Sorayya Khan

It’s not badly written, it’s just not what I expected based on the description, and it is not a book I would have chosen for myself if I had realized what it was really about. This is a slow paced, fictional memoir, focused on a very short period in a young girl’s life. It takes place in late 1970s Pakistan, during the time when the Prime Minister is deposed, American hostages are taken in Iran, and the US Embassy in Pakistan is burned. I did not connect with the narrator and found the book itself to be tedious and boring. If you enjoy literary fiction and childhood memoirs, though, you may like this book. It’s just not my thing.… (altro)

The book was interesting to start, but just didn't seem to go anywhere. It is typical narration of events in war torn countries, and the only unique quality is the main characer is mixed race. She is conflicted as to whether she wants to be European or Pakistani, and is troubled by the class system when a diplomats wife accidentally kills her servants child and there are few repercussions. She is still upper class no matter what race she tries to pass as, and has to deal not only between the whites and the Pakistanis, but her own disdain for her father's people.… (altro)