The Poison Tree - Planted And Grown In Egypt [Paperback]

Marwa Rakha (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

The Poison Tree - planted and grown in Egypt is not a traditional novel; it combines the techniques of blogging, journal-keeping, and formal writing while retaining one binding thought that keeps the story together; poison is the fertile ground that I, and many other Middle Eastern women, was born into; a poisoned culture nurtured my roots with suffocating traditions, taboos, and beliefs; poison runs through my stem. I branched out and my branches carried me far away from the roots and the ground. I questioned the tutoring of my conservative society and green leaves covered my bare branches. My tree bore its fruits; poisoned fruits that were the poison of many who dropped dead next to the solid stubborn tree. This is a book about love, marriage, divorce, sex, dating, virginity, adult dating, religion, shame, taboos, gender wars and fear that grew and blossomed on my poison tree.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born and raised in Egypt, I was brought up to be a good middle class Egyptian girl; but somehow being good did not suit my notions. Deep down I have rejected the heavy heritage of traditions and norms that made no sense to my inquisitive mind. I could not understand why girls were killed, committed suicide, or lived in eternal shame when they lost their virginity. I failed to comprehend why such a rule applied only to girls and their male counterparts were spared. After my grand mother passed away we stopped celebrating Christmas, New Year's Eve, Halloween, and Thanks Giving ... does being a Muslim forbid me from all my childhood memories? Why do I have to get married? Why can't I date? Why do men cheat? Why do I have to accept it? Why? Why? Why? And many more unanswered questions. I have come a long way from the scared little girl that I once was ... I found my passion in writing, my voice in teaching & training, and my strength in marketing ... I took off my mask ... and I decided to speak up and loud .. as loud as loud could ever be. Summary of Qualifications * Published writer (magazines since 2005): Over 100 articles in English language publications in Egypt like Campus, Enigma, Insight, and Identity. Plus The American Chronicle (web version) * Author: The Poison Tree - planted & grown in Egypt, Malamih Publishing House, Cairo, 2008 * Relationships Expert Speaker: on OTV * Professional speaker: television & radio guest (interviewee: ESC (Egyptian Satellite Channel), Modern TV, AIN (ART), Dream TV, and NILE FM, 104.2) * Instructor: The American University in Cairo - Business Studies Division * Trainer: LOGIC Consultancy - delivering a variety of standard and customized workshops.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Malamih Publishing House; 2nd edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9776262163
• ISBN-13: 978-0982080405
• ASIN: 0982080409
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,541,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent highly intelligent informative read, October 14, 2008

By 

Victoria (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Poison Tree - Planted And Grown In Egypt (Paperback)

Marwa is a remarkable woman. She lives and works in Egypt,is a native has a better understanding of the issues around women and other salient social issues than I have found before. She writes from a younger person's point of view and her style is compelling. I was married to an Egyptian man and spent a great deal of time trying to understand "what happened!?" Marwa informed me of the cultural differences, I went on a search to find someone who could help me bridge my understanding gap and she is THE woman to do it. Also listen to her broadcasts on Nile FM. They are fascinating. If you are interested in Egypt, womens roles, the youth over there and in how things have and have not changed, this is the book for you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A leap frog as far as Egyptian & Arab women expressing themselves, October 14, 2008

By 

Akram E. Farag "Akram" (Cairo, Egypt) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Poison Tree - Planted And Grown In Egypt (Paperback)

I have been awaiting the publishing of Marwa Rakha's book for sometime after following her writings in different magazines and online.

The book in my opinion is one of the best written towards exploring what tens of millions of Egyptian & Arab girls and women experience and are afraid to express freely.

I have read it over & over and everytime I read it, it makes me laugh at some of the situations and brings me to the verge of tears some other times.

I am also following her different writings & posts on both Facebook.com and her personal site: www.marwarakha.com

It is worth reading by all means and I personally look forward to her next book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wish for Marwa, November 23, 2008

By 

Bonita Oteri (Springfield, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Poison Tree - planted and grown in Egypt (Kindle Edition)

This book is a poignant portrait written by a young Egyptian woman burdened, one might say, with excessive moral courage and brutal honesty.

Her microscopic scrutiny of the Egyptian dating and marriage scene as she views it spares no one, and least of all herself- the incisive, heart-wrenching examination of the tight rope Egyptian women must daintily and carefully tread if they wish to "win" a husband. In her case, she knows the games that must be played to "win", but they eat at her soul and she has a burning passion that can't be tempered and must speak out on the limitations she feels her society has imposed on women. At times the book is a savy "Sex and the City" type column written adressing different hot topics that avidly interest no doubt, her fellow countrymen and women with the fascination of the Arab world watching Egyptian serial soap operas. The author, Marwa Rakha addresses fascinating insights for Westerners into Egyptian psyche on dating/marriage issues -ranging from basic man and woman on the streets opinion, to societal class distinctions and snobbery, to taboo topics of prostitution and the complex survival decisions some women sadly make. Bravely baring her soul and laying her innermost fears on the altar of Truth as she sees it, the author gives us a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Love and Romance, Egyptian Style.

Beneath the biting words, there is always a sense of humour and a fond affection and deep love that binds her to her family, even though they must surely despair of this outspoken daughter and her future happiness. It was beautiful, how she wrote her that Dad would drive her around all night when she could not sleep, plagued by inner demons.

For my part, I saw many parallells for American, western women and the age old "war between the sexes" in this string of tales carefully beaded together. She also includes a some what tongue in cheek, special "Warning! Danger!" for Western women on the charm, allure of the charismatic Egyptian man when he is focused on winning a wife. Maybe the relgion, the language, the country, the culture are different. But there are always Women's Issues which transcend international borders and tie us together. Not all but most women want a happy family and a good husband, and most face similar challenges in meeting that goal- and the smarter and more out-spoken the woman in question, the more difficult that goal can be to achieve.

This book offers a profound insight in an unusal format for anyone wanting to learn an about the Egyptian society dating scene from a different dimemsional perspective. It's one of those rare works that can make you laugh and cry simultaneously.

Marwa, my wish and prayer for you is that God may send you the strong, secure man who will not be intimidated by the deep, burning and beautiful soul that you are.