 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Synopsis Opening Pandora's Box | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
This is a true and harrowing story of survival in the face of mindless, almost casual brutality, betrayal, and cultural and religious hypocrisy. It is all the more remarkable because this story is told by two people from the perspective of two very different cultures ? one from the East, one from the West ? and a time gap of 20 years. Looking beyond the pain of their lives, these two people transcend cultural nuances that mask the common denominators of humanity. Denny is English, Christian, an ex-entertainer and singer who has worked all over the world. Blinded by a mugger in London in 1991, his personal trauma was partly recorded in the internationally-syndicated TV series ?Paddington Green?. Ali is originally from Lebanon, Muslim, and a successful industrial chemist with a pharmaceutical company in Geneva. They met in a coffee shop in London in 2000, and have since discovered the most remarkable parallels in their lives, including many dark secrets. Writing this book has been a catharsis in coming to terms with their pasts. But more than that, it has provided the opportunity to explore apparent differences based on culture and religion. That these so-called unbridgeable chasms turn out to be little more than surface noise disguising deep common themes is one of the major revelations of this book. The story of Ali Omar casts a thin ray of light on some of the crucial problems of the Arab world; problems of abused children ? sexually and religiously ? during any war in the Arab world and particularly the civil war in Lebanon. Through his own experiences, Ali graphically shows how this pattern of behaviour is one of the root causes of many of the Middle East?s problems: the extremism, sadism, terrorism and ultimately nihilism of suicide bombings. This battered and sexually exploited boy, obviously intelligent, was forced by cultural pressures to remain silent about his mistreatment. War initially provided an outlet for his inner rage and he participated in civil war fights at 12 years of age. Narrowly avoiding recruitment by a Mullah to carry out further atrocities, he was sent to school, and through his education managed to escape from Lebanon to Europe where he took a university degree ? and found the courage to release his pain. Denny suffered abuse at the hands of the Church of England and sexually by his father and his employee. An attractive boy, he attracted the attentions of many predatory characters who did nothing to help him resolve the crisis of his own complex sexuality. His singing voice and acting ability propelled him into the world of show business where success on stage was not matched by success in his personal life. Exploited by others, he became what he describes as ?a psychiatrist?s nightmare?. When he met Ali, Denny was raw from having lost his partner in the aftermath of the London Soho nail bomb incident on 30 April 1999. Ali, with personal understanding of violence and loss, proved the perfect sounding board. The more they talked, the more they realized that they had much in common; more than that, they found extraordinary coincidences and parallels separated only by geography and the difference of 20 years in their ages.. Beyond the personal euphoria of finding someone to open up to, they saw that their ?Eureka? moments had wider implications in cross-cultural understanding ? a first step in any healing process. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| My Favorite Links: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Search a 100 booksellers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literary Agent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Our Info: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Denny Ryder & Ali Omar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Email: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| shka1970ds@hotmail.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
