en-US Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:28:08 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review5805708298 Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:28:08 -0700 /review/show/5805708298 Yasmin gave 4 stars to When There Was No Moon (ebook) by Irma Fritz
bookshelves: currently-reading

I deeply respect the author’s resolve, in this novel, to address the tragedy of violence against women at the hands of the men who have power over them. Along with that is portrayed the helplessness of girls and women who are denied education and therefore the economic independence which would allow them to escape this kind of persecution. This intertwining of the two themes gives the story depth and makes it more than an individual story about a girl who is destroyed because she falls in love with the wrong man. This is and exploration of the themes of culture and its impact on women and speaks to the universal issue of human rights. Samina, the heroine is endearing, the writing flows well and the story telling is absorbing.
Another facet of the novel that I have great appreciation for is the amazing amount of research the author must have done to create such a richly drawn portrayal of everyday life in Pakistan-a country and culture which is not her own. The descriptions of the food, the clothes, the farming, the Islamic rituals and festivals, all transport you to the time and place of the story. The story has many different personalities, and the reader gets to know what drives them and why they are the way they are.
A reservation I have is that none of the men who are main characters in this story elicit respect—not even Nasir, the older benefactor who makes it possible for Samina, to go to school. In the story, he does two of the worst things a man can do. Samina’s father and brothers are beyond redemption and feed into the stereotypes of Muslim men. I think it would have been a stronger book if their characters had been drawn with more complexity.
On the whole, this is a compassionate and thoughtful look at an important subject.
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