∎ Read Free An American Bride in Kabul A Memoir Phyllis Chesler 9780230342217 Books

An American Bride in Kabul A Memoir Phyllis Chesler 9780230342217 Books

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An American Bride in Kabul A Memoir Phyllis Chesler 9780230342217 Books

This book has been overwhelmingly interesting to me. I can't imagine reading it and not being deeply affected. The blend of pure honesty, scholarly care and accuracy, deep background, with the womanly drama in the foreground, is exciting, thought-provoking and simply pulls one in. I don't understand the cavils about "memoir" -- the word. One can write a memoir of a certain experience or period of one's life. It does not have to encompass the whole of one's life. There is nothing misleading in this use of the term. There are travel memoirs, war memoirs, memoirs of Paris in the twenties. An American Bride in Kabul is exactly what the title promises -- and much more besides, since it brings us up to the present in a way that casts a backward light -- from the perspective of an educated and mature woman -- on what happened to the young girl that Phyllis Chesler once was. Although her experience was extreme, since she found herself cast into a culture where human progress had stopped at the door of the women's quarters, most women will recognize some aspect of their own experience, even in western settings, in the riveting story Phyllis Chesler tells so truthfully. I can't think when I've read a book that walked off the page and into real life the way this one did.


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An American Bride in Kabul A Memoir Phyllis Chesler 9780230342217 Books Reviews

Worth reading. However she does spend a lot of time talking about others who have traveled to or lived in Afghanistan. There is insight in the horrors of this culture. Yes her father-in-law gave her a passport to leave the country. Her American passport was taken when she arrived and never returned. Her father-in-law got one for her that states she is a citizen of Afghanistan. He only did that because she was sick and dieing and was an embarrassment to the family. Otherwise she would have died in that country. This religion is not a religion of love It is not a country or culture of love.
Oh what young woman has thought the tall, dark and handsome muslim man was just so wonderful! ....until they get back to 'country of origin.' This is a brutally honest account of the author's experience in the 1960s in Afghanistan. I was horrified by her treatment and delighted with her escape. A must read for women to see how the muslim half lives in their 7th century backwards societies. Now we don't wonder when these folks come to modern countries and STILL BEAT their wives, do honor killings and hate free speech. Read and Learn, Read and Learn!
i found ms. chesler's story about her experiences in afghanistan to be accurate to my knowledge of similar situations ... my surprise came to find that it was easier than i thought for her to leave under those rather dire circumstances ... no young girl should ever have to experience what the author did ... while working in pakistan in the early eighties i learned of at least two americans and three british women who were in positions much like the author ... in one case only did the relationship appear to work to the satisfaction of the young woman ... only many years later the marriage became intolerable and with the help of european friends the lady and her children were able to escape to england ... the embassies are too often handicapped and unable to offer help to their citizens ... more people need to be educated about what their embassy can or cannot do to help them ... ms. chesler's story needs to be a handbook for those considering living in a country unfamiliar to them under unfamiliar customs ...
The story was interesting, what little of it there was. There were many more references to other books and other's experiences in Afganistan along with much history and politics than there was an actual story. If you are interested in that type of thing, it would be a good informational book. I really just wanted to read about her experience and there was very little of it offered. I quit reading the book about half way through after she finished her experience and started in on all the History etc. I just don't feel the book was marketed properly for what it truly is, a little like Abdul-Kareem. -) The $11 I spent on this book was not worth the experience for me.
This was an excellent book about a naïve young college student in the 60's who met a lovely young Afghani man and fell in love and moved to Kabul with him. Who would have known in those days about how women are treated by the men in these Muslim majority countries. She is a brilliant author and thinker and has written a very interesting story about a time period in her life. She also talks about how women are treated in Muslim countries like Afghanistan and the fact that there were Jewish communities there at one time.
Phyllis Chesler tells the story of true love, unfortunately with a man who's religious limitations, both self imposed, and due to external cirumstances killed her naive infatuation, and almost herself. I became a fan of Phyllis (and have since had the pleasure to meet her in person) through what I consider one of the best books on the subject of woman to woman bullying "Woman's Inhumantiy to Woman."
Doubtful that Phyllis can approach any subject other than with heartfelt passion. "An American Bride in Kabul" is a memoir that lays the foundation to an inexplicable love story the author has with Afghanistan. Page after page you wonder why she didn't cut all ties to her former tormentor, or a country, that seems to have little interest to step out of it's archaic, and difficult to understand customs. Phyllis' research is impeccable, my head still spins by her citations and mentions of other books, exiled Muslims and Jews on the subjects of politics, history, feminism, and everything related to the burqa. One thing remains certain - there is a bond between Phyllis and Afghanistan, a soul connection that runs deep and can't be extinguished, just like the love she once felt, that still simmers on a deep level. As women in the West we need to read these stories to remind ourselves that we have sisters in other parts of the world who need us to help and support them, or if nothing else to not give up on them.
This book has been overwhelmingly interesting to me. I can't imagine reading it and not being deeply affected. The blend of pure honesty, scholarly care and accuracy, deep background, with the womanly drama in the foreground, is exciting, thought-provoking and simply pulls one in. I don't understand the cavils about "memoir" -- the word. One can write a memoir of a certain experience or period of one's life. It does not have to encompass the whole of one's life. There is nothing misleading in this use of the term. There are travel memoirs, war memoirs, memoirs of Paris in the twenties. An American Bride in Kabul is exactly what the title promises -- and much more besides, since it brings us up to the present in a way that casts a backward light -- from the perspective of an educated and mature woman -- on what happened to the young girl that Phyllis Chesler once was. Although her experience was extreme, since she found herself cast into a culture where human progress had stopped at the door of the women's quarters, most women will recognize some aspect of their own experience, even in western settings, in the riveting story Phyllis Chesler tells so truthfully. I can't think when I've read a book that walked off the page and into real life the way this one did.