Zora O'Neill

3.5 stars

I liked a lot about this book - for instance, the author is older (40) when she goes on her travels, and though she's mostly alone while traveling, she's married, so there aren't any sexual escapades which seem standard in so many other travel memoirs.

O'Neill accurately describes the highs and lows of language learning, including the fact that it's just plain exhausting, which is something so many people (non-language learners, mostly) don't understand. I also appreciated (and agreed with) her assertion that there's a certain advantage to learning a language as an adult - namely, because you're more confident in who you are and more willing to make a complete fool of yourself, which is a prerequisite for the speaking practice needed in language learning.

She goes into a lot of detail about the Arabic language/dialects, which was interesting at first but, since I've decided not to learn it myself, did seem like overkill and I definitely didn't get all the jokes, even with her explanation.

It was a bit on the long side. There were no chapter numbers, just headings, which is a big pet peeve of mine.

God's name was misused. The author also describes herself and others as "Christian" in the sense that they come from Christian-influenced, western nations (rather than holding Christian beliefs) which was rather confusing. I thought that could have been handled better.… (lisätietoja)

Loved this book. The author tells the story of her travels in 4 different areas of the Arab world in order to study Arabic and the dialects spoken in these regions. She had studied Arabic in college and was now wanting to learn more about this fascinating language. Her travels are interesting but also of interest is what she learns about the language and its grammar and usage in these various regions. She first goes to Egypt, then to Dubai, next to Lebanon and finally to Morocco. There is a lot of detail on the language, pronunciation, word use, etc. If you like to read about travels in the Middle East and/or are interested in the Arabic language, this is the book for you.… (lisätietoja)

In some ways this book seems to be about something it is not. It is about the linquistics of Arabic, about its history and cultural relevance and the way language and culture interact in ways that define and shape each other, and how this is not really clear in the formal study of a language as opposed to the more organic path to learning a language through spoken relationship. I'll happily admit that I enjoyed the author's exploration of the language itself, and did not find the sections of the book about language at all tedious. But then I still possess a kernel of that girl who wanted who applied for gradutate study in linquistics. That I didn't go is a good thing as I recognize that I am not really linquist nor scholar material, but O'Neill's joy in the language and its use is familiar, and I found the book fascinating even as I recognize that it would not appeal to everyone.

Of course, although the book is clearly about language, it explores far more than mere words. Zora O'Neill travelled to four countries to travel and study and explore spoken Arabic, not the formal scholarly Arabic she learned in grad school, and the book is filled with her story. It is about Zora herself, and her own journey, as much as it is about the language and the people she meets. It is a book filled with stories, filled with humanity, filled with insight. It is a book about listening, and about living and about the complex way language shapes our interactions and our connections and about the way our daily interactions shape our lives, and the people we become. Zora O'Neill uses language to show us a sense of daily life in parts of the Arab world, a world most of us know nothing about. Through language and communication she paints a portrait of people, people very much like ourselves, people who love, and dance, joke and sing, and sometimes struggle to get by. In the beginning of the book she reminds us that the portrait we see of the middle east, through headlines and the nightly news is not normal, that "the news is, by definition, the abnormal". And she reminds of this again near the end of the book, when she is in Morocco and is asked how it feels to be an American in the Muslim world during these terrible times. But she is not aware of the terrible things going on in the news, she is simply eating, drinking, talking and studying. She is simply living, and she takes us along on her journey. Although that journey has some fits and starts, and occasionally rambles, O'Neill is a gifted storyteller with a self-deprecating sense of humor, who in the end shows us that language, like our lives, has its inconsistencies, and humor, and that yes, all strangers are kin.… (lisätietoja)

An interesting memoir. I think it would make a great audiobook if a narrator could be found that could pronounce the Arabic words correctly. I enjoyed her stories about the language and her travels throughout the Middle East. She gets quite technical about the Arabic language. This would be especially interesting to someone more familiar with Arabic. I thought it was interesting, but could see how it might bog down some readers. I received a digital advanced readers copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.… (lisätietoja)