Customer Reviews

FORBIDDEN LOVE: A Harrowing Story of Love and Revenge in Jordan

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Indeed! There was no need for us in Jordan to wait for an Australian reporter to reach this conclusion. We knew it all along!

I am a Western reviewer from Amman, a far more pleasant place than the author was willing to admit in her book! The author described Jordanian women as if they have only two choices: Stay in Jordan and be enslaved or move to the West and be free.

Now we know how false is this description and how fake is the author herself!

In 1977, the American author Alex Haley devised the term `faction' -to define a writing that is part fact and part fiction- when he was asked to describe the nature of his book `Roots' because it did not hold under historical scrutiny.

The ensuing question was then: Is this book, with its content and characters, a work of faction or (worse) of fiction?

The recent revelations about this book have answered this question: This book is so full of contradictions -within itself- and so full of lies and fabrications -about its Jordanian settings and people- that it could not stand the meticulous scrutiny of an enterprising and dedicated Australian journalist willing to check, independently and objectively, all the facts surrounding this `forbidden love' story that never happened!

To your readers, may I suggest two alternative books to this fake book, for a serious, informative and definitely non-fictional study about women in Jordan? They are both written by women and are both available in Amazon:

* `The Veil and the Male Elite' by Fatima Mernissi.

* `Women and Gender in Islam' by Leila Ahmed.

Regards.

Khouri's real name is Norma Majid Khouri Michael Al-Bagain Toliopoulos, and she only lived in Jordan until she was three years old. She has a US passport and lived from 1973 until 2000 in Chicago. She is married with two children, 13 and 11. She has four American siblings and a mother who are desperate to hear news from her. But she has managed to conceal this double life from her publishers, her agent, lawyers in several continents, the Australian Department of Immigration and, until now, the public.

(...)

I really enjoyed Honor Lost until I just found out it was not a true story. Now I would like to get my money returned to me for
buying a book that was not sold as fiction. Anyone have any suggestions how we all should do this?
I never would have purchased this fairy tale.
Shame on you Norma.
Roseamond In Pa.

Random House, the Australian publishers of this best selling book by Jordanian author Norma Khouri on Firday announced its decision to permanently withdraw the book from sale after she failed to provide evidence that her book was a true story.
Her story proved to be an hoax after long & thorough investigation, and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia had indicated that the author actually left Jordan when she was only three years old!!!
Random House announced Friday that it had cut its ties with the author Norma Khouri and her book, saying "We appologise to booksellers and readers who purchased Norma's book beleiving it was a true story" The Herald reported.
I extremely hope that www.amazon.com bares its responsibility as the most reputable online marketplace, and withdraw this book from its online shopping website and appologising for the readers and buyers of this book.

Khouri allegedly wrote Forbidden Love, a vivid autobiography, in memory of the tragic loss of her best friend. She said that she was searching for a way to spread the knowledge of an Arabic ancient tradition "honour killing". Norma allegedly wanted the silent cries for equity to be heard throughout the world. She wanted the novel to gather support and help readers understand what is happening in other parts of the world.

After opening this novel it is very hard to put it down. It is the story of a beautiful young Islamic woman, Dalia, living in an Arabic country, called Jordan. She lives by the very strict rules of her Muslim family where honour killings are performed by family tradition. At the age of 25 Dalia unexpectedly falls in love conducting an affair in utmost secrecy. This is all done with the help of her lifetime best friend, Norma. However seeing Michael is putting her life at great risk and when her brother reports seeing Dalia in the company of a non-Muslim young man this true love story ends in an emotional tragedy.

The publication details that accompanied my copy of this book said that after publishing this book Khouri was allegedly forced to flee her country and is living in Australia for her own safety. She was threatened by her family for "shaming them in public".
I initially was shocked by this incredible tale and would have recommended Forbidden Love to adolescents and adults of all ages. I thought that it would also It would also be of some interest to male readers because they would be surprised and shocked to learn of such a different way of life and attitude towards women

However whilst I wrote this review I was not aware of the allegations towards Norma Khouri. I was one of many people who believed Khouri's story and was least expecting this uproar.

Although Forbidden Love has been has been a best-seller and has sold over 200 000 copies in Australia. After an 18-month investigation Norma Khouri's book Forbidden Love has been removed from all book shelves throughout the country. Khouri has denied all accusations against her and has told her publishers that she can provide evidence to support her story. It has been claimed from some of her family members and a friend of hers that Norma Khouri only spent the first three years of her life in Jordan spending most of her life in the United States unlike what she described in Forbidden Love.

Today Khouri has denied all allegations and simply says:
"I refute the allegations that you are making, and had I been given more ample time I would have supplied proof. I intend to do so in the future," she notified the newspaper.

This all may end in tragedy if Khouri's allegations are proved right then the Australian authorities may well reconsider Khouri's temporary residence visa which was issued to her under the circumstances that she was unable to return to Jordan because her life was in danger.

However, these details in a way make the book more interesting

4/5

Norma Khouri's book is most likely a fraud and hoax and therefore damages our relations with countries like Jordan. Please research the allegations against her before you buy this book.

As I read Ms. Khouri's account of life in Jordan, I had the oddest sense, call it a gut feeling, that this was phony. Now, I have no knowledge of Jordan so I could not put my reaction down to inaccuracies of time or culture, although the Unisex Hair Salon semed mighty incongruous given the strict segregation laws in most Arab countries. It was the "voice" in the writing, or rather the lack of it, that troubled my instinct. Whether or not the story is true, Ms. Khouri was not adept at telling it. Her dialogue often ran like a 6th grader's - predictable, the type of writing that without a sensational plot, has little else to promote it. Interestingly, the more expository parts of the book were better written. I imagine, that was easier to convey in a convincing tone. But to master fiction, the voice must be authentic, and this voice was ...too glib. The minute I finished it, I googled the author's name and imagine my surprise...or lack of it!

Well, when I picked up this book to read, the first thing I noticed is that this has been marked as 'Non Fiction'. This book was from the perspective of the author - Norma and the incident that changed her life and outlook towards her life.

'Forbidden Love' revolves around Norma (a Christian living in Jordan) and her Muslim friend, who she considers as soul sister.

This book had lot of facts presented about Jordan and the plight of women there. Being a 'Non Fiction', as the book states it is, I want to believe everything. However, then I read about the author that she has hardly lived in Jordan - specially for the period this book has been peened. This makes me think about the authenticity of her friend and her story. Perhaps few facts/figures may be true, may be they are not.

I read this book in 2 hours, I could'nt put it down. Despite that it was a good read there are parts where I thought maybe it was a little exaggerated. I lived in Jordan and know that there are people that are a little more extreme than others. However, I could'nt help the feeling that the story was in some ways fiction. What I did'nt like was the way Arabs in the book were portrayed as being that extreme, there are laws. I definitely would not recommend this book to someone who is not familiar with that part of the world without explaining that it is more fiction than true.

I thought the book was great. Regardless of whether or not this is something the author went through or not, it is probably a true story for many. For me this is not just a story of love but of the difference between cultures and an expression of that difference.