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The Lovers
The Lovers: Afghanistan's Romeo and Juliet, the True Story of How They Defied Their Families and Escaped an Honor Killing | Rod Nordland
8 posts | 9 read | 13 to read
A riveting, real-life equivalent of The Kite Runner—an astonishingly powerful and profoundly moving story of a young couple willing to risk everything for love that puts a human face on the ongoing debate about women’s rights in the Muslim world. Zakia and Ali were from different tribes, but they grew up on neighboring farms in the hinterlands of Afghanistan. By the time they were young teenagers, Zakia, strikingly beautiful and fiercely opinionated, and Ali, shy and tender, had fallen in love. Defying their families, sectarian differences, cultural conventions, and Afghan civil and Islamic law, they ran away together only to live under constant threat from Zakia’s large and vengeful family, who have vowed to kill her to restore the family’s honor. They are still in hiding. Despite a decade of American good intentions, women in Afghanistan are still subjected to some of the worst human rights violations in the world. Rod Nordland, then the Kabul bureau chief of the New York Times, had watched these abuses unfold for years when he came upon Zakia and Ali, and has not only chronicled their plight, but has also shepherded them from danger. The Lovers will do for women’s rights generally what Malala’s story did for women’s education. It is an astonishing story about self-determination and the meaning of love that illustrates, as no policy book could, the limits of Western influence on fundamentalist Islamic culture and, at the same time, the need for change.
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MaggieCarr
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Mehso-so

3.5☆ Despite a decade of American good intentions, women in Afghanistan are still subjected to some of the worse human rights violations in the world. Having dipped my toe into this culture by reading A House Without Windows (Hashimi), I knew I would eventually read this one as well. It is a story about self-determination and the meaning of love. I just wish their plight was over as I desired a happily ever after.

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MaggieCarr
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Just starting... anyone read it?

29 likes2 stack adds
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BooksandBrie
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Began this last night. A little confusing at first, but very interesting so far.

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lowellette
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Pickpick

NYT journalist covers an Afgani couple escaping from an honor killing in a hugely misogynistic culture. Fascinating and terrifying. Do not skip the appendixes!!!

12 likes2 stack adds
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Dineen73
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Pickpick

This book was sad, and horrifying, and frightening. Every sentence made me more thankful for the freedoms I have. Parts of it were frustrating too - did Ali & Zakia not understand the ramifications of their decisions? Overall, I thought it was a great read. Eye-opening!

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Dineen73
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Pickpick

It's finally my turn to read this book - I've had it on hold at the library for what seems like forever! I'm 6% in but I'm hooked already. I know I will shed some tears while reading this book.