Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language: Zulaikha is verbally attacked because of her appearance.  Many call her “donkey face”.  American soldiers verbally attack an Afghan man for what they feel is neglect and abuse toward his new wife.

Violence:  Men are allowed to beat their wives as a form of discipline.  A women is punched in the face leaving her unconscious with a broken nose.  Another woman is severly burned from an ‘accident’.  Rumors are spread of the Americans bombing women and children.  The Taliban severly beat a woman in front of her family for having a book.  They eventually drag her from her home and shoot her dead.

Sexual Content: The bride is told to save her energy for the wedding night. The author mentions that the women share vulgar jokes.  During the dancing, the women pinch and slap each other in private areas.  The wedding cloth is given back to the bride’s family after the wedding night with blood on it to prove the virginity of the bride and the consumation of the marriage.  The husband ‘teaches’ the new wife every night so that she will have a son.

Adult Situations:  The country is recovering from the brutal reign of the Taliban.  Women have very little power outside of their duties in the home.  They are subserviant to the men in their life and have little rights to protect themselves.  Once a woman is married, she becomes the property of her husband’s family.  After a woman is severly burned, her husband casually sits outside of the hospital smoking and refuses to allow her to be taken to an American hospital for better treatment.  The woman dies within a day.  The husband casually leaves the hospital after her death.

Synopsis

Zulaikha is a young Afghan girl growing up in the time just after the Taliban regime was put down.  American troops are now in the area to help build and restore the country.  One day while walking to the market, an American soldier notices Zulaikha’s disfugured split lip.  He returns with a female captain who tries to convince her father to let the Americans operate to fix her mouth.  Zulaikha is overjoyed until she learns that the helicopter cannot make it to transport her to the hospital.  She must remain disfugured and return to her dreary life of endless housework and childcare. Her one consolation is that she has her sister to share her dreams and her chores with.  But, when her father comes into some money for helping the Americans construct a building, her sister is suddenly betrothed to be married.  Zulaikah has mixed feelings as she rejoices for her sister and mourns for herself and the lonliness she will live with.  Her step-mother gives her no comfort.  Instead, she is constantly giving her more chores or sending her for something at the market.  On one of Zulaikah’s trips, she meets an old woman who invites her into her shop for tea.  After they talk for a while, Zulaikha discovers that the women knew her mother who was killed a few years earlier by the Taliban for reading books.  The old woman offers to teach Zulaikha how to read and write and recite the poetry of the old days.  She begins to find the words tugging at her and tries to find time to study with her more often.  Zulaikha wonders if this is where she will find peace. Life quickly changes when she is suddenly given another opportunity for corrective surgery and her hope of becoming normal overtakes her desire to learn.  Little does she know that greater challenges are just around the corner and the peace she seeks is quickly slipping away.

This book was written by a soldier who actually served in Afghanistan.  He was inspired by the real story of a young girl receiving reconstructive surgery from the Americans for a split lip.  His experience with the Afghan people and his research into their religion and customs brings this book to life.   I really enjoyed the insight on the daily life of women in Afghanistan.   Their joys, their heartache, their dedication to their religion and their love for family are as real for them as they are for us.  I recommend this book for sixth grade and up because of the  insight it gives into the people of a country that we have been so politically involved in over the past few years.  It will help us all remember that we are all human beings looking for peace and happiness in the middle of life’s heartaches.