had this book in my collection for a while and havent read it, its from. i didnt realize until i finished reading that the author is white, but this is a story about a pakistani girl and her struggle with arranged marriage and now i just wonder how much of it is actually realistic and how much is just racism.
there are also two sequels i probably wont read, but two because the writing itself was good for a middle grade, A surprisingly affecting and well written book, I rarely read young adult fiction, but my daughter recommended this one, and I felt I was long overdue to read some more books about Arab or Islamic culture especially women in the Arab/Islamic world.
My other books include Palace Walk and Reading Lolita in Tehran,
This is the story of a young nomadic girl from the Cholistan Desert on the Pakistan side
of the IndiaPakistan border, The picture of life in a nomadic society is well drawn the importance of water, the fragility of life, the need to take everything with you as you move, the fatalistic life view, the power of the landlords.
The marriage of a girl ofas standard practice comes across as a fact of life, and I enjoyed the description of the nearly yearlong preparation for Phulans wedding.
One of my favorite parts was the annual pilgrimage of the nomadic women the description of the society of women it reminded me of some of the passages in the Red Tent and made me long for my close woman companions that I had in North Carolina.
I also thought that the author presented the suggestion of changing role for women well just a suggestion of options, The fact of death and loss were well portrayed although I would have some aspect maternal mortality in childbirth to be included,
The book has an exquisite ending or, more appropriately, nonending, We do not know what happens to Shabanu, Is she killed for disobedience as the other girl earlier in the story Does her father relent and allow her not to marry Is she able to take refuge in Sharmas house Are there repercussions for her family because she does not marry the Rahimsahib Does she obey her father and marry We are left to fill in the ending.
I loved that.
The book was written inso I wonder what has changed and if the same nomadic life still exists and if and how the role of woman has changed.
The book has been well described by others, Set in Pakistan, in contemporary times, . . I'll bet you did not know that there are still people whose nomadic livelihood is essentially camelfarming,
If your child probably a daughter if you are thinking of this as a readaloud or purchasing it for a young man, be aware that menstruation is mentioned, and there is a fair amount of detail enjoys this novel, which like so many others, was introduced to me while I was still in teaching school by my own middle school daughter, consider also the sequel, Haveli.
This is a very good YA book and a fascinating look at nomadic life in India, Shabanu is a pre teen, She prefers to take care of her family's camel herd rather than sit around, cover herself, and talk about weddings like her older and very much engaged sister, Most of the novel is about her sister's upcoming wedding and the gathering of a dowry, Things go terribly awry and the ending is a major change of plans,
Also, some great stuff about camels, I had no clue they had huge tongues that enlarged to impress females or that the males fought to the death sometimes, or that they could dance, Truly interesting stuff.
However, I HATED the ending, I get that it is appropriate for Indian culture and custom, but I was expecting more fight from Shabanu, Instead, she goes along with her parent's wishes which I felt were just awful!!!, I was expecting more spit and vinegar from what I thought was a smart girl, Shabanu is a Newbery Honor book, However, not one Id recommend for young readers, Shabanu, the strong female protagonist, brings to light what it is like to live in a male dominated, nomadic culture in Pakistan, where women are given little choice, Its a little slow at first, but picks up, and then ends abruptly, I definitely had to read the sequel Haveli, The sequels ending also left me unsatisfied and up in the air, Theres one more book in the series and I plan to read it too The House of Djinn, Im looking forward to a resolution to this saga! Dawn States
Multicultural
Shabanu is a young desert girl growing up in a culture where to disobey the rules of her family is a dangerous thing to do.
She is a spirited and intelligent teenager struggling to keep these qualities and still do what is expected of her from her family, Shabanu loves her life in the desert with her camels, but this time is coming to an end when her older sister is to be married and next Shabanu will be married.
Their marriages are already arranged, but when things go terribly wrong Shabanu is the one to make the sacrifices,
The lesson here is doing something that is difficult, but still finding a way to keep your spirit, Shabanu learns how to not let circumstances break her inner strength, This book was very moving, and I found great beauty and sadness in the lyrical way the novel moved,
I'm very interested in different religions and cultures, which is mainly why I chose to read this book, seeing that it was about a Muslim girl, I'm not really sure what I was expecting from it, but it ended up a bit different than I thought, I suppose, It was a comingofage story that was a little bit slowpaced at times but overall enjoyable, and the glimpses of culture were very interesting,
I think my favorite part of this book was the ending, I was going to rate it lower thanstars, but then Shabanu made her final decision, She changed, she grew up, and she became the kind of person I'd been wanting her to become the whole time I was reading, and it just left me with this nice warm feeling.
I'm not planning on reading the second and third booksI just don't feel like I need to, The ending left room for a series, yes, but it also ended in a way that contented me it felt concluded, and I was happy with that,
I am reviewing this a bit late, so my memory may not serve me correctly, but I think my main complaint about this book was just that it seemed to move rather slowly to me.
It felt as if the plot line wasn't very distinct, and yet it worked because of the style and moral of the story, It just wasn't my typical magicwielding fantasy book, and I was a tad bit bored at times,
But those moments were few and I did enjoy this book, It taught me a few things about Islamic culture though of course personally I would have loved to have seen more and I really did end up loving Shabanu and how she grew throughout the story.
Read this one when i wasand it really made a big impression on me, I loved learning about the other culture and still thought it was highly relatable, I still remember it well to this day, Didn't know it was a series, Will check those out! Shabanu and the sequels are important books for the world we live in because they describe a proud, independent people who are now in the midst of what will be a long, horrible war.
The image of Pakistanis as either terrorists or helpless refuges are popular with news and entertainment just watch Ironman, . . for all that I love movies with explosions I was horrified and saddened by that movie,
Shabanu is the youngest daughter of desert people her description of her family, She loves the desert, loves her camels and through her eyes I grew to love them too, She describes a world with little water, little comfort and yet rich with life, And a life foreign to my own, I read this to my kids years ago and my daughter, then about, was horrified to hear the matteroffact way in which theyearold Shabanu talked about her marriage, which would take place in a year.
The books are wellwritten which I think means that I believe them, even though they are fiction, I worry when writing is good and I believe the story, especially when the subject is real, In this case, the author was a reporter who covered India, Pakistan and Afghanistan for a number of years, Read as part of my ongoing shelf audit, Verdict: Donated to the library fundraiser sale so they can makecents off of it,
This is the kind of book which gets a Newberry for being something adults think kids should read, but which I can't imagine played particularly well with its supposed target audience.
It's a nuanced portrait of life in the desert of eastern Pakistan, but not in a way that I feel would actually engage young readers, It's also, ultimately, got a pretty depressing ending as anyone who's read the cover copy for the sequel knows, Shabanu ends up in a loveless marriage to an older man, because he's rich and it's better than being raped by his brother.
Which is true, but yikes.
The thing is, I credit that Fisher Staples' portrayal of Cholistani lives is probably accurate, or at least was when the book was published, and a disappointing ending is likely accurate to the experience of young women in these societies.
It just isn't something I have a strong desire to read fiction about, Shabanu lives with her family in Pakistan, in a society that denies women any independence, Atyears old, she is already betrothed, Then tragedy strikes and Shabanu must choose between her own dreams of freedom and her family and culture,
I will admit that I had a really hard time getting into it, The pace was extremely slow until about page, when the action started, I also wonder if American teenagers would really be able to relate in any way to this book, Though some might be able to make the connection of Shabanu's desire for freedom to their own lives, so many of the details seemed a little difficult to relate to.
After all, we're talking about a culture where girls get married as soon as they get their first period and are expected to bear children as teenagers, It's a culture where fathers beat their daughters and it's considered normal, and children have no say in their own lives, It certainly is eyeopening to read about this sort of culture, I'm just not sure if teenagers would really appreciate it, As far as whether it is authentic or realistic I personally don't know this culture very well, so that's a very hard thing for me to judge,
I suppose the thing that bothers me a little is that Im not sure how we are supposed to interpret the culture based on this book, Are we supposed to like and appreciate it Or are we supposed to dislike the culture because of how it robs Shabanu of her freedom and most of her happiness There were certain, maybe I'd say stereotypes, that were unsettling to read.
Many people do have the idea that Muslims are very strict, the women are obedient, and the men cruel, While we saw some great men in this story, I'm not so sure about some of the other implications for other characters, Phulan is portrayed as a girl that is stupid and empty headed, but she is also the obedient one that does what her culture wants of her, Auntie is portrayed as a mean character, and she is also the one who is described as fat and people are cruel to her because of it, I worry that this book almost puts this culture in a bad light, I'm not sure. I just know that it really had me thinking about this way of life, Wonderfully written book. Clear language, straight from this young girl's heart and also quite a story to tell, Sublime context in all regards towards the desert nomadic life from sandstorms, dependence upon and love for pack animals/camels, and the search for water and means of shelter.
Water especially being a factor which can never be put into a secondary place of priority,
And the answer to this girl's dilemma within her culture and the choices given to her life's path That was excellent, as well, Because it is the inner strength and selfidentity that is of prime core, Not just for women, but especially for women,
This culture is extremely close to the hunter gatherer life lived by all of our human ancestors for thousands and thousands of years, Their choices were limited and much of their lives were predetermined, just as hers became,
This book was not revisionist and did not make judgment, but spoke the girl's loves and thoughts in and of her world, And did it in a completely real and accurate way for this life in desert Pakistan,
I am disappointed that so many are reviewing this book on this site in such an ethnocentric context, And please, don't take that to mean that beating for disobedience or child brides or such patriarchy is hunkydory,
But there are very real economic and survival reasons, And judging her and also her parent by industrialized elitist standards is condescending,
And the selfestimation and knowledge of her own secret strength learned by this girl when she could not "win"! That could be preciously learned by SO many more humans who live with much greater numbers of choices today, but instead are filled with voids that endlessly need to be filled.
The ending was superb, I gave it astar until then, but the ending made me go, It was life. Life as it plays.
This waswritten too, and so it was interesting for me to see the "prior" of the really strict Taliban and other religious authority on larger and more severe scales that has happened since.
Women have less choice in marriage now and are not allowed reading and writing knowledge in most cases at all any more,
So glad I happened upon this so many years after it was written on a serendipity library Kindle search,
.