Woman at Point Zero (Paperback)

~ Nawal El Saadawi (Author), Sherif Hetata (Translator)
Key Phrases: first piastre, secondary school certificate, ten pound note, Sheikh Mahmoud, Miss Igbal

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A dramatic symbolised version of female revolt.' - Guardian

Product Description

"All the men I did get to know, every single man of them, has filled me with but one desire: to lift my hand and bring it smashing down on his face. But because I am a woman I have never had the courage to lift my hand. And because I am a prostitute, I hid my fear under layers of make-up." --Excerpt

 

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (September 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0862321107
• ISBN-13: 978-0862321109
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #224,389 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #88 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Middle Eastern

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book for all women, January 10, 2002

By	LoriH "Lori" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

I disagree with other reviewers who write that this book is an eye-opener to the terrible lives of Muslim women, or oppressed women in other places. This is absolutely true--it does give the reader a glimpse into the limited and terrifying lives of some Egyptian women; however, the book is much broader in scope than this aspect. This is a book for all women everywhere.

The specifics of the story involve an Egyptian woman who works as a prostitute, who kills a pimp and is executed. However, if you read this book and come away feeling that you are so lucky, or that the lives of "those" women over "there" are really oppressed, you have missed the bigger picture. Although the specifics mentioned above are true, the point of the story is much larger. This short novel is gut-wrenching at the superficial level, and life-wrenching if you read it more deeply. With spare prose and powerful imagery, it forces you to think about yourself and what you are doing with your life. It forces you to question for what you are selling your life. Although the main character is a tragic one, her journey and her intelligence teach her the meaning of freedom. This is one of the most profoundly existential books I've ever read.

This is not an easy read. It is not luxurious, or beautiful. It packs a punch, like a practiced boxer with a powerful left hook. A new friend recommended it to me and offered to lend me her copy. I agreed to borrow it and she ran to her bag and pulled it out--turns out she always carries it with her as an inspiration, although it's probably not the kind of inspiration you're thinking. Read this book. Challenge yourself. I'm ordering my own copy right now and will always have it with me, ready to lend to new friends or old friends.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little book, Incredible Message!, December 15, 2003

By	Alpha (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews

Woman at Point Zero is a thin little book, yet its message for the audience is incredible. From an interview with Firdaus, a prisoner who was charged with murdering a pimp, we can see the Egyptian women¡¦s lives and how they manage to survive in a male dominant society. Firdaus is executed in the evening on the same day of interview.

I think the book¡¦s name reveals the emotional situation of Firdaus as a woman who withdraws from human beings. She simply has neither love and hate nor fear and her heart is empty. In other words, there is no positive and negative, she is at point zero. Firdaus is different from other prisoners; she neither shows a great response to the execution nor tries to appeal for clemency. She was sitting in the prison quietly and waiting for the time to come.

It is understandable. In Fridaus¡¦ experience, frustrations and disappointments happened again and again as if a cycle of her life. As a child Firdaus was sexually abused by her uncle and a boy. Since sex is a forbidden topic in the society, she did not know what was going on. Growing up as a submissive girl, she was coerced into an arranged marriage with an old man, and life gets worse from that point. Firdaus experienced sexual and physical abuse from different men and eventually become a prostitute. As a prostitute, the novel shows us, her life is better. Even though prostituting is not a respectable job, Firdaus earned freedom and a degree of respect from it. She learnt about the price of her body.

In all parts of the world, there are a lot of women who are doing the same thing in order to survive in the world or in the work place. At the end of the story, --well, you¡¦ll just have to read it yourself to find out what happens. We may think terrible misogynist things will only happen somewhere far away from us. I recommend this book because if we think again, we see the disrespectful attitudes and immoral trade everywhere around us. Immoral trades are waiting for women who are not able to realize the existence of the traps in our societies. As a result, we too may pay ¡¥the highest price for things of the lowest value¡¦ (p.76).

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very pleasing read, May 7, 1999

By	[e-mail] "ngandhi" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This novel is a very fast read. I'm an average paced reader but got through this novella (about 105 pages) in about two hours which is hellishly fast.

The main story is framed between two smaller sections. Part one is only about 8 pages and the writing style within it is poor as is part three but this is purposefully done because it is from the point of view of a psychologist.

The meat of the story is heart-wrenching and ends in bittersweet triumphance. It's a gripping tale of a woman's search for freedom from the restrictions of her Egyptian/Arabic society. My only complaint is that the writing style isn't as great as I would have liked it to be but I have suspicion that this is the fault of the translator. It is certainly a page-turner that must be read in its entirity before a comment can be made. It gets better with each page. The storyline is excellent and it is very well constructed.

It questions male dominance in Arabic society while taking you on a saddening ride with Firdaus, the prostitue. We see the effects of the dominant men in her life including her uncle and father and how this leads to her desiring to be a prostitute. Perplexingly enough we see that she prefers the street-life.

Describing a woman looking for control and security, finally grasping it by commiting the ultimate sin which she finds to be no crime at all, Saadawi captures a disturbing picture of Egyptian society.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a good, quick, passionate read. One cannot help to sympathize with Firdaus and that's what makes this story so very sentimental.

Read it in its entirity, try to in one sitting if possible, it will truly make your day and leave a lasting impression in your mind, in your heart, and in your soul.