#IamMalala was an amazing read! It is her memoir of living in a Taliban occupied Pakistan, fighting for her right to education, and surviving the Taliban attack on her life. Her bravery, perspective, wisdom, and faith are remarkable.
From a literary perspective, I enjoy her presentation of the politically complex context that is Pakistan. What many of us (Americans) fail to see is the complexity of any situation. We are quick to throw everything we have into one of two very problematic political buckets and go “all-in”. People from other parts of the world often have much more complex understandings of their (often paradoxical) systems. Malala beautifully presents the stark reality that sometimes there are no “good guys” in terms of political entities, or very few at the most. She examines each event from the perspectives of multiple parties to demonstrate the confusion, distrust, and chaos created by corruption and a history of violence. I firmly believe we should ALL be reading books about historical events from the perspectives of other cultures so that we can see how our county’s actions are perceived around the world.
On that note, I think she tells her story in very much the style of her culture. The caveats and trips back and forth in time to explain context can confuse a reader who isn’t familiar with this type of storytelling. I think it helped me immensely to have read books like The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. These works of fiction introduced me to cultural norms and historical context that I drew from as I read.
Give it a read! #withMalala #MalalaFund
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@cwilsonspanish 