it's there. It is just concentrated mainly in East African countries like Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Djibouti, and some areas in West Africa like Mali for example. I loved the book. Everyone should read it!

Waris Dirie tells us the extraordinary story of her life, beginning as a nomad in Africa, her escape on foot thru the desert from the prospect of an arranged marriage, going first to the city where her sister lived, then to England, where she knew not a word of the language, and finally to America. She became an internationally famous model, learned to speak English, got married, divorced, and remarried, and finally became a spokeswoman for the United Nations against female genital mutilation.

The story of her life is fascinating, but the genital mutilation she and her sisters suffered is disgusting. Dirie relates that no man of her native culture would want to marry a woman who had not been mutilated in such a way as to make it impossible for her to feel the intense pleasure of sexual intercourse. Thus mutilated, she supposedly cannot be tempted by other men. Many young girls die from infections contracted from unsanitary instruments used in this barbarous procedure.

Both men and women there are really missing out on the joy they could have, were men to give women the respect they deserve. Such a man may experience orgasm, but he can never experience the far greater joy of knowing that he has given the greatest and most intense pleasure to someone he deeply loves and respects. If I were married to a woman so mutilated, I would feel sorely cheated because I could never give her the pleasure I would want her to have. Like the Texas oilman who married a much younger wife and was warned that she would soon take on other lovers, I would rather own five percent of a gusher than lock, stock, and barrel of a dry hole.

I hope Dirie's husband will always be loving, thoughtful, and kind to her, because after the hell she has been thru, she deserves all the happiness he can give her, and then some. Her story is an inspiration, but at the same time it is a challenge to the rest of us to do what we can to end the horrible practise of female genital mutilation.

watziznaym@gmail.com

Desert Flower is the powerful story of the life of Somali supermodel Waris Dirie, who is now a UN spokesperson campaigning against female genital mutilation.

It starts from her very humble, but happy beginnings tending sheep and goats, her horrific circumcision at age 5, her running away from home to escape an arranged marriage to a geriatric at age 12, through to her getting to London and stumbling into modeling quite by accident.

Along the way, there were lots of events and signs in her life to tell her there was a bigger purpose to her life. Like her being spared from a lion in the desert.

There is also lots of fun and humour; Her naiveté on seeing modern everyday utilities, her bumping into Iman and a young unknown insecure Naomi Campbell, her being a Donna Summer fan and flubbing her lines on the TV show Soul Train.

Her finding love, the birth of her precious son, and her eventual reunion with her mother.

Oh, there are loads of stunning photos too, she is a supermodel after all.

Through all the pain and hardship in her life, she came through strong and not bitter against those who mistreated her. A real class act and an inspiration.

Desert Flower is a stunning and moving story which everyone should read.

This book has opened up a whole new world to me. I have read both of Waris's books. There are ways of life and cultures that I have never heard of before. This woman had an amazing struggle just to live. The pain of FGM when she was 5, Having to run away beacause your father wanted to sell you into marriage for 3 camels! This is real, people live like this. Waris went from being a desert nomad to being a model in the western world. Talk about culture shock. Hers is an incredibe story about life and love and the struggles we face. After reading Her books I was so interested that I went on to read "Do They Hear You When You Cry" and "Western Dress Bound Feet" I became so incensed that I continued not only to read more about this type of subject matter, but I also joined Equality Now and am trying to inform my peers of situations other than where we live. I would recommend this book and any like it to everyone and anyone. Read about the world and learn

This is the autobiography of Waris Dirie, an international supermodel. Waris grew up as part of a nomadic tribe in Somalia that still practices female circumcision, sleeps outdoors, subsists on camels milk, and marries off young girls at 12 or 13 to much older men. It was very interesting to read about her experiences as a child because her upbringing was the same as the upbringing of children 1000 years ago in Somalia. Waris' description of her circumcision and the problems she experienced afterward were poignant and terrifying.

Waris clearly has a good sense of humor. It is interesting to read her perspectives first of Mogadishu and then of London. It is fascinating to hear about how she became a model. Unfortunately, the book degenerated in the second half. Waris becomes conceited and less likeable. She also seems a bit selfish in her behaviors towards her friends.

This book was a good read because of the first half but the last hundred pages was a big disappointment.

I looked for a book off my shelves that I hadn't read yet and came upon this one-- one I've been meaning to read ever since I first heard of Waris Dirie a few months ago when she disappeared for a few days and made the international news.

As I had a few hours to wait for my son to finish his pottery class, I dove right into this book. And, it was very good. I was able to finish it before my son's class was over 2 1/2 hours later.

Waris' life has definitely been interesting and, in some cases, very sad. Born in Somalia, she lived with her nomadic family for her first 13 years. As she notes, all ages are estimates, since they didn't really pay attention to birthdays. She begged her mother to be circumcised when she was five years old-- obviously, she had no idea what that meant, at all-- she only knew it meant she was considered more grown up. And, this was the kind you read about-- the kind that removes both the inner and outer labia and the clitoris. The woman that did the "surgery" sawed her with a rusty bloody broken blade that she spat on and wiped dry before cutting. Waris' circumcision left her infibulated-- with only the smallest opening that made menstruation and urination extremely painful.

She does discuss this, one of the most abhorrent practices, but she also discusses much more. Much of her life was very happy-- although they were very poor. She loved both parents but ran away when she was 13 (through the desert with no shoes or water) or so to avoid a marriage to a much older man (for the price of five camels!).

Through an odd chain of events, she was able to go to London to be a servant for some wealthy relatives. And, when this family planned to return to Somalia, Waris decided to stay in London. She was very soon discovered by a photographer and almost immediately became a top model.

Waris' tells her story in simple, yet stark language-- she speaks her mind and is a likeable and strong woman. Her memoir is definitely interesting and she's very open about all her feelings and thoughts. The only thing I would have preferred she talk about more were her feelings about Islam. I realize that genital mutilation is not mandated by the Koran-- it is only a tradition in many of these families. However, her thoughts about her religion and some of its laws and archaic practices that affected her family (polygyny and its treatment of women, for instance), would have made the book a bit more intriguing. She didn't go into this at all.

All in all, this was a provocative memoir of someone raised so entirely differently than those of us in the West. Her introduction to our foreign culture- so different than her own- made for a very thoughtful and affecting read.

Desert Flower
Waris Dirie tells the story of her life, from a world of poverty and the nomad lifestyle, to the pressures of being a super model. I found her biography to be one of the most compelling books I have ever read. She is able to tell the remarkable story of her life and in doing so teaches its audience about the struggles that women still face in many other cultures today. She truly takes advantage of her privilege of living in the United States where as many of American natives take the simple pleasures for granted.
She gives excellent detail in telling her story and captured my attention quickly. She starts talking about her life as a child and the hardships that were brought upon her living the nomad lifestyle, constant moving around and a father with several wives. To make matters worse she is attacked and raped several times. One of the most heart breaking parts of her story is that she had to have Female Genital Mutilation, which is a common practice in Africa, but definitely illegal her in the United States. Through telling of her experiences it helps the readers of the book especially women to be thankful of the rights and freedoms we have today.
This book is a true inspiration and shows the power and strength of the human spirit and the will to overcome struggles. The shortcomings are a lot of bad words were used in the book, although I realize sometimes a certain word needs to get a point across to the audience. That was really the only part that bothered me. Overall I would rate the book at four stars.

I just couldn't put this book down. A fascinating biography of Waris Dirie. I saw a photo of her once in a fashion magazine and a blurb beside it saying she was a spokesperson for the UN against female genital mutilation. When I read what that was and saw her beautiful face and knew this happened to her I started to cry and could not stop. And now I have read her whole book and know about her whole intriquing life. The rest of her story is also very interesting (and I never thought I would have any interest in reading about fashion models lives in that industry). The best part of the book is about her childhood in Somali IMO though as it is so exotic to the Western lifestyle. Waris is very brave to speak out about female genital mutilation in Africa to a very biased audience. She is also brave to tell her own personal experience with the "killer" as she calls the old woman who mutilated her severly at age 5 with a rusty, broken razor out in the desert. To think that this horrible thing has happened to 130 million women who are alive now as the UN states is so shocking! It MUST stop.

This ghost-written autobiography of a Somalian nomad who became an international fashion model is certainly an interesting read. The story in broad terms is quite extraordinary and eye-opening. However, there were several sections of the book which just didn't quite ring true. For example, her initial (solo) arrival in London as a young illiterate teenage who spoke no English and who until 24 hours before had never seen a flush toilet or an airplane. There is simply no way that she could have gone through Heathrow arrivals without any questioning. She would not have had any clue how to navigate her way from the plane, through immigration and customs etc. All I am saying is, that I believe there were many embellished stories in this book.

However, the book did serve one very important purpose - drawing attention to the abominable practice of female genital mutilation. Waris Dirie now works with the United Nations to stop this atrocity and if her story can help achieve this goal in any small way, then this book has achieved its purpose.