Sunday, January 31, 2016

To an inspirational young Libyan...

Esther Kofod
THE LIBYAN
http://amzn.to/1Qcmc6C

Of all the reviews I have received, this one means the most to me because it is from a young Libyan woman who is not afraid to speak from her heart. I have never met her, but we started communicating after her review, and I am amazed by her. She is so inspiring, so articulate, and so special. 
I pray that Libyans will unite, so that brilliant young Libyans like her can start rebuilding the future with the traditions from the past. 
Thank you, Omnia, from my heart to yours, and God Bless Libya ❤️

  A very touching story with great storytelling skills
By Omnia Eteyari - January 27, 2016
Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm Libyan, and I found this book truly describes a lot of the old Libyan culture back in the seventies, and some of which remained till today. The details and heart it was written with made me so emotional in certain pages, either forcing a loud laughter while describing some very special Libyan traditions, or tears while memorising the horror that surrounded Libyans for 42 years. But above all, I can't help but feel so sorry and some sort of responsibility over the hardship, pain and sadness the author has gone through, either in Libya or by Libyans. I appreciate very much that she toke the time to write her story, which I think is a very good reference for the near history of Libya in a joyful romantic and dramatic layout. Thank you!!

It's been a while since a book was able to force me to keep reading non-stop. This one did, from the very first chapter I couldn't wait to know what's next, that I finished it in 3 days.

It is a romance novel written with a great amount of details and emotions, that makes you live in the story, see the people and places, hear the sounds, and feel the heat. It highlighted so much of the Libyan qualities, beautiful traditions, and good deeds; however, also shed a strong light on some of the dark parts of the Libyan culture, especially back in the seventies, during which most of the story events took place.

As much as I've heard about the horror Libyans have encountered because of Gaddafi in the late seventies and eighties, and even though things did not get much better after that when I became old enough to understand what was going on, but this is one of the few times where I actually felt it so strong, the effect of his evil on people's lives and minds, the power he had not only to kill, but to destroy families and poison people of principles and ethics.

This is the kind of stories that stays with you even after you finish reading. You know that it is not just a fiction, but actual facts and events that happened to real people.

After I finished, I couldn't stop the questions circling in my mind, how? why? what? and, until when?