December 22nd, 2007 |
The Wreath is Book 1 in Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, a Norwegian Nobel laureate. I had this book down as one I wanted to read in 2007 since last January! The size of it (all 3 books together are 1100+ pages) intimidated me so much that I’m just now getting to Book 1.
In The Wreath, we learn of Kristin’s childhood and her relationship to her family and her community. She grows up in a home where her father adores her, and while her mother loves her very much, she is also sad much of the time due to multiple miscarriages. The descriptions of the farm life and scenes of 14th century Norway are simply fantastic. The book really has a sense of place and time.
The next two books are The Wife (which I’m halfway through) and The Cross. I really wish now that I had started earlier so that I could have completed the entire book in 2007. I’m anxious to see what will happen in Kristin’s life.
1920, 291 pp.
Rating: 4.5
October 10th, 2007 |
The Bookseller of Kabul, although it is non-fiction, definitely reads like a novel. Asne Seierstad changed the names of the characters in the book, but even with that, it was obvious to Afghanis who the bookseller was. When the book was translated into English, the real bookseller was outraged. He has even tried suing Seierstad and her publisher, and he has also written and published his own version of events. None of which had much impact in her home country of Norway.
Life for many Muslim women is difficult, and that is clearly portrayed in this book. However, before I give a plot synopsis I would like to caution potential readers of the book to not think that ALL Muslim women are in this predicament. I stayed in a Muslim country in the Middle East for three months and have talked with local women and girls myself to hear their views. I have seen Muslim couples and how they interact. It’s not all bad. All families are different in how they interact with each other, whether they be Afghani, American, Chinese, or Russian. I’m sure there are some families even in non-Muslim America who treat women in a similar way that these women are treated. That said, this book will do a good job opening your eyes to the plight of (some-not all) women in non-Western areas of the world.
Sultan is the bookseller whose word is law. He is the leader of the family and even his brothers must obey him, let alone his mother, wives, and children. He rules his family with an iron fist, all the while telling himself he is a progressive, modern-minded man. He replaces (technically, adds to) his 50-something wife with a young teenager. His son Mansur resents and fears him, all the while treating his mother and aunt deplorably. This aunt, Leila, Sultan’s sister, is basically a slave to the entire family and is treated like one. I felt particularly sad for her story.
Rape, forced “prostitution” of widows, and brothers’ suffocation of their sister are only a few of the awful events in this book. In reading of these, I did question how the author would know about some of them. I was also worried about the safety of some of the family members after the book’s publication. In the end, it does reveal that part of Sultan’s family left to live with another male family member. I was very relieved to know that. I’ve thought of these characters often because they’re not just characters. They are real people.
2002, 288 pp.
Rating: 4
