Rev. Joe -- Girls of Nazareth (and Riyadh)

If Jesus had a sister, she was lost to history.

- description on back of Leslie Cannold's fictional The Book of Rachael

The best we get really (other than some later account, like those who discussed Jesus' younger years and such) is Mark 6:3:

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

James later became the leader of the Jerusalem Church (he is not James the Apostle), even mentioned by Josephus. There are also some accounts that have Simon* follow him after James was killed. The Jerusalem Church from my understanding lost prestige after the Jewish Wars and things moved to Paul and Peter ... and Rome. The epistles of James and Jude (unclear authorship) as well as some often forgotten references that show James to be so important that Peter worries about his opinion (e.g., Paul saying that Peter stopped eating with Gentiles)  provide reminders.

I have not read the book yet. Leslie Cannold is best known as an Australian feminist and scholar, who wrote a very good book entitled The Abortion Myth that helps reaffirm my belief that choosing abortion can be a moral choice (that is moral too, but either way, it is a moral choice).  The Bible has a lot of potential as a source of material for female characters, including alternative viewpoints. More films should be done about it. Did not really like The Testament of Mary: A Novel by Colm Toibin, but it is an example of the genre.  Peter O'Toole was reported to have a small role in an upcoming movie on Mary as well.  

Meanwhile, there is Girls of Riyadh, the "fictional tale of the loves, dreams and disappointments of four young women in the capital" of Saudi Arabia -- as one account of the resulting controversy (that spells her last name wrong) summaries. The author is a twenty-something Saudi who at the time (mid-2000s) came to the U.S. to study dentistry (a family business) and also is listed to now have a technical book out on that subject.  But, there is clearly some writing talent in the family too.

The book is set up as a mysterious young witty female Saudi talking about her friends in a series of emails provided to people on a distribution list on Fridays.**  Each account is prefaced by a short introduction with excerpts from various figures who would be familiar to the original Saudi audience (plus a few others, including Mark Twain!), personal sentiments from the author and comments related to all the attention and feedback she received from the rather revealing accounts. The four young women are all well off Saudis (suggested by their travels alone), but mostly unlucky in love with many of the men put in a negative light. We are coyly told at one point that as new husband tried to do something that really offended his wife (who does like Sex in the City -- must be a Charlotte!) without being told what it is and the book is not explicit in that sense. But, talk of homosexuality, lying about cosmetic surgery, a wickedly on point summary of various types of men and women and so forth make the controversial reaction unsurprising.

It is true that it has "chick lit" qualities and even as to the Saudi life, it provides only a certain window into another world. Still, even on that level, it is pretty engaging chick lit.  Also, the book does provide some insights into another world, one that is not so different in various ways, but enough to be notable.  The life on a Saudi college campus or a young woman going to med school?  The meeting before a wedding.  Touches of regional poetry and the like.  Next, I really liked the voice of the narrator. She is playful while also being intuitive of the feelings of the four women being discussed. Each one are their own person with stories we care about.  A few years of their life is handled well.

The book is recommended and even those who don't like the genre might like at least some of it -- the introductions alone! Here is The Guardian review.  As to its suggestion that the book is still "conservative" in certain ways, well, what does one expect from a well to do Saudi women really?  The summary in the review suggests the book is pretty risque all the same, even if author said in an interview a couple years ago that Saudis have "nothing to revolt against like neighboring countries."

Well, don't know about that, but let's continue to hear their voices.

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* The brief Wikipedia page and this entry from the Catholic Encyclopedia suggest "Simon" here might not even be Jesus' brother (or half-brother), but the child of another person.  In context, seems to me they are all his siblings -- make them half-siblings if that is required for doctrinal reasons.

** As she notes in a footnote in the English version, Thursday and Friday is the weekend pursuant to Friday being the Muslim holy day.  The footnotes provide useful information about various references that might confuse Western readers. She notes she also had to change some of the language, since some of the local dialect used would be lost in translation.  Didn't we talk about the perils of translation recently?!

One thing that is striking is that the a lot of the material will sound familiar to the average young woman. Reference to one character being too much like the lead in the film Clueless. Two characters taking part in chat-rooms and instant messaging. A certain modern woman mentality in the narrator, even if she is a Saudi  Muslim woman (be sure to include the proper honorific when mentioning Muhammad!).  Then, again, it is written by a member of the elite, who was at the time studying in this country.