
Florence of Arabia
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Carrington Macduffie
About this listen
The best-selling author who made mincemeat of political correctness in Thank You for Smoking, conspiracy theories in Little Green Men, and presidential indiscretions No Way to Treat a First Lady now takes on the hottest topic in the entire world - Arab-American relations - in a blistering comic novel sure to offend the few it doesn’t delight.
Appalled by the punishment of her rebellious friend Nazrah, youngest and most petulant wife of Prince Bawad of Wasabia, Florence Farfarletti decides to draw a line in the sand. As Deputy to the deputy assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, Florence invents a far-reaching, wide-ranging plan for female emancipation in that part of the world.
The U.S. government, of course, tells her to forget it. Publicly, that is. Privately, she’s enlisted in a top-secret mission to impose equal rights for the sexes on the small emirate of Matar (pronounced “Mutter”), the “Switzerland of the Persian Gulf.” Her crack team: a CIA killer, a snappy PR man, and a brilliant but frustrated gay bureaucrat. Her weapon: TV shows.
The lineup on TV Matar includes A Thousand and One Mornings, a daytime talk show that features self-defense tips to be used against boyfriends during Ramadan; an addictive soap opera featuring strangely familiar members of the Matar royal family; and a sitcom about an inept but ruthless squad of religious police, pitched as “Friends from Hell".
The result: the first deadly car bombs in the country since 1936, a fatwa against the station’s entire staff, a struggle for control of the kingdom, and, of course, interference from the French. And that’s only the beginning.
A merciless dismantling of both American ineptitude and Arabic intolerance, Florence of Arabia is Christopher Buckley’s funniest and most serious novel yet, a biting satire of how U.S. good intentions can cause the Shiite to hit the fan.
Don't miss Christopher Buckley, Steve Martin, and other humorists discussing their craft at the New Yorker Festival.©2004 Christopher Buckley (P)2004 Books on TapeListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Delightfully clever." (The New York Times)
The narration is terrific, with different voices, accents and cadences for each character. There is never any doubt who is speaking, and the pace and delivery is first-rate. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Christopher Buckley or good political satire.
Buckley is at the top of his game
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A modest effort...
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But this one, like the other two, peters out at the end.
The author knows how to set up the situation, but once having written himself into a corner, doesn't know how to get out.
It's as if he suddenly realized that the manuscript is due and so he ends if without any of the cleverness and care taken in the beginning of the book.
But as pure ear-candy, it's not that bad. And the narrator of this book is quite good.
Buckley has no endgame
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Amusing listen
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Outlandish
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love the buckley
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Ending peters out
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Fascinating Novel
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yawn.
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Some weeks have passed, and I think part two will remain unheard. The premise of the story is interesting but there is a delicate balance to achieve and I don't think the author has pulled it off. The result is a book that is uncomfortable.
The emphasis on Middle Eastern politics is more racist than amusing. Satirising stoning to death and beheading is a difficult thing to do and not something I would attempt lightly. Before the end of the first half the heroine has lost half her support group and we know that she cannot end the problems of the Middle East. Just listen to the news.
The story cannot go anywhere in view of this. It's really just a question of will she escape. Given the fact he's writing the book in the first place and it is meant to be a comedy, I guess she does. I'm not really interested in how.
No going back
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