The Almond - Nedjma
by Zia ~ December 14th, 2005. Filed under: Books.
One of those books that has been getting a lot of press, I finally got The Almond from the library. Originally written and published in France, the book is a tale by the anonymous Nedjma, about sexual awakening. “An erotic tour de force,” critics have been saying. “An inside peek into the lives of Middle Eastern womanhood,” says another. “Reclaims sexuality for oppressed women,” rallies a third.
Well.
The tale centers around Badra, a woman who leaves her unhappy marriage to live with her aunt. She becomes the long-time mistress of a Western-educated doctor, who introduces her to sex. He is, frankly, insane.
It was a quick, easy read — though some of the descriptions and metaphors made me cringe with embarassment for the writer (though sympathetic to her decision to publish under a pseudonym). And really, it was about sex. Which is fine. Which is good, though a little tedious when sustained for 237 pages. Actually, it felt forced, an onslaught of sex that is neither particularly sensuous nor gratifying.
And all these claims of liberating women puzzle me: it seems to me that the novel merely upholds all our preconceptions of life — houris and harems — behind the veil.