By Malala Yousafzai
Genre Memoir
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis
Malala tells about the events leading up to her shooting by a member of the Taliban and her miraculous survival and recovery.
First sentence
"I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday."
Another book club book! I swear that's all I ready lately. No. I've been doing good it just doesn't feel like it. Honestly, I had no desire to read this book. I thought it was going to be all preachy. What I didn't know was that Malala was 15ish when she wrote this book so it had a very intelligent but innocent feel to it. I never felt preached to. It was fascinating, as an American, to get this inside view of events that I've only seen one side of. Here in America we only see what the news tells us unless we dig deeper and I felt like Malala only saw Americans from her limited view as well. So, it was interesting to read about her life and upbringing and get that inside look.
I was only able to get my hands on an audio copy of this book and while I have been wanting to listen to more audio books, I struggle with them. They go too slow and my mind often wanders. Normally I would have turned up the speed so it went faster but, for this one, read in the native accent, I felt I should just leave it at normal speed. But that made it feel a little longer than necessary. I mention the whole audio thing because I feel like I might have felt differently about this one if I'd read it rather than listened to it. I don't know if I would have liked it better or worse, I just know I would have felt different about it. It was good to hear it read in the native accent, I think.
I'm not surprised by the conditions some people still live in but it just makes me angry. Not just at their conditions but everyone's. I'm not going to elaborate. I'll just say that this book will be a good one to discuss as it riled be up a bit and made me think. (Mostly about the treatment of women if you were wondering). While I wasn't blown away by this book like others have been, I liked it well enough.
Should you read it?
I'm not going to get on my soapbox and talk about how every person in the world should read this very important book. I don't feel that way. If it sounds like one you'd enjoy, then give it a go.
I haven't read this one yet, but my 14yo daughter really liked it when she read it last year. I'll get to it eventually. Not going to rush, though.
ReplyDeleteI heard there's two versions. One for a younger audience and an unabridged. Did she read the former?
DeleteI’ve been thinking about reading this book, so it’s nice to hear that it isn’t preachy and provided a unique perspective.
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteI'm glad to hear it's not preachy. I have a week to get through this. I still haven't started. Is it a fast read?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. The audio made it take forever.
DeleteThis one is on my list. I do enjoy memoirs but this one is not calling my name. One day. I feel you on the audio, I wouldn't have been able to finish it.
ReplyDeleteAudio is hard but I can see the benefits.
DeleteI read this book earlier this year...luckily I didn't have to do the audio version of it. And I thought it was good, and I learned a lot about Pakistan and the situation there. And like you, there were things that made me angry about the world in general. What I liked best about this book was Malala's spirit and how she managed to stay so positive and hopeful.
ReplyDeleteYes! Exactly!
DeleteI'm excite to read this one. I'm getting it from the library today. The fact that you didn't hate it gives me hope!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
DeleteI will read (or liste to) this book someday. That opening sentence though, wow! So powerful!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy if you get to it.
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