Review: The Pearl that Broke Its Shell

The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really unusual book, and one I liked. It followed two women, one in modern-day Afghanistan and one several generations earlier. In each case, the women were in poor situations where dressing and acting like a son rather than a daughter (or a man rather than a woman) was preferable to their alternatives. In modern times, a young girl begins to dress like a boy to help her family. Generations earlier, a woman finds herself alone past marrying age and chooses a role in the royal palace as a man.

I liked reading this book because it was about something completely foreign to me. I also liked how well both sets of characters and situations were developed. When I was reading one chapter (they alternate) I couldn't wait to read what was happening in the other story, and vice versa. Neither plot was predictable, although the stories hung together very well.

Definitely recommend.

View all my reviews