I should preface my comments on this book by saying that I read the author's two previous books, both written some time ago, which were personal memoirs of her early and mid 20s living in Iran. Although born and educated in California to Iranian parents who were exiles from Khomeini's Iran, she has relatives in Tehran and speaks fluent Persian, and learned Arabic as an adult. In my perception, her viewpoint is totally Western, and her English writing is precise and quite lively (even verbally acrobatic at times). These qualities of her writing were apparent in her first two books as well.
I disagree with the reviewer who said that some of the writing is in the first person. Actually, the author keeps herself completely out of her accounts of the young women whose young adulthood she recounts, and only allows her own perspective to show in the Epilogue and Note for Readers at the very end of the book. That is why it is a serious error to think that in explaining the women's perspective, she is in any way endorsing or sympathizing with it -- the familiar dilemma of being empathetic without actually agreeing with what they say.
If the purpose of the book is to provide some understanding for a Western audience of how these "normal" young women could be seduced by ISIS propaganda, then I think it is completely successful in achieving this. That doesn't lead to policy recommendations for Western political leaders. She shows empathy with them as well, observing that no one can know whether women who went to Syria in support of ISIS actually participated in atrocities or simply "peeled potatoes for ISIS". Presumably this applies to the very women whom she profiles, although one would like to believe that these seemingly nice people with very human problems would have done anything repellent, even though she quotes some of them as approving (for instance) of the Paris attacks and suggesting that similar attacks in the future would be justified.
If the book is unsatisfying in these respects, it is because the problem which it describes has no tidy solution.
I do agree with the observation that the use of so many characters, with chapters jumping from one to the other, is difficult to follow unless one reads the entire book at one or two sittings. I was unable to do that, so I found that I had to re-read chapters to remind myself who the particular woman was and what her issues were before reading the next part of her saga. In one case, the author seemed to leave a woman hanging on the precipice -- the "Lina" character is last seen being dropped by a dishonest smuggler at the edge of Kurdish-controlled territory rather than at the Turkish border where she wanted to be, and trembling at what the Kurds may have in store for her. We never hear any more about Lina, although we do hear at the end that the Kurds are trying to live up to "international standards" and are treating refugees better than the refugees themselves expected. We can only surmise that Lina encountered this humane treatment, and that is why the author was able to talk to her.
If you want to understand the appeal of ISIS at a human level, especially to young women, I can't imagine a better book than this.

Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS
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©2019 Azadeh Moaveni (P)2019 Random House Audio
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Product details
Listening Length | 13 hours and 57 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Azadeh Moaveni |
Narrator | Sarah Agha |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | September 10, 2019 |
Publisher | Random House Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B07RK4YTNH |
Best Sellers Rank |
#24,655 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#13 in Middle East Politics & Government #109 in Radical Political Thought #114 in Middle Eastern Politics |
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Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2019
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7 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020
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I wanted to know more about the Women of Isis, b/c I only read sporadic reports in the paper or on TV. I learned so much about not only these women (and their families), but also about the war torn countries they live in. As the author explains,' living with constant conflict and repression gives space for extremism to thrive.' The author gives us a historical context. She also helps us remember the heart and soul of teenage girls everywhere. Most of the ISIS women are teenage girls. I plan to present this at my monthly book club. Highly recommend.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2019
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A really intelligent book that illustrated the cultural, social, and personal circumstances that led some women and girls to join ISIS. Throughout the book the author carefully points out that there is no one reason these women and girls took the paths they did. Several of them were from poor dysfunctional backgrounds, but not all. Most found their devotion to their religion to be a way to counter the lack of opportunities their societies and cultures afforded them but some overlooked opportunities available to them. Some fervently believed the promise of a new social order based on Islamic principals that ISIS was promising but some were simply caught in circumstances where the choices were few and equally bad.
In tandem with the stories of these women and girls the author tells the story of the takeover of northern Syria by ISIS.
Since several of the women in this book are British the author examines the counterproductive measures the British government, aided by the British press, has taken- measures that oversimplify the problems, demonize Muslims, and intrude into the daily lives of the British citizens who belong to minority groups.
I bought this book partly because I wanted to hear the voices of the women in this, voices that are usually missing. Unfortunately the end of the book shows how these voices will not be heard. The speed with which the British press began treating the missing Bethnal Green teenagers as women making fully informed choices is noted. The interviews with women in the camps are illustrative. We have no way of knowing if the women are being honest just as they have no way of knowing if they can speak freely to the interviewer. Their countries of origin don’t want them back and other women in the camps don’t like or trust them. Whatever they thought would happen when they began their journeys, they likely never imagined the hell in which they now find themselves.
In tandem with the stories of these women and girls the author tells the story of the takeover of northern Syria by ISIS.
Since several of the women in this book are British the author examines the counterproductive measures the British government, aided by the British press, has taken- measures that oversimplify the problems, demonize Muslims, and intrude into the daily lives of the British citizens who belong to minority groups.
I bought this book partly because I wanted to hear the voices of the women in this, voices that are usually missing. Unfortunately the end of the book shows how these voices will not be heard. The speed with which the British press began treating the missing Bethnal Green teenagers as women making fully informed choices is noted. The interviews with women in the camps are illustrative. We have no way of knowing if the women are being honest just as they have no way of knowing if they can speak freely to the interviewer. Their countries of origin don’t want them back and other women in the camps don’t like or trust them. Whatever they thought would happen when they began their journeys, they likely never imagined the hell in which they now find themselves.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2020
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Very important and accurate novel that accounts the history of extremism and ISIS in the Middle East and explores the stories behind the young women who travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State. Essential reading to understand the vulnerability of young people in marginalized communities, the root of extremism, and the deeper conflicts in place.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020
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Slow read, and lost interest
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Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2020
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This was an eye opening read. I never thought of the ages of the women who left for Syria, it's tragic to know they were so young and naive.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2019
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And now that trump has with the president of Turkey chosen to overthrow the Kurds the epilogue with this update would give her a good reason to expand and tell the story about how Turkey is allowing ISIS to rise into power again.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2019
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Love how it sheds light on a group of women we simultaneously know so much and so little about. Also enjoy that it lodges the stories of these women in historical/political/social context. Nothing happens in a vacuum and the author guides us through the Syria of the 2010s terrifically.
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J F G Shearmur
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very important but also very annoying book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2019Verified Purchase
This is an important, moving, but also annoying book. The author has interviewed a number of young women who left their various backgrounds – in Europe and North Africa – to join ISIS. Their stories are moving, and one can see how, for a range of different reasons, they were led to make the choices that they did, through a combination of religious idealism, reaction against the bad treatment of Muslims, and, above all, the difficult problems that they faced when tackling issues posed by social change and in some cases the strains of immigration by their families to Western countries from conservative agricultural backgrounds.
ISIS did terrible things: it is striking from the author’s accounts how the regime combined the enforcement of petty rules disciplining aspects of women’s lives, with the callous disregard of major religious rules which they were themselves teaching. What is said, here, about the appeal of ISIS to these women also matches the analysis of the appeal of a lot of their internet material by The Quilliam Foundation (now ‘Quilliam’), which stressed its predominantly idealistic character. It is also clear that, when they found that things were very different on their arrival, they were not in a position to do anything.
The author is, it seemed to me, right in her discussion of the complexity of the issues with which she is dealing, and in the complexity of the problems that these young women faced, and in her criticism of heavy-handed approaches to the these issues by some Western governments. But, at the same time, her own ideas seemed pollyannaish, and to under-rate the difficulty of dealing with the kinds of situation that these young women faced, and of the problems of making a transition (should people wish to do so) to forms of Islamic orthodoxy which would provide a range of modes of successful citizenship in the settings in which they are living. Not only would this involve inventing new ways of behaving (and tackling some difficult intellectual problems, to boot). But it would involve doing so against the difficult setting of lives in which young people make heavy use of social media.
What the author has to say about the lives of these young people is fascinating, and is told with empathy. At the same time, she splits the story up into fragments which makes its continuity difficult to follow. She shows signs of not knowing much about the background about which she writes ((e.g. confusing Salafi Islam and Wahabi ideas in Saudi Arabia). And while she identifies problems about Western attitudes, her own positive views about issues seemed to me naive to the point of provoking the ‘annoying’ with which I started these comments.
All told, this book should be read by anyone who is concerned about the aftermath of ISIS. All those from Western countries should be brought home and – when they have done anything wrong (but where what was done includes actions of almost unparalleled evil: the execution of Alan Henning being a case in point) – to face legal sanction in their own countries. It should also be read by those concerned, as we should be, with the consequences of Western imperialism and subsequent interventions in countries in the Middle East, and with the difficult problems posed by large-scale immigration into Western countries.
ISIS did terrible things: it is striking from the author’s accounts how the regime combined the enforcement of petty rules disciplining aspects of women’s lives, with the callous disregard of major religious rules which they were themselves teaching. What is said, here, about the appeal of ISIS to these women also matches the analysis of the appeal of a lot of their internet material by The Quilliam Foundation (now ‘Quilliam’), which stressed its predominantly idealistic character. It is also clear that, when they found that things were very different on their arrival, they were not in a position to do anything.
The author is, it seemed to me, right in her discussion of the complexity of the issues with which she is dealing, and in the complexity of the problems that these young women faced, and in her criticism of heavy-handed approaches to the these issues by some Western governments. But, at the same time, her own ideas seemed pollyannaish, and to under-rate the difficulty of dealing with the kinds of situation that these young women faced, and of the problems of making a transition (should people wish to do so) to forms of Islamic orthodoxy which would provide a range of modes of successful citizenship in the settings in which they are living. Not only would this involve inventing new ways of behaving (and tackling some difficult intellectual problems, to boot). But it would involve doing so against the difficult setting of lives in which young people make heavy use of social media.
What the author has to say about the lives of these young people is fascinating, and is told with empathy. At the same time, she splits the story up into fragments which makes its continuity difficult to follow. She shows signs of not knowing much about the background about which she writes ((e.g. confusing Salafi Islam and Wahabi ideas in Saudi Arabia). And while she identifies problems about Western attitudes, her own positive views about issues seemed to me naive to the point of provoking the ‘annoying’ with which I started these comments.
All told, this book should be read by anyone who is concerned about the aftermath of ISIS. All those from Western countries should be brought home and – when they have done anything wrong (but where what was done includes actions of almost unparalleled evil: the execution of Alan Henning being a case in point) – to face legal sanction in their own countries. It should also be read by those concerned, as we should be, with the consequences of Western imperialism and subsequent interventions in countries in the Middle East, and with the difficult problems posed by large-scale immigration into Western countries.
17 people found this helpful
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AK47
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disjointed and not properly thought through
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2020Verified Purchase
I was interested in the subject matter of this book, namely the motivations and stories of women who chose to joing ISIS. It is, however, very difficult to read because rather than dealing with one individual account at a time, it jumps between them. This might be OK if there are only two or three women, but there are many more than that and it becomes very hard to follow. Additionally there are side stories of other people who have become entangled with ISIS for a range of reasons.
In addition the book contains long sections of academic analysis and opinion which make it even harder to follow what was supposed to be the central theme of the book, the stories of the women who joined ISIS. Because of this, the writing style changes; at times it is very academic and a few pages later we are reading a physical description of a young girl's eyebrows. This makes the book irritating and I admit I only scanned the last couple of chapters.
I felt a bit conned by this book, it does not really deal with the young women and their tragic stories, but is a historical and at times highly opinionated account of the development and demise of ISIS, smattered with disjointed accounts of some women who joined. I think it's a shame, the women should have their stories told, but I'm afraid this does not do it.
In addition the book contains long sections of academic analysis and opinion which make it even harder to follow what was supposed to be the central theme of the book, the stories of the women who joined ISIS. Because of this, the writing style changes; at times it is very academic and a few pages later we are reading a physical description of a young girl's eyebrows. This makes the book irritating and I admit I only scanned the last couple of chapters.
I felt a bit conned by this book, it does not really deal with the young women and their tragic stories, but is a historical and at times highly opinionated account of the development and demise of ISIS, smattered with disjointed accounts of some women who joined. I think it's a shame, the women should have their stories told, but I'm afraid this does not do it.
One person found this helpful
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Trotwood
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not a true picture
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2020Verified Purchase
The author admits that she found it impossible to interview women who were hard line ISIS adherents.
One should also bear in mind that those she did interview had a goal: to present an image of themselves which would favour their repatriation.
So her research cannot pretend to tell us what the real attitudes of these women or what their functions were in The Islamic State. One is left to guess at some of it by one slip when one woman said she was not fazed by the sight of a severed head, though the author seems to believe that it is unjust to her to attach importance to this.
So I consider these work to be at worst deceptive and at best a whitewash, though the inhumanity of some of the women and the double standards applied by the author emerges between the lines.
One should also bear in mind that those she did interview had a goal: to present an image of themselves which would favour their repatriation.
So her research cannot pretend to tell us what the real attitudes of these women or what their functions were in The Islamic State. One is left to guess at some of it by one slip when one woman said she was not fazed by the sight of a severed head, though the author seems to believe that it is unjust to her to attach importance to this.
So I consider these work to be at worst deceptive and at best a whitewash, though the inhumanity of some of the women and the double standards applied by the author emerges between the lines.
One person found this helpful
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sagada77
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really interesting to read .
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2020Verified Purchase
I found it fascinating, sometimes shocking, but understandable in many ways the variety of reasons that women and girls from so many different countries and backgrounds would find their way into joining ISIS. I have always felt that Shemima begum should have been brought back to the UK, to trial and punishment yes, but to the country and family to whom she belonged. How many young people make decisions they later regret? Thank you for this book which opens our eyes to the mistakes we are still making in the way we deal with those who don't fit in the social system we inhabit.

Mr P A Bacon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2020Verified Purchase
Very informative religion problems
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