Customer Reviews

The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As an American curious as to what exactly is going on "over there" where our boys (and girls) are fighting, THIS book has helped me most, with insights not just into the facts of the centuries-long fighting in Afghanistan, but also insight into Afghan culture--heart understanding.

The author writes a narrative, but skillfully weaves in Afghani tales of old that help to clarify the viewpoint of those of a culture foreign to most Americans....foreign to most of the West. The author is the daughter of an Afghani father and Indonesian mother, and was raised in England. It is apparent, as she reveals to us her own struggle of East versus West, that she is attempting to be as fair as she can to both viewpoints, and even more than that...she is trying to carve out the truth between the two.

Sometimes the truth hurts. The myth of the Afghani Mujahidin, the Northern Alliance, the "rescue" of the Afghani people by the West...all is revealed. It would seem that such a thing would leave the reader in dispair, but instead the author leaves the strand of hope for the future.
Anyone who is interested in understanding Afghanistan or simply understanding other cultures will find some insight in this wonderfully written book.

Saira Shah's stunning new memoir is one of those rare and wonderful books that's hard to classify because it touches the reader in so many different ways. A jewel of many facets -- from high adventure to geopolitics to the wisdom of the ages -- it takes us on a journey of the human spirit as compelling as it is rewarding. The setting of the book is Afghanistan, a country that, despite its recent prominence on the world stage, remains for most of us little known and much misunderstood. Shah opens up Afghanistan for the reader, revealing it to be far more complex and culturally rich than the evening news would lead us to believe; and in so doing, she opens up much, much more. An acclaimed London-based journalist whose powerful television documentary "Beneath the Veil" exposed the horrors of the Taliban to the world just prior to Sept. 11, Shah comes from an accomplished Afghan family of ancient pedigree. Her brother, Tahir Shah, is a celebrated travel writer, and her father, Idries Shah, who died in 1996, was a well-known Sufi philosopher whose 30-plus books have been translated into a dozen languages. But growing up in England, where her family had settled, Saira Shah's main contact with her Afghan heritage was through the stories her father told her and her siblings -- timeless stories of fairytale mountain landscapes peopled by proud and fearless warriors upholding a centuries-old code of honor. THE STORYTELLER'S DAUGHTER is built around her search for her own identity as she attempts to reconcile the romantic Afghanistan of her father's tales with the country's reality after years of devastating civil war. In gripping fashion tempered with gentle humor, it recounts her clandestine forays into Afghanistan with the mujahidin as a fledgling reporter in the mid-1980s, as well as her equally risky trips there in 2001 to film "Beneath the Veil" and its follow-up documentary, "Unholy War." In the process, it sheds considerable light on the conflict that has ravaged that country for decades, as well as on the upsurge of Islamic fundamentalism -- quite alien to Afghanistan's moderate, Sufi-influenced tradition -- that has given rise to al Qaeda. But the book goes far beyond those things in scope and appeal and, like the very best literature, serves as a lens through which the reader can gain a greater self-understanding. Thought-provoking, moving and beautifully written, THE STORYTELLER'S DAUGHTER is, among many other things, a timely reminder that we can rarely fit the world's complexities into the narrow confines of our own preconceived notions and oversimplifications.

Saira Shah, raised in Britain far from her ancestoral homeland, Afghanistan, attempts to rediscover the Afghanistan of her father's stories. At a young age, she becomes a journalist, and heads to Afghanistan to cover the war against the Soviets. Traveling secretly with the mujahidin, she enters Afghanistan and gives us a view of the war from the point of view of the people living through the war. The adventures that she relates in this book are quite exciting. It provides an excellent idea of what the situation in Afghanistan is like. It's interesting and the writing style is easy to read. I really recommend this book.

Saira Shah sheds light on the complex and subtle religion, culture, and politics of the diverse people in Afghanistan. It's a thoroughly engrossing book with all the qualities described in other reviews.

"The Storyteller's Daughter" helps us towards a better understanding and away from an appalling ignorance about a country that the U.S. has chosen to interfere with. Reading it deepens my concerns that we're meddling in places that we have little or no understanding of and may never be able to understand.

Shah views the divisions within Islam based on fanaticism versus mysticism rather than schools and creeds. The Afghani's are inclined towards the mystic, whereas the Saudis follow a more fundamentalist and austere Islam. Here's an Afghan joke that demonstrates the shared commitment to waging war but the differing approaches: "Every Afghan fighter wants to be a ghazi, a hero, but the Arab wants to be a shahid, a martyr. That's why we try to help them along by putting them on the front line!"

When Shah writes about the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan in 1986, she notes that the U.S. wanted to see the conflict as a fight of democracy against Communism and failed to see that its "allies" were fighting a war between "extremist political Islam" and Afghanistan's "outdated traditional society," and the U.S. was funding the extremists.

Family history and allegiances are complex and go far into the past. She explains how a long history of invasions of Afghanistan, Afghan invasions of other countries, and internal wars between families and tribes has resulted in men who are fierce, brutal, and fearless fighters.

One of these fighters is a twenty-four-year-old Taliban commander who began fighting at eleven and has never lived during a time of peace. He's fought both for and against the Taliban based on who offers the best weapons. He carries photos of smiling fellow warriors before an attack and cassette tapes of battles in which he has fought. "`I always record my battles, I can play them later for relaxation and so that my name will live for ever.' Between explosions, the cries of the wounded are audible on the tape. He points to the child who will soon be joining the fray. This is the commander's favourite battle because during it the child's father was martyred. The tape reminds him that his friend is now in Paradise."

The book is compelling and unforgettable.

Saira Shah continues the tradition of her esteemed family with a compelling and personal travelogue and object lesson that meets the high standards set by her grandfather, grandmother, and father (Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, Morag Murray Abdullah, and Idries Shah). This book is necessary reading for all Americans, considering our relationship with her ancestral homeland of Afghanistan over the last twenty-plus years. Those who seek easy answers, who rely on programmatic belief-structures and simplistic views of the complex phenomena that are human nature and culture... are, as usual, advised to seek elsewhere. The combination of ancient wisdom, colorful people and locales, horrific atrocities, and the hope that is endemic to humanity despite everything... is wonderfully realized here, and will change the reader, much like the characters in a story Ms. Shah presents and from which the title of this review is taken. I believe it remains incorrect to jump to any conclusions about her being placed in some sort of jeopardy or other by her father's ideas; first, because it was her interpretation of those ideas, not the ideas themselves, that led to the jeopardy; second, because her father made it clear that if she grew up she would not need to go; third, because he warned her of a need to compromise or she might get herself killed; fourth, because, given his participation in the struggle against the Soviets, it would have been hypocritical for him to stop his adult daughter doing what she could about the situation; fifth, because her father did not believe in forbidding as a teaching method, and it would have been inconsistent for him to use it in this case. Given the time span and events involved in this narrative, it goes almost without saying that things were omitted; it is unknown, perhaps even to the author, what steps were taken by others, and at whose behest, to minimize the risk of her capture or death. But what is here rings of truth, and is more than sufficient; indeed, it is excellent.

I am currently in Kabul, and have read almost every English-language book on Afghanistan that is popularly available. I have also lived in Kabul and traveled to Feyzbad, Kandahar,Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kunduz and along the Uzbek Border. I speak mediocre Dari. Among the books that I enjoyed were those by Saira Shah's grandmother (try "My Khyber Life") and her father, Idris Shah. The same cannot be said for Saira Shah's. Shah' work, however. Part of my complaint was that the book isn't about anything much - its just a list of what she claims were her experiences in and near Afghanistan. I would compare them to a series of interesting letters detailing what I did on my afghan vacation. What they don't provide is insight into what was happening in Afghanistan or Peshawar, why, or what is going on now, or much cultural or historical information.

My other, more serious complaint, is that I think most of the book is not true, and that Ms. Shah either made it up entirely, seriously exaggerated or "borrowed" the story from someone else's experience. The issue is not that the book was not entertaining, because it was, but that I strongly suspect that it is entertaining only because she changed (or created) the facts to make it so.

Too much of what she claims were her experiences in Afghanistan are general stories one hears here (such as the time she met a Mullah who spoke Arabic while claiming to be an Arab man. She says that he started faking speaking Arabic, and she pretended to understand him, so he declared them Arabs to keep his lie of Arabic proficiency and prestige that went with it. This story of two language frauds is heard in many incarnations. I even heard one in a German-language book I read 10 years ago in Austria. Also, some mountain mullahs do speak some Arabic. They may not be fluent, but they know a little bit and would spot someone who didn't, the same way you would if the only Spanish you knew was "what is your name?" and when you asked someone who claimed to be a Spaniard they didn't understand. She might have also been expected to talk to her companions and pray in Arabic - it would seem strange if she did neither, and if there is any Arabic people know here, its prayers).

Another example of an improbable event is when she tells of a Buzgashi game during which the players rode their horses into the tent holding "the Great and the Good" and collapsed the tent on them. I'm guessing all of the spectators weren't the "Great and the Good," but it makes a better story if they were. Also, although Buzgashi is compared to polo, but it is really a lot more violent. All of the horses are stallions, and taught to kick and bite each other. The only rule for the players is no eye gouging. The game set-up is sort of like a race, as the player holding the goat as to ride around certain points before he can make a goal, and the others ride alongside trying to stop him. I play horse polo and have watched Buzgashi, and although a horse might run away, the whole group of players could avoid running into a spectator's tent (I've also never seen a tent for spectators, but maybe they really had that in Pakistan). If they were out of control, horses by instinct would head for open space or for home, not into an unknown tent full of people. If by some fluke a horse or horses did run into the tent, it would not have been funny. People would have been hurt, and probably killed - the same goes for the horses. If the horses just took out the tent supports, they still would have tripped, fallen and seriously injured themselves and their riders.


Other stories just don't make sense - Dari is an older version of Farsi, it's true, but it''s not so ancient that people say "entomb thyself' instead of "take cover" as Ms Shah claims Afghans do. If Ms Shah met an Afghan who wanted her to take cover he would say "Hide!" "Get Down!" or "Cover!" He would only tell her to entomb herself if he wanted to her bury herself. It makes a quaint story about ancient languages and confusions cased by language, but it isn't true (I asked one of guards who work her at my office in Kabul, and who was previously a soldier for15 years and he agreed). By Ms. Shah's own admission her Dari wasn't so great, which makes me question if she would have understood an archaic command such as "entomb thyself," even if someone had spoken it. I also doubt that Ms.Shah spent so much time in men's clothes without anyone noticing - if she didn't have a beard, or stubble, or know how to pray with the men, they would eventually notice. From a distance I'm sure she blended in, and it would work short-term, but if she kept up for too long her secret would be out. I'm sure she did travel in men's gear, but I'm also sure it wasn't for as long as she implied, or as successfully. I used to "cross dress" in Saudi and it took abut 20 minutes before the strangers around me in the junk souk were certain I wasn't a man. There are may other such instances I doubt Ms. Shah truthfulness and stories that are too good to be true. (I was so angry when I was reading the book that I kept a list), but in the interest of a somewhat shorter review I'll stop at those examples. More generally, I find it unlikely that Ms. Shah's experience always fit so neatly into a "story,"or that her stock character friends (the rebellious Afghan girl who wants to be free, the prescient professor who sees the dangers ahead but is ignored by leaders etc.) always had the "inside scoop" and told it to her in short sound bites capturing the entire situation, or that she so frequently found herself in a situation so perfectly primed for maximum effect.


The only part of the book that is not like this is near the end, when Ms. Shah brings a television crew to film two girls (she included them in an earlier news piece after their mother was raped and killed in front of them, and the resulting interest in their fate from paying news agencies promoted a return trip to try and help them and tape said efforts for a TV channel), by providing schooling for them, only to find them afraid to leave home and their father reluctant to let them go. This was messy, morally compromising and a without a real resolution, which makes me think it is the most true section of the book. The rest is neat, pat, a little funny sometimes tragic, and, in my opinion, almost always "enhanced," if not completely fabricated.

In short read one of the many, many good books out there by the many, many truthful writer based in fact. They might not be quite so perfect and their writers not quite so in the middle of thing, but they are also more likely to be true, and you will therefore get more out of them.

Part memoir, part reportage, this beautifully written book is also an inquiry into the nature of myth, identity, and the limits of human endurance. Born in England and raised on the memories of her Afghan father's homeland, the author journeys as a young journalist to Afghanistan during the Soviet Occupation in the 1980s, traveling with the mujahidin rebels, who with massive infusions of weapons from the CIA eventually drive out the Russians and then quickly succumb again to an equally destructive civil war and the inevitable tyranny of the Taliban. A witness to these struggles and the widespread human misery they caused, Shah is present again in 2002 as the Americans retaliate in response to the 9/11 attacks.

Through it all, she ponders her deep identification with the people of this war-torn land, fired by the cultural myths that have sustained them through millenia of invasions, occupations, and civil strife, where fierce tribal allegiances and a fatalistic fearlessness make death, brutality, and suffering a common experience. Over a period of 15 years, her belief in the myths is tested, and she begins to fully comprehend not only the immensity of the human cost of the war but the extreme difficulty of making a difference for those of its casualties most in need of help.

Writing with a skilled reporter's powers of acute observation and an ability to convey images of people, places, and events in vivid and compelling prose, Shah interweaves stories, Afghan poems and sayings, and even humor, with accounts of her work as a journalist behind the lines. Readers unfamiliar with the last 50 years of Afghan history may be disoriented as Shah tells her own story, skipping as it does from one point in time to another. But read along with books like Christina Lamb's "The Sewing Circles of Herat" and Jason Eliot's "An Unexpected Light," she provides insights into her subject that are revealing, moving, and often riveting. Definitely recommended.

This book is one of the best books I have read. It was touching and made me realise what an amazing life Saira Shah has led. After I closed the book, I could not pick up annother book for a couple of days - I did not want to spoil the feeling it had left me with. This book will move you, make you think and touch you.
I loved it!

An absolutely delicious story! Afghanistan's lore and legend come to life in the author's own accounts of her bold adventures as a woman on the fronts of danger in Afghanistan. It being true made it all the more fun. I really could not put this book down; it is a fascinating tale that includes intrigue, suspense, and a uniquely satire sense of humor sprinkled throughout. Saira Shah transports the reader to a foreign land, a foreign way of life, a foreign way of thought. Yet, the tales echo familiar as she gives a spectacular presentation of the clash between mystical historical lore, modern day realities, and the blend of these two realms on humanity's culture, mind, and heart.

The story has much more potential but the parts that interested me went unexplored while the author goes on in detail about hiking over mountains and sleeping rough. I guess I expected her historical background (which she set off to explore) to be filled in more, but its like she forgets what she started out to do or something...