Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Jewel of Medina by, Sherry Jones~~Review


The Jewel of Medina by, Sherry Jones- (Got it through ILL from the State Library)
This was historical fiction telling the story of A'isha Bint Abi Bakr child bride of the Prophet Muhammad. It's set at the beginning of the of Islam, while it is a story of the beginnings of Islam it is more a story of A'ish and her life. It’s told in first person from A'isha's point of view, she was promised/engaged to Muhammad very young and married him when she was 9 years old. She was his third wife and after seeing her mother be a kind of slave to the head wife in her own home A'isha vows to be hatun or "Great Lady" and never be a slave to anyone.
A'isha is just a child when she marries Muhammad and has a quick tongue and a jealous streak that gets her in trouble alot, she can be rash and petty but she is also strong, independent and eventually very loyal to those she allows to love her.
I enjoyed this book I've read alot of historical fiction but never any set in this time and place so it was a new experience for me. It was interesting how Ms. Jones brings a humanity to Muhammad that maybe we non-Muslims didn't know about him like how he treated his wives he listened to their opinion and would never have beat them, which in that day and age no matter what religion was something different.
I will be reading the next book in this series to see what happens to everyone after the sadness at the end of this book.
I would say if you like historical fiction with a good love story try this book.
3 1/2 Stars

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for reviewing my book, Susie. I hope you enjoy "The Sword of Medina!"

    Sherry Jones, author
    http://authorsherryjones.com

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  2. Your welcome Sherry I found this book very interesting and look forward to reading the next chapter in A'isha's life.

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