The Esther Paradigm

Landing in the middle of a rating for this one. It has some really great strengths as far as the two lead characters go, and the love story and the picture of Bedouin culture is excellent, but the spiritual aspects are troublesome. I think it would make more sense to me if it had just been a case of “we got married because we are in love” because the motivation for an arranged marriage was just so weak, and it's clear they care very much for each other to begin with, having grown up as best friends. (Which—there was an oops in the math; if he was around 30 and she was just out of college, they wouldn't have been boy and girl together at all.) Also, there was no element of “saving her people” other than in her imagination because the people who threatened her parents weren't under the sheik anyway, and he meant them no harm.

Then there was the method of evangelism (friendship evangelism in a closed country) which in itself takes a tack that makes sense, but is ultimately deceptive. It shows the missionaries saying everyone is worshipping the same God and answering questions about the Bible from the Quran; a method that is logical but evades truth. The way it's portrayed in the story makes it sound like they accept Quran as containing truth although obscuring truth about Jesus and that they agree that the two religions worship the same God, simply because they worship one father God.

Finally, the ending is abrupt and we aren't told if Karim ever acts on the dream that comes to him. I really wanted to see him learn to follow God; but other than a couple moments of noticing the form of her prayers or hearing the witness of his friend, there's no payoff.