Snow - The End

I really enjoyed this book. It managed to surprise me here and there, not through grand revelations but with minor insights and observations. I have to admit I like it when my initial, instinctual reactions are confirmed, which I felt had happened by the end of the novel.

I could go on about the author's writing style and character development, but I don't think that's suppose to be the focus of our energies. Instead, I think it might better serve the purpose of this course to step back and look at the big issues the author chose to tackle: the headscarf, Islam Extremists, Muslim perception and self-perception.

If we pull out those passages in the book where the story deals with the headscarf, I think it supports my earlier opinions on the subject. The headscarf is an outward declaration of either faith and/or social/political ideology. I've come to the conclusion that the veil (or headscarf or hijab) is no different than my choice to wear a little gold cross on a chain around my neck or my sister's choice to wear the neopagan symbols that represents her belief system. The characters in Snow pretty much give voice to my perspective on the matter. While one woman may wear it because she believes that's what the Koran instructs her to do, another may wear it in support of a less devout cause.

Since I plan on writing my final paper on this subject matter, I'm going to stop there and skip ahead to the Extremists. I really think Snow gives the most sympathetic view of Islamic Extremists that I've seen. Of course, this could be because the Extremists were kept focused on Turkey and not seen as madmen plotting the destruction of the West. Sure, there was a lot of bashing and deriding of Western values, but nothing that seemed comparable to al-Quaeda. I think this is important because it helps to broaden the definition of an "extremist" and their goals.

What I truly found interesting in this book was the whole concept of perception. In many ways, I feel this was truly one of the main objectives of the author. While most people are concerned with how other's perceive them, this story seemed to emphasize the depth of this worry in the Muslim and Turkish communities. The struggle for identity echoed the struggle between Eastern and Western values. The need to reject and denounce Western influences helped define some characters, just as the opposite need to mimic Western society seemed to define others.

I can see now the value in this book, even if it is only a piece of well-written fiction.