My first opinion of this book was that it was going to focus
on the typical discussions of women and shame. Set in a predominantly Muslim
society, I expected something much more stereotypical and clichéd. So I was
quite pleasantly surprised when the book turned out to be very different from
my expectations.
Let me say at the outset that many of the cultural aspects
in the book seemed foreign to me, despite me sharing the same religion as the
characters. There were certain beliefs and practices in the book that would not
be regarded as part of Islam for many Muslims. To give one example, the rules
of Islam forbid a man to be married to two sisters at the same time. Similarly,
some of the practices described with regards to illness and magic would also be
frowned upon by many Muslims. Nevertheless, at the same time I do understand
that this is simply just a portrayal of Islam, as observed by an individual and
perhaps as it has been practised by a particular group of people. I have to at
least commend the author for making an attempt to portray different angles and
viewpoints. Having said that, I will now focus on what I liked about the book.
The book is set at a time in history when Bangladesh was
still known as East Pakistan and when that country still didn’t gain
independence, towards the late 1960s, early 1970s. The historic and political
discussion which underpins the story in this book thus makes for interesting
reading. I personally did not know much about the history of Bangladesh and
reading this book encouraged me to research more into this. In this regard I
think the author has managed to start a discussion on very crucial topics,
topics that are still, if not more, relevant in today’s times.
For instance, she brings up pertinent issues of culture and
language and how Colonialism affected people’s lives on these different levels.
Moreover, she begs the question as to whether foreign education in developing
countries actually works for the people or against them. I particularly enjoyed
the intellectual debates between characters in the novel. One of the main
characters Sajib, for instance puts forth the question as to whether English
really is the language of progression and whether American education in East
Pakistan was valuable or if it served to further strip the people from their
culture. Interestingly I could relate to these discussions so easily as we are
still having the same debates and discussions today, this is relevant to me as
a South African as well and we often find ourselves having to grapple with
issues of cultural identity in the global world.
The political angle of the book did not overshadow the
narrative and because it was so naturally written as part of the main story, it
was not boring at all, instead it proved to be insightful.
The most important focus of this book though was on female
liberation and independence. The protagonist is a young woman named Sariyah.
Sariyah has always been different to the women around her. She is a woman of
spirit an adventure, always interested in pushing boundaries and obviously this
doesn’t sit very well with the people in her small rural village, especially
her immediate family members. Sariya is destined to meet Rodney, an American
volunteer who comes to teach in her village. The relationship that develops
between these two characters brings out some of the most pertinent issues in
the book. This is where Russell focuses personal issues of female freedom and
what liberation means to different people and I think the friendship between
these two characters also gives us insight into the need to develop an
understanding of other people as opposed to simply making assumptions.
All in all I found this book to be a worthwhile read. Not
only was it an educational experience but the story was intriguing as well.
Image 1 from here
Image 2 from here
The book comes out soon, to find out more see the publishers website: http://fbpublishinghouse.com/
Read more of the authors work here: http://www.katherinekeepswriting.com/
