There have been a few reviews published this week on The Jewel of Medina. USA Today was hardly complimentary, and the New York Times was so sniffy I’m suspecting nasal spray was involved. But I’m handing out penalties to the Times and to writer Lorraine Adams, because there are some serious flags on the play in her review. read more »
It’s probably happened to you, if you’re an author, yeah? You gave a booksigning and no one was there? Happened to Sherry Jones, author of The Jewel of Medina, too. Not even multi-national controversy and the threat of terrorism can get readers to a bookstore in the rain. read more »
The Jewel of Medina has been on sale for good many days, and to my knowledge, bookstores which have the book in stock are merrily chugging along. But over in the UK, Gibson Square has put the oh-fuck-no on the book, delaying publication indefinitely. Jesus flapjack. Meanwhile, back at Amazon.com, the book itself is on sale with one of those two-for-one-low price deals in a set that really, truly raises my eyebrows. Sherry Jones might want to give a mighty “WTF?” over her book being sold alongside this not-so-peacefully-titled tome. [Thanks to Jane and Pat for the heads up.] read more »
Personal foul, unnecessary bullshit against romance genre, use of “bodice ripper:” Laurel Maury, Los Angeles Times. 15 yard penalty, loss of down, and much mockage on the field. Taunting penalty against Smart Bitches is declined. “The Jewel of Medina” is a second-rate bodice ripper or, rather, a second-rate bodice ripper-style romance (it doesn’t really have sex scenes). It’s readable enough, but it suffers from large swaths of purple prose. Paragraphs read like ad copy for a Rudolph Valentino movie. “From my camel’s hump I could feel the leaf-kissed air moving like a cool, moist cloth across my brow as I… read more »
The Jewel of Medina is on sale in bookstores today, as Beaufort Books moved up the on sale date following attacks on the UK publisher. Media Bistro sat with author Sherry Jones to get her perspective on the eve of (finally) publication. Ron Hogan, Captain of the Great Ship KickAss, writes: The problem (as we see it) stems from the flagrant mischaracterization of the novel by Islamic studies professor Denise Spellberg, whom Ballantine Books had approached hoping for a blurb, as “soft core pornography” and anti-Muslim propaganda; Spellberg’s zealous efforts to alert Muslims to the book’s impending publication were particularly… read more »
Three men have been arrested in London after a suspicious fire was set at “the home and office of publisher Martin Rynja”, aka Gibson Square Publishing, the UK publisher of The Jewel of Medina. According to the BBC, the three men were arrested under the Terrorism Act of 2000, “on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.” The police confirmed that there has been small fire inside the property in Lonsdale Square, which had to be put out. “At this early stage it is being linked with the arrests,” the spokesman added. [Scotland] Yard officials have… read more »
Thanks to a very kind person dove into her bookstore’s ARC stash, I had a few days to read The Jewel of Medina. I needed more than a few days, though, because it was hard to get into, and harder to get through, despite my being a rather fast and furious reader. In a nutshell: I was underwhelmed. First, a note: when I discuss ‘Aisha’ or ‘Mohammed’ in the context of this review, I am fully aware that to those readers who are Muslim, these are real and revered people who ought not ever be fictionalized. Please understand: I am… read more »
Thank you to the many people who forwarded me this article: The Jewel of Medina has a new publisher, according to the AP, the NY Times, and the Guardian. Independent British publishing house Gibson Square will publish the book in October in English. Gibson Square, according to their website, “specialises in books that are able to contribute to a current debate. Each title is supported by a vigorous marketing campaign to provide a broad platform for the book and its ideas in the booktrade.” I’m still trying to battle my way through my copy of the ARC. To be honest,… read more »
The Langum Literary Trust, which awards two $1000 prizes each year for works of historical fiction, has blacklisted Random House due to the publisher’s decision not to release the Jewel of Medina. The Langum Trust said that Random House’s decision not to print Jones’s novel represented “a threat to all literature”. “We cannot pretend that this type of cowardice will disappear without serious remonstrance,” it said in a statement. “We do this reluctantly, since our most recent prize in American historical fiction went to a Random House title. Nevertheless, this issue must be confronted.” Last year’s recipient was a Random… read more »
If you were hoping for a copy of The Jewel of Medina in Serbian, you’re shit out of luck. Publisher BeoBook pulled the Serbian translation of The Jewel of Medina from bookstore shelves after The Islamic Community in Serbia protested the book’s publication. Author Sherry Jones published her response in the Serbian daily newspaper Blic today, saying that she wrote the novel “to honor Islam… to celebrate these great historical figures while dispelling misunderstandings about Islam.” After the discussions here and elsewhere, I personally have come to understand the depth of meaning inherent in any humanization or fictional portrayal of… read more »
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