Customer Reviews

The Sword of Medina: A Novel

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

 

 

I just finished the Sword of Medina - it was compelling, entertaining and a fun way to increase my knowledge of Islam. The fast paced presentation of Aisha and Ali `s personalities and intentions gave me an intimate insight into two of history's most influential people. The Sword of Medina is well written and intelligent, combining playfulness with painful human decisions. I identified with Aisha and Ali's struggles to assume both competing and complementary positions of power amid the intrigue of trust, deceit and misunderstanding that caused the Battle of the Camel -Islam's historic civil war. Again historical fiction is more fascinating than purely imagination based literature.

The sequel to one of the worst examples of controversy-seeking trash fiction is now available. If you read "The Jewel of Medina" and didn't think a worse case of literary self-absorption could be manifested, then by all means read Jones' latest attempt to incite a firestorm of controversy.

This is pretty much what you would expect from someone who calls herself a journalist and whose contributions to journalism are tour guides for motorcyclists. If you want to read a squalid romance novel, hacked with a machete out of a mountain of melted purple crayon, now's your chance.

If you have any need to read a fictional account of the life of Mohammed and Aisha, your interests will be much better served by reading "The Mother of the Believers," by Kamran Pasha. If nothing else, at least he knows how to write.

If you think the 5-star reviews here are from actual readers rather than friends, relatives and colleagues of the author, consider this book was published in October of 2009 and then look at the sales figures. Enough said?

I eagerly await the third in this series: THE HONOR KILLING OF MEDINA. It's about Aisha as a teenager walking the streets when a gust of wind blows her abbaya so that a spot of ankle is seen by one and all. Having sullied the escutcheon of a once proud family, the bratty little tart is buried up to her neck and stoned to death. Mohammed's honor is restored and everyone lives happily ever after.

This is a wonderfully vibrant and dynamic continuation of the story of A'isha, Muhammad's favorite wife and spiritual/political confidant. It is told in multiple viewpoints - primarily those of A'isha and Ali as they wrestle for both power and control of Muhammad's legacy. This struggle culminates in the cataclysmic Battle of The Camel, where the two factions meet on the battlefield and set the stage for the split between Sunni and Shi'ite. A'isha and Ali are great, strong characters and we get a detailed picture of their mental landscape, both intellectual and emotional as they work their way toward the climax. Some of this landscape, of course, is the product of informed creativity as is all historical fiction. Historical fiction may not always pass muster as textbooks in a college graduate course in history, but for the vast bulk of readers who are not minutely informed about the events in this book, it gives us an accurate picture of Who, What, When, and a very plausible explanation of Why. And, it does so in an exciting and deeply engaging story with characters equally engaging.

First I'd like to say that I agree almost completely with the Publisher's Weekly review. Had I been reviewing this book for them, I also would have given it a star because it succeeds so well as a novel.
As you can tell by one of the reviews here, Jones' books have been controversial for reasons other than their success telling a compelling story. (Full disclosure. I do know Jones and I admire her as a person for a lot of reasons, not the least of which the way she has handled the controversy over "Jewel of Medina." I respect her way too much to say anything in a review of her work that I don't mean.) There's no doubt that Jones succeeds with this book as a novel.
She has a talent for the telling detail, whether it's landscape or character. There are no sterotypes here -- no straw man bad guys. The characters, even the less admirable ones, are well drawn as people.
The narrator alternates between Ali and A'isha, and I was struck at how well she distinguished between their inner voices without relying on any gimmickry.
And she pulled off the ending in a way that subtley and movingly transcends the Ali-A'isha (Shia-Sunni)schism, the shared desire of the story's two main competing characters. .
The history of Islam isn't exactly without controversy. You could argue forever about who Ali and A'isha -- and for that matter, Muhammed -- really are, I suppose.
But it you'd rather read a compelling story with well drawn and imagined characters and a page-turning plot that introduces people and events little known in the West -- but enormously important in the Muslim world -- you can't go wrong with this book.

there really are too many characters, and this book spans many years without telling you when you suddenly have gone forward another decade. also they added ali (mohammeds cousin) as a character, so there is the added confusion of who am i reading as, aisha, or ali? there were alot of characters in the first (jewel of medina) however i felt like i got to know them all, in this one, they seemed to be just bystanders. aside from ali, you dont see too many return appearances from the first book, especially the sister-wives, who were a big part of the first, make few appearances. anyways, i would still recommend reading this if you have read the first one, because it does settle alot of things from the first. i would actually love another sequel, as there is much more to aisha's life (book ended at her about age 45), and the history of islam.

Picking up where her first book, The Jewel of Medina, left off, Sherry Jones invites us back into the life of A'isha bint Abi Bakar, the prophet Muhammad's favorite wife and child bride. Following Muhammad's death from the Medina fever, his followers are left bereft. When A'isha's father Abu Bakar steps into the role of Khalifa (spiritual leader of the Muslims), things are far from peaceful because various factions are not satisfied with this solution. Unhappiness and rumors rage throughout the camp, leaving A'isha caught in the middle. The unrest grows when tragedy befalls her father, for there are many wishing to replace him. One of the hopefuls is A'isha's hated nemesis, Ali, who was once a close companion to Muhammad. A'isha will do almost anything to keep the position out of Ali's hands, though she soon comes to find that the others jockeying for position are no more palatable. As various men try their hands at being Khalifa, rage erupts in the camp and it is up to A'isha and Ali to prevent their struggling religion from being destroyed by war, greed, and nepotism. Both intricate and timely, The Sword of Medina painstakingly exposes this most pressing and engulfing time in history.

Just over a year ago, I had the distinct pleasure of reviewing Sherry Jones provocative and thoughtful historical novel, The Jewel of Medina. Though I mostly enjoyed the book, I harbored questions as to the legitimacy of the prophet Muhammad's intense love of women. Sherry, eager to share her collected information regarding this subject, wrote me a beautiful post addressing my question and helped me to more fully understand Muhammad's interest in the fairer sex. I was both surprised and honored to hear from her again a few months ago when she asked me if I would like the opportunity to read and review her next work in the series, The Sword of Medina. I accepted eagerly because I was very interested in finding out what had transpired with A'isha after Muhammad's unexpected death, and I was pleased to become enmeshed in the continuing saga of A'isha Bint Bakar.

First of all, I felt that Sherry did a magnificent job of highlighting the political and religious turmoil that raged throughout Muhammad's encampment after his death. There were a lot of very unhappy people plotting and scheming during that time, and the author did a great job of canvasing the many groups who had their own ideas about the future of Islam. The tension that she created throughout these sections was palpable and it was clear to me why A'isha was so troubled by the direction that Muhammad's legacy had taken. A lot of A'isha's time and energy went towards smoothing the ruffled feathers of the people and trying to stay one step ahead of the roiling mass of unhappiness that was spreading over the camp. I felt that A'isha was torn between the desire to keep her people happy and her overwhelming urge to prevent Muhammad's wishes for his people to be tainted.

I also thought that the relationship between A'isha and Ali was written with precision and believability. Ali harbored much anger and resentment towards A'isha, just as she did for him, but there were moments when the ideals and beliefs of the two were very similar, which highlighted the contradiction between their feelings and their beliefs. Towards the conclusion of the book, A'isha's eyes are opened in regards to Ali and she is able to see that his wishes are not so alien from her own, a fact that does much to quell her fear for the uncertain path of Islam. I liked the scenes between these two characters because I felt that both characters were able to admire each other privately while still being headstrong and clashing every time they interacted, which gave a profound depth to their relationship.

In the first book, much of the action centered around Muhammad's wives and their struggles amongst themselves for peace. This book was much more focused on the path that Islam took after the death of its founder. There was much political intrigue in this second book, which I appreciated because it gave me a frame of reference and an insider's peek into the problems that plagued a religion without a strong leader. There were some very developed battle scenes in the book as well, which served to highlight the Muslim's quest for acceptance and honor among tribes of non-believers. The crux of the battle towards the conclusion of the book sharply delineated the power struggle between A'isha and Ali, and was, I felt, a very moving conflict between the two.

The only small quibble I had with the book was the abundance of characters that jostled for space among the story. There was a very large cast of characters, which I felt was a little overwhelming at times, but I really don't see how any of the players could have been excised from the story without creating a gaping hole in the narrative. At times it was a little confusing to keep all the players straight, but as I became more in tune with the story, it got a bit easier for me to sort things out.

This was a very satisfying conclusion to the story that I had read a year ago and I think Sherry created a very precise and detailed story that many readers have had little exposure to. If you enjoyed The Jewel of Medina I think that that this book would make a great read for you, though I might not advise picking up this tale without having read the first. I enjoyed this second book greatly and think that for those curious about the rise and spread of Islam, these books would make enlightening reading.

Sherry Jones has succeeded again to capture the sensory nuances of the time, educate us about a critical turning point in history without it feeling pedantic, and deliver a gripping, page-turning tale. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Sword of Medina, as well as The Jewel of Medina, and having some background in poetry written around that same time period, I really appreciated the authenticity of the language she uses, which has apparently been lost on some clueless reviewers. As a writer, I also want to congratulate and thank Ms. Jones on her courage and perseverance to continue to speak out about freedom of speech -- a task she never intended to have to take on.