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Brûlée vive
359 pages
A devastating but ultimately resilient testimony of surviving the unimaginable and finding the courage to speak out.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir is a harrowing but necessary experience, plunging the reader into a devastating reality of systemic violence and family betrayal. The narrative moves with a steady, unflinching urgency, stripping away any pretense to deliver a raw, deeply personal testimony. The mood is undeniably somber and tense, steeped in the trauma of an unimaginable ordeal, yet it slowly arcs toward a fierce, hard-won resilience. The prose is direct and unvarnished, serving as a clear vessel for a survivor's call to action. It is a book that will grip readers who are drawn to powerful true stories of survival, exile, and the profound courage required to bear witness against brutal traditions.
- Mood
- devastating
- tense
- somber
- resilient
- Tone
- urgent
- harrowing
- resolute
- unflinching
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- survival against all odds · systemic misogyny · the weight of tradition · exile and starting over · bearing witness
- The writing
- Direct, raw, and deeply personal, prioritizing the urgent delivery of a harrowing truth over literary flourish.
- The arc
- From unimaginable trauma and betrayal to a fierce, hard-won resolve to survive and speak out.
- Who it's for
- Readers seeking powerful, real-life testimonies of survival and those passionate about global women's rights and social justice.
Content notes
- graphic violence
- attempted murder
- burn injuries
- domestic abuse
- honor killings
- family betrayal
About the book
"When Souad was seventeen she fell in love. In her West Bank village, as in so many other villages, sex before marriage is considered a grave dishonor to one's family and is punishable by death. This was her crime. Her brother-in-law was given the task of meting out her punishment. One morning while Souad was washing the family's clothes, he poured gasoline over her and set her on fire." "In the eyes of the community he was a hero. An execution for a "crime of honor" is a duty, and Souad's brother-in-law had the full support of her parents." "Miraculously she survived, rescued by women of her village, who put out the flames and took her to a local hospital. Horribly burned over ninety percent of her body and still denounced by her family - who strived to "finish the job" even as she lay suffering in the clinic - Souad was able to receive the care she needed only after the intervention of a European aid worker. Now in permanent exile from her homeland, she has decided to tell her story and reveal the barbarity of a practice that continues to this day." "More than five thousand honor killings are reported every year; many more go unreported. Burned Alive is both the testimony of one young woman's resolve to survive and build a new life - and a call to action to end a heinous tradition."--BOOK JACKET.
Description from Open Library.
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