From Publishers Weekly
One has to admire the pluck of an author who dares satirize what may be the touchiest subject in the country today: Arab American relations. Buckley (
No Way to Treat a First Lady, etc.) jumps into the sandstorm feet first with this tale of scrappy Florence Farfaletti, Deputy to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs. When a friend of Florence's who is married to Prince Bawad of Wasabia is executed, Florence proposes a plan to free the women of the Middle East. Covertly accepted by the U. S. Government, the plan involves creating a TV station in Wasabia's neighboring country, Matar, which instigates a revolution with broadcasts that, among other things, encourage women to throw off their burkas. Humor and action are in great supply, and reader Kalember (whom 40-somethings may remember as Susannah Hart from the series
Thirtysomething) handles both with aplomb. The serene stability of her voice is a good foil for the story's calamitous happenings but, at the same time, her voice conveys a certain vulnerability and righteousness that makes her portrayal of Florence completely believable. As an added bonus, Kalember's delivery of the English-as-a-second-language Arab characters is both sympathetic and hilarious.
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The title mirrors the tale--a pun-filled, double-entendre-laden, politically incorrect farce with a feminist tilt. At the heart of this epic of the present-day Middle East is a brave U.S. diplomat launched by a passel of profiteers on a mission that ignites a clash of cultures in a media-saturated world. All this takes place against the backdrop of Buckley's delicious reconstruction of historical and current realities. The author's penchant for gleeful wordplay (try the phrase "half-vast" for kicks) amidst constant, and not-so-gentle, pinpricks at fanaticism of all stripes and the poobahs who preserve it are tripwires of delight, enveloped in myriad truths. All is recounted with tongue placed resolutely in cheek. Patricia Kalember modulates her voice and accent elegantly, often with bite and subtle yet lucid pacing that rarely allows any of the author's ironic touches to pass unappreciated. M.J.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.