Friday, March 29, 2019

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban; Malala Yousafzai




AUTHOR:  Malala Yousafzai
PUBLISHER:  Hachette Audio
PUB. YEAR: 2013
SETTING:  Pakistan and England
FORMAT:  -  audio - library ( 10+ hours)
RATING: 4/5

I Am Malala was our book group read for March. I chose the audio version, read by Archie Panjabi, who did a very good job.

I'm sure by now almost everyone has heard about Malala, even if you have not read the book.  The story tells of her life in Pakistan, growing up with a father who was an educator, an illiterate mother and two younger brothers. Living in the Swat Valley, with its beautiful snow-capped mountains, at times her life seemed idyllic. She had a close-knit family with strong values who were always there to help others in need.

Hers was an incredible story about the oppression of women and the retaliation she was subjected to. In 2011 she was deliberately singled out on her way from school and shot twice in the head.  All because of her strong beliefs and defiance that young women had a right to education.

For the most part our group enjoyed her story. We loved learning about Pakistan customs, its beauty but we felt that the violence and political aspects of the book was overdone at times.  It's hard to imagine living in a country with so much violence, upheaval and corruption.

I enjoyed her story of recovery and life in England and hearing a bit about her continued fight for women's rights to education. 

8 comments:

  1. I read this several years ago and thought it was very moving.

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  2. This is a book that I would love to read in the future. I would really like to learn more about this inspiring young woman. Great Review.

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  3. I almost read this but then I got sidetracked. It's good to know you and your book club enjoyed it.

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  4. I read this a couple years ago as well and thought it was really good, interesting, and important.

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  5. This sounds like a very touching true story. Excellent review, Diane!

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  6. WOW, that sounds like quite a worthy read.

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  7. I have never gotten to this one. Some day I will.

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  8. I still haven't read this one, which is a shame. I've heard great things about it and from what I know of Malala, she's a true inspiration. I need to get to her story one of these days!

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