When Fatima Shihabi, an Iraqi poet and journalist, learns she is marked for death by Saddam Hussein's secret police, she flees Iraq, evading Saddam's helicopters hunting her in the desert, only to discover that no other country will grant her asylum. Her flight from Saddam's vengeance, and the extraordinary efforts of Charles Sherman, a Wall Street lawyer, to save her life, is the subject of this gripping novel, inspired by a true story. How Fatima and Charles, bound by their common humanity, love for each other, and fate, ...
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When Fatima Shihabi, an Iraqi poet and journalist, learns she is marked for death by Saddam Hussein's secret police, she flees Iraq, evading Saddam's helicopters hunting her in the desert, only to discover that no other country will grant her asylum. Her flight from Saddam's vengeance, and the extraordinary efforts of Charles Sherman, a Wall Street lawyer, to save her life, is the subject of this gripping novel, inspired by a true story. How Fatima and Charles, bound by their common humanity, love for each other, and fate, manage to thwart Saddam and achieve redemption sends a powerful message to the post-9/11 world. Their story points the way toward eventual reconciliation and synthesis between Islam and the West.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
In his debut novel, A Thousand Veils, D.J. Murphy offers us an extraordinary fusion of sinuous literary vision interlaced with compelling dialogue as he relates the remarkable journey of Fatima Shihabi. This rare, intellectual woman of superior strength, sensitivity, and courage is a target for assassination by Saddam Hussein's vast sadistic forces. Compelled to write her poignant literary chronicles about the ordinary lives of the Iraqi people, she has dishonored her family and again has violated the rules of Saddam's regime.
As the rasping sand gusts around her, Fatima wraps her veil tightly around her face, her eyes watching those around her. Fatima's ominous premonition merges with her conviction that she is a true Bedouin, a child of the desert. Such passionate moments are fleeting for a Bedouin Muslim woman. Fatima's astute intuition rises from previous experience. Her past reward for seditious writing was torture and a prison sentence. She will not wait for the death sentence. Her only alternative is torture in itself, leave her young daughter with her brother, and escape from her beloved country.
Charles Sherman, a brilliant but morally challenged NYC attorney enters the foray at the request of a colleague. He is quick to find reasons for rejecting an ambiguous asssignment that involves facilitating the rescue and US asylum of an unknown Iraqi woman. Currently engrossed in a corporate coup, one that could propel him to the peak of monetary and public recognition, he is reluctant to exhaust his intellectual abilities, and time constraints for a pro bono obligation.
Why Charles finally acquiesces to this unusual request is initially a mystery. One the reader is encouraged to discover.
As a debut novel, the author has provided remarkable insight into the horrific and inhumane dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and his equally despicable sons. Based on a true story, one in which I believe the author was prominent, this reader was left with intense emotional feelings of respect for the ordinary Iraqi people who were subjected to a narcissistic regime with no regard for the daily hardships endured.
