Two New Books (and a Soap Box)

My husband gave me two books I'd been wanting for my birthday. They were both excellent, so I read them pretty fast. Here's a little review.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - After reading Khaled Hosseini's first book, The Kite Runner, I knew I would read this one. This story of two girls in Afghanistan spans the war-torn years of their country and their lives as they grow into women. It was a great story and he's an excellent writer. Though I didn't enjoy this as much as Kite Runner. It seemed that there was not a redemptive quality in this book till the very end and I felt the story of the Kite Runner was laced with redemption and remember making some very specific biblical parallels. I love stories of redemption, because that is what we're all seeking.

My other concern is bigger, perhaps because I lived in a similar culture. I read a book in the Middle East as part of a book club. The book was called Pillars of Salt and chronicled the lives of two women growing-up in a Middle Eastern country (obvious parallels to A Thousand Splendid Suns) and the hardships that existed for them. A comment from one of the Muslim-Arab women in the book club, who was born and raised in America, was that she thought the author simply wrote all the horrible things about her culture because that's what Western readers wanted to hear and that Western readers couldn't discern between that and everyday life in the Middle East. I didn't agree with her at that time, but I kept that comment in the back of my head.

But that is just what I saw in A Thousand Splendid Suns that disturbed me. If you made a list before you read the book about all the bad things you think happen to women in predominantly Muslim cultures, you would find those things in this book. I could predict, very accurately, what was about to happen to each woman in this book and how the men were going to act towards them. I feel like it's sad that Hosseini portrayed his own culture in such a negative way by highlighting all the things that are wrong with it. I felt like the Kite Runner told a story that could happen in any culture and any country. The culture simply enhanced the story.

Yes, horrible things do happen to women, in many cultures, and they are not acceptable, and I don't think they should be belittled or ignored, but when do we start trying to see the good in other cultures? When do we try to find common ground and learn about how we are similar? When do we try to understand the beautiful cultural differences that might drive us crazy? What are we teaching our children by constantly pointing out the bad things in a culture and never highlighting the good? Because there is good, and plenty of it. It is good that a total stranger would invite us into his home for coffee and insist that we stay to share in his meager poor man's dinner. It is good that a poor couple invited us into their one room apartment (and I don't mean one bedroom, plus a bath, kitchen and living room, I mean one room) where they lived with their three children and honored us by serving us coffee and weren't embarrassed by their surroundings but simply shared everything. It is good that the cashier at the grocery store would never put my change directly in my hand. Why? Because he knew I had a father, husband, and/or a brother, and didn't want to dishonor my family name by touching me.

Ok, if you've made it this far, here's one more review with less of a soap box.

Perpetua - As you may recall I actually recommended this book before I read it. After reading it I can still say I recommend it. The author puts a great human side to the story of this young martyr and I could see myself in her life in so many ways (not the martyr part, but learning about my relationship with Christ, being newly married, etc.). This book also spoke to me about my spiritual life, which surprised me, I don't expect that out of a book that's basically historical fiction (the story is based on the true diaries Perpetua kept). I do have a few critical thoughts about it. I felt like the author had an underlying agenda about what she thought church should be. I can't say I completely disagreed with what seems to be her idea of church, but I thought the agenda was a little too obvious at times. Another criticism is that I felt like she had the Christians in the book use Christian terminology that we use today, and I highly doubt some of those terms existed in the third century. One character even uses the word "saved" to describe someone. My understanding is that that is a more modern Christian term. But, all-in-all a thumbs-up on this book. And if you really want to enjoy the book, go visit the site of her martyrdom. It makes the whole story come alive.

What are your thoughts on any of these books or subjects?