Author: Hannah Shah
Publisher: Random house group
Pages: 288
Price: Rs 399
ISBN:1846041481
Genre:Non-fiction
Ratings: 5 out of 5
Source:Personal
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Summary:
Hannah is born and brought up in England raised as an orthodox Muslim in a family, her father being an Imam ..The family hold on to extreme religious believes,her life becomes a living hell as her father rapes and abuses her home as all in the family conveniently turn a deaf ear...To save herself from further miseries she escapes from home when she finds out about her father's plan for an arranged marriage in Pakistan..With the help of a friend and a social worker she is left with no option but to fight for herself inorder to survive...
Review:
Family is the greatest asset to a person, it comes as a warmth for a mother, affection of a father,togetherness of siblings , and its through a family one perceives the world around..IWorld's shabbiness is given a shade of beauty by family's support and a beautiful shade is further magnified..What if the beginning itself slumbers??? What if the people who were meant to protect turn around ruining life, then your becomes something like Hannah's..Hannah is a Muslim and obviously this name doesn't resemble anything Muslim, original names are not used for the security reasons..Raised as a Muslim Hannah's life is nothing short of a whirlpool , like someone stuck in it she is unable to escape ..Hannah's father is an Imam who hates British calling them "Gorey" meaning white..She is abused and raped repeatedly by him and none in the family resist or call for help.. This is done for holding the honor of the family high..Everything is done in the name of family's honor..She points out one dig , that as per Muslim religion no actions are bad or wrong unless one is caught during the act, come on can you believe that?? I thought all religion discourages any such actions...Her neighbors ignore her cry., even her mother turns a blind eye on the bruises that she walks with, her mother is relieved from the fact that she has no longer to bear the physical assaults..In her desperation Hannah turns to a social worker for help and he in turn turns to her family , all that resulting into further sufferings..Her family sounds like a pack of evil than anything like a family, Her smiles watching a cartoon is retorted with hard treatment..Her mother tells her that she is not suppose to be happy, reading all this made me wish if they were only an exaggeration... One can not go on with all the horrendous actions of the family, its such a tormenting life to live by..She reaches her breaking when she happens to know about her arranged marriage to a Pakistani Muslim and her eventual shift from England..She escapes home, this time finding the right person, he not only helps her out but lets her stay at her home..The family drama continues as the Imam comes with other religious people crying for help..Her mother asks her to come back for the sake of family honour.. Come to think of it, the person who never bothered a string about her daughter had come with something like this...It would have been easy for anyone to collapse falling apart..I am in awe for this woman who faced things head on till she achieved peace..Adapting Christianity she is leading a life away from her parents in the hope to get that someday things would be better..This book would impel you to question many things,its an agonizing tale of a woman that would leave you dazed...
My 14th book to south asian reading challenge
It is amazing how so many people are actually raised by parents who behave monstrously.Human behavior can be astounding.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if to some degree the author eventually overcame the horrors of her past. Resolutions like that sometime makes these type of books a little easier to take.