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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kabul 24, October 8, 2009
This review is from: Kabul 24: The Story of a Taliban Kidnapping and Unwavering Faith in the Face of True Terror (Paperback)
Kabul24 is a story of faith in the midst of persecution and uncertainty. The setting is Afghanistan just before 911, the Taliban still reigned supreme and Al Qaeda had run of the place. Suddenly the Shelter Now organization who has been serving the people of Afghanistan faithfully for years is unwelcome. Eight foreigners and sixteen nationals are arrested and detained. And the rest of the book is the story of their imprisonment, their faith and their difficult path to freedom.
WHAT I LIKED
I loved the way the eight focused on God in their difficulties. They spent much time in prayer and Bible study, the six women even composed songs of praise and worship. They never seemed to lose their focus on God, the difficulties never seemed to shake their faith. For example they prayed that when they were rescued that it would be without any loss of life. Their determination to trust in God was such that they turned down a rescue because it involved the killing of guards.
The authors of the book were very effective in portraying the eight foreigners with honesty and integrity. At times they despaired of rescue, at times they grew frightened, sometimes they argued in tense moments, and they struggled to know what to do. They also faced the danger to exaggerate the danger of the story. They could have stretched the truth and described beatings that never happened, they could have hidden the kindnesses and breaks that they received but they did not, for that they have my appreciation.
NOT SO MUCH
To be honest the writing was clumsy at times (I`m the King of clumsy writing so I know it when I see it), particularly when trying to describe aspects of Christian life and culture to an audience that they apparently did not expect to understand such things. However, it wasn't distracting and as the pace picked up the book took on kind of a Grisham feel, which these authors were quite good at.
Probably my biggest complaint is that book was named the Kabul24 but they focused exclusively on the eight foreigners and virtually ignored the 16 natives. I understand that this was because the natives had never converted to Christianity and Christians are their primary audience but the story of the 16 sounded much more dramatic and desperate than the eight. Just would have like more info.
My last complaint is that their was a big recurring theme that the SNI workers were not trying to proselytize (share the Gospel with hopes of conversions) in Afghanistan. My response is that either this is a shading of the truth or they really weren't concerned about the Afghani's becoming Christians. And there were moments where they seemed to be ok with people being good Muslims. I simply cannot understand being that involved with people who need Christ for so long and not sharing the Gospel with them. But I don't pretend to understand the complexities of ministry in Muslim cultures. So I hope that I am simply misunderstanding the reality of the situation.
OVERALL
Good easy read. I have some questions that weren't answered. But it was enlightening. I learned a great deal about Muslim culture and about what some parachurch ministries are doing there. Not going to be a classic but a fun read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Like watching a movie rather than being there, November 15, 2009
This review is from: Kabul 24: The Story of a Taliban Kidnapping and Unwavering Faith in the Face of True Terror (Paperback)
Kabul 24, the story "of a Taliban kidnapping and unwavering faith in the face of true terror," by Henry O. Arnold and Ben Pearson, looked like it ought to be riveting. It wasn't as exciting or compelling as I had expected, though the facts were all there.
The true account of the Christian workers who were targeted by terrorists back in 2001 has been told by two of them -- Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry -- in much publicized books and tours. Maybe that's why a lot of this book felt like warmed-up leftovers.
One good aspect of going back to pick up the various loose ends that doubtless didn't figure into the two most prominent team members' accounts is that the OTHER 22 kidnap victims are given equal time. Honestly, until I encountered the book, it didn't really dawn on me that a large group of workers for Shelter Now went through the trauma that Dayna and Heather did. In that respect, I am glad for the book's publication.
The writer and reader in me did not like how author's tone frequently drifted into a "telling not showing" mode. It distanced me, the reader, from feeling the sense of suspense and urgency that was, I am sure, part of the original experience. Instead of flipping pages because I just had to know what happened next, I found myself bored and even resentful about the way the author seemed to command me to feel tense; it felt manipulative and forced. Many times, the text read a bit like a movie script. Since this is a tie-in with a film, that might be expected.
Bottom line: if you haven't already heard and read a lot of books about westerners caught up in terrorist situations, this story might be fascinating reading for you. But if you are familiar with those cultures and political situations, Kabul 24 is not going to deliver the suspense it promises.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Harrowing story of captivity, September 22, 2009
This review is from: Kabul 24: The Story of a Taliban Kidnapping and Unwavering Faith in the Face of True Terror (Paperback)
The book Kabul 24 tells the story of eight western aid workers who were arrested in Afghanistan the month before the Sept. 11 attacks. Ostensibly arrested for attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity (by showing a DVD), the prisoners were kept in abominable conditions, interrogated repeatedly, and eventually put on trial. Their Afghan co-workers were also arrested, and were treated much worse by their captors, suffering beatings and torture. The book would be a harrowing account in the hands of more unbiased authors, but this book is so blatantly "us vs. them" that it's difficult to suspend disbelief long enough to get drawn into the story. The Christian aid workers are humble servants who only speak of their religion if asked. Their Taliban captors are illiterate, incompetent, brutal and cartoonish. While it's apparent that the aid workers suffered their captivity with grace and faith, a more balanced telling of the story would have let the reader form a more realistic opinion of the actions of both the captives and their captors. As it is, we are left to marvel at the strength of character of the captives who never lost their faith in extremely trying odds.
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