Same thing here. Was this just going to be a case of "important/interesting subject matter, crappy writing?" I didn't know. I went into this rather hesitantly, with low expectations.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. There is a supporting author on this, one Christina Lamb - who is one of Britain's leading foreign correspondents. Who knows how much of this book is Lamb and how much of it is Yousafzai, but who cares? I found it very informative, educational, and interesting.
It's not very emotional or rant-y or sappy - and that is going to upset some people. A friend of mine IRL who just finished this said it was 'boring.' He wanted more feelings and emotions from Yousafzai. I, however, was very pleased. I learned a lot about Pakistan, what it is like living under Taliban rule, and what life is like in the Middle East in general.
DO read this book if you are looking for an educational, easy-to-read, straight-talking look at life in the Middle East during turbulent times.
DO NOT read this book if you want weeping, sobbing, gnashing of teeth, or other emotional outbursts on the part of Yousafzai. Her ambition is to be a politician - and it shows. This is very much a politician's book. Even-keeled and conscious of saying the right thing and presenting the right face. I didn't mind this, but I could see how it would bother some people.
One plus is that the book has photos - I always enjoy non-fiction books more if they include photographs of the people involved. You can see many pictures of Yousafzai growing up, all her family members, the bus she was shot in, her in the hospital, etc. etc. I thought this added a lot to the book.
Yousafzai is very Muslim and is a very religious person - but she is also a great advocate for girls and women's education. It's important nowadays to separate the ideas of "Muslim" and "psychotic terrorist/religious extremist" in our minds, especially in the U.S. of A. and other countries in which it seems a strong anti-Muslim sentiment is growing. Reading this book will put a human face on Islam even if it does nothing else for you.
Tl;dr - I really enjoyed this - if only because I felt like I learned a lot from it. Yousafzai paints a vivid picture of what living in the Middle East in the 2000s is really like. Of course, I already knew what had happened to her and how her story would end... everyone knows her story. So there were no surprises for me here. This has been on my reading list for a long time and I'm glad to have finally read it....more
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