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The Pearl that Broke Its Shell A Novel edition by Nadia Hashimi Literature Fiction eBooks

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The Pearl that Broke Its Shell A Novel edition by Nadia Hashimi Literature Fiction eBooks

This is an intriguing book about the ways that women get by in a society that denies them nearly all expressions of identity and personhood. In this novel are two girls who experience freedoms denied them by following an Afghani custom that allows them to dress and act as boys. In essence, they are considered sons. Rahima and her great-great aunt Shekiba have both experienced freedom by dressing and acting as male. While this custom brings unusual freedoms, it is curtailed at marriage, as Rahima discovers. The stories of these two women highlight the restrictions, the abuse, and the mistreatment of Afghani women. Rahima's situation in the 21st century is not particularly better than that of women generations earlier. This is a well-written book about women's efforts to find ways to survive in a patriarchal world in which they are afforded little value. It is intense and well-wroth reading.


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The Pearl that Broke Its Shell A Novel edition by Nadia Hashimi Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

I finished reading the book because it was our book club selection. In our discussion most everyone commented on the confusing names, many characters and switching back and forth between two stories separated by many years. I tried thinking of why the second half or so of the book was more enjoyable. Either I gave in to the story or it was because the author got her details from current sources rather than historical records. I could picture some of the descriptive passages because I've traveled in India a number of times and read quite a bit about how women are treated as well as having had discussions with my guide (now a friend) who answered every question I asked. It's not enjoyable to lay a book down one evening only to pick it up the next day wondering which set of characters are in the chapter. The book is like a blanket woven with colors that don't please the eye, but could have been delightful if the pattern were more carefully arranged.
What a great story ...and well-told, too. What more could you want?

Seriously, it was a great story and written well. It's somewhat historical, but not so much as to be a history. It's more of an introduction to a different culture, with different values, and different morals. Some of it is a bit difficult to read, but that's true on most any novel worth reading. Still, you'll never be horrified, or if so, not for long. And it's not, like I thought it might be, anti-American.

If I have anything negative to say, it's about the names, both personal names as well as place names. Those names, in a foreign language, can be difficult sometimes. I tried to "translate" them into English names, but some names are almost the same, so I got lost anyway. By halfway, I'd actually learned the names ....and I was so proud of myself!

Great novel, good storyteller. And I'm going to buy her next novel, so that should tell you even more than all that above.

Patrick
If you want to learn about women's lot in Afghanistan, both present and past, this is a good start. The author takes a very ambitious idea, which is to follow two women born about a century apart, and then show how little has changed in that country. Both of the women are incredibly brave, and do their best to strive for a better life within cultural strictures.

That being said, I felt the novel was not as good as it could have been. There is too much telling, and not enough showing. It was hard for me to keep all of the characters straight, given the two different plot lines. It was longer than it needed to be. It could better be described as historical / social fiction than literary.

Still, the plot/s grabbed me enough to finish the book. I had read a lot about Afghanistan, and also about girls who had to act as boys in order to help their families, so some of the plot details were not new to me. The general despair of women is quite well depicted.
I would rate the book as three stars for the first half of the book and four for the last half. There were so many characters in two story lines that I found it hard to keep them straight, especially in the first half. The first half just didn't engage me much. If I had not finished the book, it would not have bothered me. Around the middle of the book, I became much more interested and hated putting it down.

This book deals with the lives of women in Afghanistan in the early 20th century and early 21st century. Rahima whose story started in the early 2000s was actually the great great granddaughter of the Shekiba. One of Rahima's aunts tells her about Shekiba. The book shows many similarities between their lives. Some chapters are told by Rahima in the first person. Others are told in the third person about Shekiba.

The book deals gender inequalities between males and females and violence against women in the two time periods. Although Russians, Taliban, Americans and Europeans are mentioned, the book primarily involves the traditional Afghan culture. It is a rather dark book and has a lot of violence against women by both men and women. In the end, I found it a worthwhile book, but if violence bothers you, you may not want to read this book.
This is an intriguing book about the ways that women get by in a society that denies them nearly all expressions of identity and personhood. In this novel are two girls who experience freedoms denied them by following an Afghani custom that allows them to dress and act as boys. In essence, they are considered sons. Rahima and her great-great aunt Shekiba have both experienced freedom by dressing and acting as male. While this custom brings unusual freedoms, it is curtailed at marriage, as Rahima discovers. The stories of these two women highlight the restrictions, the abuse, and the mistreatment of Afghani women. Rahima's situation in the 21st century is not particularly better than that of women generations earlier. This is a well-written book about women's efforts to find ways to survive in a patriarchal world in which they are afforded little value. It is intense and well-wroth reading.