Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village

Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village

By: Elizabeth Warnock Fernea  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Publisher: Anchor

Release Date: 1995-10-01

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Informative - This was an interesting look at life in Iraq before the Taliban. It is an american womans experiences living in a small village in the late 1950's with her husband.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Guests of the Sheik - This is a great book. I bought it to replace a tattered copy a had bought at a book sale, and read it again. I enjoyed it just as much the second time. Ms. Fernea is a very sensitive author. Her other books are also excellent.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
a look into a hidden culture - I just finished this book and thoroughly enjoyed it, both her writing style and her subject matter. Yes, she may have gone in somewhat ignorant about many aspects of the lives of Iraqi women but she left with an obvious affection for those same women as well as a deeper understanding of herself. That affection was clearly reciprocated by the Iraqi women she met and lived among. That she lived as they did, was genuinely curious about them as people and made an effort to learn their language negates any criticism of her being a typical, arrogant American. She may have had preconceived notions about the culture but she also seemed perfectly comfortable admitting her mistakes and learning from them. For the reader the book was like being along with the writer and enjoying the journey. I can't think of a much higher compliment to give someone writing about a relatively isolated place over 50 years ago.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Another Great Book - This is another great book by this author. I enjoy her story telling ability and feel lucky that she has shared it with us.
I think it's remarkable book. No one can imagine they could have ever have the chance to experience what she did and Iraq will never be the same. It's too bad we have lost so many interesting cultures which had survived since the beginning of mankind. I'm sure it must make her quite sad to see what has happened to Iraq's rich culture during these past 40+ years.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Honest and Fair - This book is very candid. Elizabeth Fernea describes two years of life in the Shiite village of El Nahara, Iraq. In this tribal village women are completely seperated from the men. They don the traditional Abaya, which covers them from head to feet.

The focus of the book is Fernea's relationship with the women of the village. How they slowly begin to accept her, and finally to befriend her. Yet, as she admits, even after two years, she could not bridge the cultural gap between her and her village friends.

The book is terse, fast paced, and well written. It is also profoundly enlightening. For those who have only a western perspective on women, marriage, and friendship, it should serve as a painless eye-opener.

The on problem that I had with Fernea's writing was its contrived nature. Her account of her problematic acculturation; of the women's struggles and emotions; of the pigrimage to Karbala; and of most every touching situation, seemed artificial. It is as if she is trying, in mechanical fashion, to press the underlying pathos upon us. Something in her prose is a little unbelievable. I could not quite feel like I was in her shoes. There was a certain, ineffable distance between her descriptions and my own feelings of the situation.

I prefer an author who takes you with them, inside them, and makes you feel as if you are a partner on their journey. Fernea rides alone, leaving the reader frustratingly behind.


The above notwithstanding, her book is a terrific, lucid read.

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