Helpful Score: 1
I have to admit....I was really not expecting to like this book. The style is so different from anything else I normally read, and I just prepared myself to get through it and somehow, find something to like about it. Well, I learned something along the way, and that is simply to not set expectations until I've given something a chance. Boy, am I glad I gave Mohamed's Moon a chance! This book was just impossible to put this book down! It had such a fast pace that literally left me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, wham! I'm thrown for a loop, and have to set myself right...over and over again.
Also, it's pretty unusual to have the topic of Islam in a Christian fiction book. I don't think I've ever come across it until now, and I managed to get a little bit of an education in the process. I was not expecting to see passages from the Quran scattered throughout the book, but it really made a difference in the overall tone of the book. If the author had written, "Mohamed remembered a verse from the Quran," but didn't list said verse, it wouldn't have added anything to the book. Instead, he did interject passages from the Quran, and it put a whole different spin on things. I could now see reasons why Mohamed felt about Islam the way he did.
It also made the internal conflict that Mohamed was experiencing so much more believable. Once Mohamed meets his brother, they challenge each other to read the other person's holy book. I didn't doubt that Matthew, Mohamed's brother, would hold true to his Christian upbringing. Mohamed, on the other hand, felt that he had a little more to prove. Not only is he trying to prove to Matthew that Allah is the supreme god, but he's also got to find a way to convince Layla, Matthew's girlfriend and a Christian, that she has strayed. So, he keeps his promise, buys a Bible, and sets out on his course to convert these two "infidels" (all non-Muslims). However, I think he got a little more than he bargained for. :o)
I can say without a doubt that I'm very impressed with Keith Clemons as an author. Choosing such an explosive theme of the coexistance of Christians and Muslims couldn't have been easy, but it's definitely relevant to present times. I certainly hope he's got a sequel in the works, or if not that, something else that follows this same topic. I'll definitely be reading more about it in the future.
Also, it's pretty unusual to have the topic of Islam in a Christian fiction book. I don't think I've ever come across it until now, and I managed to get a little bit of an education in the process. I was not expecting to see passages from the Quran scattered throughout the book, but it really made a difference in the overall tone of the book. If the author had written, "Mohamed remembered a verse from the Quran," but didn't list said verse, it wouldn't have added anything to the book. Instead, he did interject passages from the Quran, and it put a whole different spin on things. I could now see reasons why Mohamed felt about Islam the way he did.
It also made the internal conflict that Mohamed was experiencing so much more believable. Once Mohamed meets his brother, they challenge each other to read the other person's holy book. I didn't doubt that Matthew, Mohamed's brother, would hold true to his Christian upbringing. Mohamed, on the other hand, felt that he had a little more to prove. Not only is he trying to prove to Matthew that Allah is the supreme god, but he's also got to find a way to convince Layla, Matthew's girlfriend and a Christian, that she has strayed. So, he keeps his promise, buys a Bible, and sets out on his course to convert these two "infidels" (all non-Muslims). However, I think he got a little more than he bargained for. :o)
I can say without a doubt that I'm very impressed with Keith Clemons as an author. Choosing such an explosive theme of the coexistance of Christians and Muslims couldn't have been easy, but it's definitely relevant to present times. I certainly hope he's got a sequel in the works, or if not that, something else that follows this same topic. I'll definitely be reading more about it in the future.
