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The Lovers
Afghanistan's Romeo & Juliet. The true story of they defied their families & escaped an honor killing. "In this brilliant, deeply reported account of two young people who risked their lives to be together, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Rod Norland puts a face on the debate about women's rights in the fundamentalist Muslim World"
362 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 23, 2024
This book will surely be one of my top reads of 2024. This is a true story of two Afghans from different sects and backgrounds who loved each other so much that they risked death and found a way to be in a relationship and eventually marry. The struggle was definitely real and it was fascinating to see how they overcame different obstacles to stay in contact and later on stay hidden from their families, especially when both were illiterate and innumerate.
The author, who himself was involved in the story, engages with the topic of international human rights law, women’s shelters and women’s rights frequently throughout the book and even says that the EVAW law is the reason this couple could be together.
Reading the book provides good insight into the difficulties of introducing and implementing IHRL in different cultural contexts but also shows how it can work (in certain ways/to some extent).
A very interesting book. The author also didnt sugarcoat the couple’s love story or the couple but was very honest about their personalities, things the author found problematic about them and the difficulties in their relationship.
The author, who himself was involved in the story, engages with the topic of international human rights law, women’s shelters and women’s rights frequently throughout the book and even says that the EVAW law is the reason this couple could be together.
Reading the book provides good insight into the difficulties of introducing and implementing IHRL in different cultural contexts but also shows how it can work (in certain ways/to some extent).
A very interesting book. The author also didnt sugarcoat the couple’s love story or the couple but was very honest about their personalities, things the author found problematic about them and the difficulties in their relationship.
February 16, 2019
I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. The narrator Peter Ganim was just terrible and i don't think i have ever said that before. His pausing, stumbling and attempting to imitate Zakia's voice just made it a really bad listen. Also, I didn't find the characters likable or deserving of much empathy. I did learn something about the country, the customs and the "reasoning" behind their attitude towards women. Wouldn't recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews