NPR has an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald‘s Malcom Knox, who first broke the story that the events described in the book never took place. Knox brings up an excellent point, which I don’t think has received enough attention: Khouri had alleged that as many as 5,000 women were victims of honor killings in Jordan, making it sound as part of mainstream culture, when in fact the number is a few dozen cases, mostly on the fringes. There’s a lot of other discrepancies discussed in the audio clip.
Who is Laila Lalami
Laila Lalami is the award winning and best selling author of six books.
What books has Laila Lalami written?
Laila has written the novels, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Secret Son, The Moor's Account, The Other Americans, and The Dream Hotel.
What awards has Laila Lalami won?
Laila Lalami has won the American Book Award, the Arab American Book Award, the Hurston-Write Legacy Award, a Guggenheim a Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship, and a British Council Fellowship. Her work has also been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Booker Prize, the Women's Prize, and the Edgar Allan Poe Award.