ands - a very rare occurrence in that county.If you hunt around the first pages, you'll notice that Rodriguez did not actually write the whole book herself - she was aided by another professional writer (who I can't get the name of since I already returned the book to the library.) Even with help, I didn't think this book was written very well. It was cheezy at times, and not very intelligent.
But that being said, the thing I enjoyed most about this book was the picture it gave of the lives of women in Afghanistan. Arranged marriage is still common, and the majority of women spend their lives serving their husband. In particularly fundamentalist families, women are not even allowed to leave the house. I'm not sure if I'd say abuse is common, but it is certainly permitted. I was particularly shocked to learn that women can be imprisoned for being raped.
While I found this book enlightening, I found it rather novice, so I'd like to read more on Afghanistan. It didn't seem like Rodriguez did any research on the country, but rather relayed stories of the women she personally met. Which is fine - but I'd like a more scholarly take on the issue.
The weirdest part of this book (and I hope I don't spoil this for anyone) was how Rodriguez randomly married an Afghan man she barely knew, after only a few weeks. It was almost like she didn't take marriage seriously at all, particularly since she was not even planning on permanently moving to the country at that point.
So, to review: entertaining book, eye-opening but not authoritative, with a questionable author. The book made me interested in Afghanistan, so I will continue to find out more about the county, and particularly the situation of women.
Rating: 3 of 6
(I think I need 6 points on my scale for more accurate ratings.)
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