Ik wil trouwen! by Ghada Abdel Aal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars based on my level of enjoyment. Ghada’s sense of humour is either something you appreciate or find dreadfully annoying. I could really appreciate it, because it reminded me a lot of my Morrocan friends and their families. Of course, the Morrocan culture is a different culture than the Egyptian one, but I think there are a lot of similarities nonetheless.

Ghada’s ‘search’ (she doesn’t really actively search for herself; it’s mostly others doing it for her) for a husband is mostly downright hilarious, but at the same time gives us a peek into the life of the typical modern Egyptian woman. The situations that are depicted might come off as a little far-fetched at times, but I know for a fact that there’s more truth in them than it seems for an outsider. For Dutch readers, I’d recommend reading Een goede man slaat soms zijn vrouw by Joris Luyendijk. I think it was only translated in German sadly, so that’s too bad for the people who don’t speak Dutch or German. It’s a “non-fiction account of adventures with Egyptian students”, as the author tells us on his website.

Back to I Want to Get Married!: One Wannabe Bride’s Misadventures with Handsome Houdinis, Technicolor Grooms, Morality Police, and Other Mr. Not-Quite-Rights: if you’re looking for an entertaining light read which still has some depth to it, read it! I had to force myself to spread it out over a few days, otherwise I would’ve finished it in one go on a lazy Sunday.