The Jewel of Medina: A Novel

Like some other reviewers, I wanted to like this book, and I want to be kind to Sherry Jones, but I had to threw in the towel around 100 pages in. This was around where Aisha, a 12 yr old girl, gets into a sword fight in the Medina market. We know child brides existed in 7th century Arabia---they exist in 21st century Arabia---and I can easily believe a feisty spirit, but swinging a sword to effect requires the kind of physical strength you do not find in most modern adult men. And, sword fighting requires the kind of skill that comes only from a life-time of training and fighting. The fight scene was simply preposterous.Furthermore, Aisha was not just another 12 yr old girl as we might think of 12 yr old girls, she had been in "purdah" for 6 yrs. That is, she had been locked in, in the traditional manner. Who is seriously training 6 yr old girls to fight with the sword, and where is she developing her strength and skill? Which brings up another point: "purdah" is not an Arabic word. As other reviewers have pointed out (not necessarily on the Amazon site), in telling the story of Aisha, Sherry Jones uses words and ideas that range very far, in time and space, from 7th Century Arabia.In other words, "Jewel of Medina" disappoints twice. Good historical fiction can give wonderful insight into a world far removed from the reader's own life. "Jewel" does not do that, and the writing, I am sorry to say, is slow and wooden. In other words, you are worse off for having read "Jewel". First, it is not a pleasure to read. Second, if you knew nothing about 7th century Arabia, you know less than nothing for having reading "Jewel" because you now have false ideas about 7th century Arabia.As for the figure of Muhammad...let's just say there are shelves filled with books that tell what is wrong with the description of the man in "Jewel".

I didn't choose this book because of the scandal that surrounded it, although I think Random House is full of cowards to refuse to publish ANY book just because someone complains. But the book just wasn't that big of a deal. The writing was so-so, the research thorough if not particularly useful - A'isha is as much a legend as the Prophet is, and I don't mean that in a good way - but the story failed to ignite. And that sex-scene everyone protested isn't even in the book. No sex is described. So I don't know what the complaints about that were from.Overall, the book was typical of fiction these days: all fluff, no substance. She's about as talented as every other dime-novelist pushing stuff out by the barrel these days. She does do a good job of imagining A'isha's frustration at being locked down just because she's a woman; and if that's what everyone was protesting, well, reality bites back occasionally. But overall, the book is most certainly NOT worth the excitement it engendered prior to its publishing. Why did anyone waste the time?

This story was very well written and held the reader's attention for the duration. The plot kept you guessing what would happen next and there was a perfect mix of action, love, and emotion to hook the reader. I would recommend reading!

This was an interesting account of the wives of Mohammed. Apparently it was based on true events for the most part. The one wife was only a very young girl when she married Mohammed. The author, at the end of the story, gives a brief account of her research. There is a section on translation of the Arabic words at the end of the book. Be sure to check those when reading the story.

Sherry Jones' novel The Jewel of Medina tells the story of the prophet Mohammad and his child bride A'isha. A'isha was the daughter of Abu Bakr, an early follower of the prophet. He offered the forty-nine year old widower Mohammad his six year old daughter to strengthen their bond of friendship and devotion. The wedding ceremony took place when A'isha was nine, but the marriage would not be consumated until after menarche.Jones portrays A'isha as a high spirited and willful child who feels stifled by the restrictions that her community has placed on women. She longs for the priviledges of men. She longs to be free to go where she will and do what she likes. Mohammad encourages her to learn to wield a sword. A'isha would like nothing better than to wield it in battle against the enemies of Islam.A'isha, although devoted to Mohammad and to Islam is insecure and jealous to the wives that, one by one, come into the harem as Mohammad seeks to make alliances with various potential allies. Her plots and schemes create discord and havoc and, at times turn Mohammad against her. She also faces the wrath and determined opposition of Muhammad's military chief Umar, a tyrant when it comes to women, and of Mohammad's daughter Fatima and her husband Ali. It is on the advice of Umar that Mohammad decrees that women in his household be hidden behind a curtain and not allowed to be seen by men."You in the now, they cover with shrouds or with lies about being inferior. We, in the past, they erase from their stories of Mohammad, or alter with false tales that burn our ears and the backs of our eyes. Where you are, mothers chastise their daughters with a single name. 'you A'isha!' they cry and the girls turn away in shame. . . .The girls turn away because they don't know the truth: That Mohammad wanted to give us freedom, but that the other men took it away. That none of us is ever alive until we can shape our own destinies. Until we can choose."Jones' Mohammad is a sympathetic and very human character. He himself, does not pretend to be a divinity, but his devotion to Allah is total and all-consuming, and everything he says and does is with the intention of spreading the word of Allah.In writing this book Jones hopes that her readers "will be entertained and uplifted,. . . .and empathetic to this other culture that we in the West know so little about, but that we tend to demonize because we are at war in the Middle East. Muslim, Christian, Jew, athiest, Buddhist-we are all human beings with needs, desire and fears, all 'created from the same soul.' The sooner we as a species can embrace the concept of unity the closer we will be to achieving paradise right here on Earth. Because Paradise means living continually in the presence of God, and as the Bible says, 'God is love.'"These are noble sentiments, but it seems to me that our religions tend to divide us and stand in the way of this unity. There are no easy answers.

I have a lot what i didn’t know before reading this book. Very elaborate story written which gave me immense pleasure.

This was a well written book that showed the life of women in another time and place. It also shows how we, men and women,can control our response to what has been dealt to us.

I bought this book as I was told some people tried to ban its publicationI cant see why ...

I had no idea what Mohammed was about or any of his history and, even though, Ms. Jones may give me one that may not be complementary, it is a start. The story is told from the perspective of Mohammed's third wife, A'isha, the warrior bride. We learn of A'isha's aspirations as a child, her betrothal to Mohammed at the age of nine and her subsequent imprisonment to the confines of her parents home only to be replaced by the confines of the harem upon her marriage to the Prophet at the age of 12. Ms. Jones details her life until the age of 19 and the great man;s death. Mohammed marries no fewer than 10 additional wives after A'aisha. Her energies are monopolized by the politics of the harem and the competition for Mohammed's affections. Except for the food and nursing she provides the "tent people," she has no existence separate from her husband. It's an eye-opener. Until Mohammed, Moslem men were restricted to four wives. After meeting his fifth wife, he has a revelation and, low and behold, the restriction is lifted. Likewise, when he has trouble with A'isha and the others leaving the confines of their harem. He has a revelation that his wives must be separated by the walls of a tent. After much complaining, his edict is changed so that his wives need only be separated from the rest of the population by the barrier of cloth provided by the hajib. Mohammed was a warrior and a politician and we are given insights into these battles and intrigues through the eyes of A'isha. It's a great read. I look forward to Ms. Jones' next book for the history of the split of Islam into two sect, the Sunni and Shiite.

I bought this book for the same reason as I bought the first edition ofRushdie's Satanic Verses. Attempts to murder Rushdie seemed to me to bean attempt to kill off the right to freedom of speech. Settingfire to the home/office of the London publisher who decided to publishthe Jewel of Medina is in a similar category. Buying the booksis the best way of preserving the freedom.Satanic Verses as a work of literature took some readingand in the end I couldn't see what all the fuss was about.At first glance The Jewel of Medina seems far more light weighta novel. Not something which God is likely to be too botheredby, any more than he is by say "Father Ted" or the "Life of Brian".I shall try to read it and may be post again but buying the bookis the best response to those who under the guise of religion,seek to bully, using threats of violence and even death.