It's rare for nonfiction to take my breath away like Half the Sky did. And yet here I am, still breathless, and almost at a complete loss for what to say about this book. It was just that good.*
Merging my passion in women's issues and empowerment with my intense interest in all things International Development, this book was an impeccable blend of powerful human interest stories and rigorous, expansive research.*
Half the Sky is an unprecedented publication in the Development world. Though movers and shakers have long struggled to draw attention to issues such as sex-trafficking/slavery, rape warfare, "honor" killings, maternal and infant mortality rates, and female genital cutting, this book is the first compendium to address all of those issues and discuss them in detail.
*
Though the body of the work certainly includes research and often macabre statistics, the author's greatest attention is devoted to the women who were interviewed about their own experiences. The stories of women like Srey Rath, a Cambodian girl forced into the sex trade with little chance of escape; Usha Narayane, a brave Indian woman who stood up to a brutal gangster in her village, freeing the women there from his awful legacy; and, a Pakistani woman who was raped and who broke tradition by seeking retribution, Mukhtar Mai opened a school, offering better opportunities for all people in her village. Their stories show the resilience of women around the world.
*
This book is just incredible. I didn't want to put it down. I got mad at Derrick this morning for taking too long to say goodbye; all I wanted to do was finish the book and then memorize everything it said.
*
Though I don't perhaps agree with every solution posited by the authors, I did come to respect many of their conclusions, as well as their ability to be persuaded by evidence they hadn't expected. Several times in the book they remark: "We thought we'd see this", or "We agreed initially with this position", but they changed their minds. This is a trait I admire so much it's one of the reasons I started to prefer The Economist to any other news source, but I digress.
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What else can I say? This is one of those books I honestly wish every single person would read. Please do.
1 comment:
I have added it to my never-ending book list, though perhaps I have already read bits and pieces of it from Kristof's columns. So in all your free time (ha!), I would love to hear more about some of the conclusions that you don't agree with, or those that you initially disagreed with but have come to respect.
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