Lenka S. reviewed on 12/10/2024 + 832 more book reviews

It is true that his story was exposed as a hoax a few years ago. Apparently Norma Khouri visited Jordan as a child, and subsequently made up almost this entire tale, characters and all. There never was no Dalia. All the characters were just made up.

When contacted about the story by an American reporter who wanted to do a piece on honor killings, Khouri became evasive, and the reporter eventually uncovered the extent of the deception. Faced with discovery, Khouri cut off contact with the reporter and moved to a different state to save some anonymity.

This is not to say that honor killings don't happen. And the story is wonderfully told with feeling and understanding of inner workings of the system. But this book, which was presentd as a true story of that horrible practice, is basically made up love story glued together from many stories a melodrama that is a letdown considering the underlying circumstances. Which explain the book ending and the lacy of detail.

In the end, it's hard to tell if it Khouri simply wanted to make money by shocking readers in the West. Readers who wouldn't be familiar enough with modern Jordanian culture. Or if her motives were truly about campaigning to help women in Jordan.

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