Emma @ Words and Peace and Annabookbel are hosting this year's summer read.

Ali ibn Abu Taleb, husband of Muhammad's daughter Fatima

and founder of the Shiite sect of Islam

This is the first quote in Nine Parts of Desire - The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks. Geraldine Brooks (born 1955) is an Australian-American journalist and award-winning novelist. She began her career as a reporter, working for The Sydney Morning Herald and later as a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, covering conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. She has written several acclaimed nonfiction and fiction books. She won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for March. Her acclaimed novels, including Year of Wonders, People of the Book, and Horse, are known for weaving rich historical research with powerful storytelling. Sounds wonderful and I have to check out her novels. But, as a start, a very interesting nonfiction.

I have heard so many good things about Geraldine Brooks’s books, but until now I had never read one. Nine Parts of Desire has actually been sitting on my shelves since it first came out in the mid-1990s. Having lived in the Middle East myself, I found this book particularly interesting, but I think it will also speak to any woman curious about the lives of Muslim women.

Brooks’s writing is excellent. Her prose flows across the pages with the ease of a novel, although her journalistic treats shine through. As a reporter, she is skilled with words, but also with perspectives: she weaves together history, the development of Islam and its impact on women, and vivid portrayals of women’s lives in different Middle Eastern countries. One of the strengths of the book is how she captures the diversity of experiences—women’s lives can differ a lot from one country to another. Brooks manages to remain fair and nuanced, presenting voices both from within these societies and from the outside.

Of course, it is important to remember that the book was published in 1995, and much has happened in the region since then. Yet, even with that in mind, it gives a fascinating insight into women’s lives—their challenges, limitations, and also their strengths and resilience. What struck me most was how Brooks combined respect with honesty: she does not shy away from difficult questions, but neither does she reduce these women’s lives to stereotypes.

Reading it today, almost thirty years later, adds another layer. The political, social, and cultural landscapes of the Middle East have shifted in many ways—wars, revolutions, technological change, and women’s movements have transformed many aspects of life. Some of Brooks’s observations feel rooted in their time, while others remain relevant today. Her stories set in the 1990s becomes a reflection on how women's lives in the region have changed. But also a realisation that many of the struggles and debates continue up to this day, even if sometimes in new forms.

This, my first Brook book, wet my appetite for reading more by her. As a good journalist, she has a sharp eye on events happening around her. Her analyses are honestly and fair, and she knows how to write a good story.