Heinessight.com:The official website of author Matthew D. Heines

Another Year in Oman: A Review by Letha Nungesser-Schroeder 

     After reading My Year in Oman, which abruptly ended, with an obviously shameless, though humorous lead into this book...I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Another Year in Oman: Between Iraq and a Hard Place…I was immediately impressed by Matthew’s flexibility as a writer. His first book is full of jokes and wonderful experiences, while the second book, which revolves around the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, portrays a much darker picture of the human psyche. Although Matthew’s sense of humor still comes through, the book reflects a real sense of the human condition; loneliness, and a need to reach out to his fellow human beings for comfort and a sense of belonging.

     I have read many books and am familiar with the styles of many authors, but there are few who can compete with Matthew's use imagery and symbolism. For example, in the first few lines of this book, he describes a dream where he is intimate with an Arab woman who has all the stereotypical attributes of what Westerners think of when they think of Arabs, to include the fact that she has no face, which is also a common view in the West of Arab women. As the book progresses, Heines puts a face on these women through his descriptions, encounters and relationships. By the end of the book, you feel as if you know them, understand them and sometimes even love them as they are apparently wonderful, caring people.

     I don’t want to spoil the book for his readers, but I can tell you that in Another Year in Oman, Matthew (I am not sure if it is fiction or non-fiction) really explores a number of different relationships between people in the Muslim world. For example, he has Iraqi friends and colleagues who want the US to invade their country, while he has other friends who hate the United States for threatening to and then invading their country. As an American (the only American in a thousand square miles) he is able to portray the complexities involved in that war, and he really puts a human face on the Iraqi people that you will rarely see anywhere else.

     One thing I love about Matthew’s writing is his objectivity. He doesn’t judge. Instead, he tries to explain the people he encounters with historical and cultural insights. When you finish reading his books, you feel like you could go to any country in Arabia and be right at home, knowing the customs and the culture and the warmth of the Arab people. A far cry from the fear-mongering we get in the Western media. Matthew’s descriptions are not through rose-colored glasses, but through real experience and understanding. It was this kind of understanding we needed to have before we went to war in the region. At least if we had known, and still decided to go to war, what the cost would be in lives, money and in our national prestige.

     Finally, I would give Another Year in Oman another top rating. I was so impressed with Matthew’s flexibility as a writer, that I am sure, that someday, he will be known as one of the great writers of our time. I am not sure what his plans are for future books, but I will be one of the first to order them as they become available. One final question for Matthew-is Another Year in Oman fiction or non-fiction?

Letha Nungesser-Schroeder

Ferndale, Washington USA