Phyllis Chesler

Actually, the second part of Chesler's book, discussing the history of Afghanistan and the treatment of women in right-wing extremist Muslim countries was the better part of the book.

Although her husband tricked her into going to Afghanistan (she had no knowledge that she would be forced to follow the traditional covering and means of travel, or no travel for women, among other things, much like Betty Mahmoody in "Not Without My Daughter"), she still retains a relationship with her Afghani husband years later. He move to America in the early 2000s.

I felt her discussion, her wondering "aloud" about her husband's true understanding about how women were treated in his native country and how he could still continue to believe Afghanistan is good country for men, women and children (then why is he in the U.S.?) was distracting, and almost seemed like a torch-bearing exercise on Chesler's part.

Still, when she gets past those issues, the book provides in-depth information about what is was/is like to live that kind of restricted life, and what people, worldwide are trying to do to make conditions better for women in those countries, as well as countries like India.… (plus d'informations)

For me, I thought it needed to be fleshed out more. I wanted more detail. More history of why things are this way. Where does it stem from? I’m sure that is a longer book though.

She was only there 10 weeks so I don’t feel like that is long enough to warrant an in-depth analysis of life there. That’s not to say that her experience isn’t interesting but I want to know more details. She does stray from her time there and write about a little bit about what has happened since to her since, the ex-husband, etc. So, I guess it tells a little about what life there was like but not a lot because she wasn’t there a long time.

She alludes to the fact that it is different now and I think we know that from the media. They are going backward in time and not progressing. Do they want to progress? Maybe a little bit as a culture they do but they can’t because of current leadership under the Taliban. I just don’t know. It’s a very interesting topic to me that I’ve always been fascinated with. I can’t even sometimes wrap my head around what these men are so afraid of in women that they want them to wear burqas and be uneducated and pregnant.

Another reviewer on Amazon had this to say and I agree:
The second part of the book speaks to more varied topics and discusses Afghan Jews, 9/11, pro-Israeli thought, and discussion of Afghan culture from a feminist perspective. She argues that Afghanistan is a violent, tribal, medieval, Islamist (as distinct from Muslim) society. She believes that it is unacceptable to view Afghanistan through the lens of cultural relativism. Chesler was worked extensively with female victims of attempted honor killings, and she has written a book on the topic. I think that if one wants to read Chesler’s work, that’s probably the book to choose. It seems like many of the ideas she mentions in this book were developed through that work. I would like to read Chesler’s work where she uses a full academic apparatus (situates herself in existing literature and provides full notes), as some of her big, broad claims could really use that standard of context and proof.… (plus d'informations)

I have a hard time with the term Memoir. It is a very brief period in the life of a Jewish woman married to a Muslim man. I do not know if the author is guarded about the details of her emotion or simply does not remember. She uses many literary references and writes often about the theater. Literary references are great when they are in context, but this is more like half her poorly recalled story and half a collection of essays quotes from other authors on the topic of Afghanistan, basically the observations of others over the centuries. These would be great if they were to perhaps explain the perceived views and personality of someone in her story or the culture differences that she encountered and felt were a result of a time in the history of the Afghan people, referenced for such purposes. It is instead relentless name dropping. We get it you have read many books about the experiences of others in Afghanistan, if I wanted to know what they thought, I would have bought their books. There is essentially no description of her own emotions or thought process while going through what are certainly profound experiences. It leaves the reader with no connection to the author because there is no personal emotional attachment in her story. The first time her husband hit her, what is she truly thinking? It is a mystery, I would assume that this is the moment where her one ally is gone and she feels that she is in serious danger. I would assume that the impact of the man she felt she loved deeply and who she though loved her just as much becoming the one to harm her would evoke profound emotion or disbelief. There is not of this. I literally read the line that contains "he hit me" and when back because I though I must have missed some pages. It does not say she was shocked or that she perhaps knew it was coming. She was in Afghanistan for 5 months, this is a short time span for a previously loving husband to become a abusive captor, yet there is no indication of the emotion, pain or disbelief that would impact most women. She actually comments on the stories of others she encountered in her travels, and the emotion that their stories evoked in her, but not in relation to her own experiences. To break it down, the book description quotes "Twenty years old and in love, Phyllis Chesler, a Jewish-American girl from Brooklyn, embarked on an adventure that has lasted for more than a half-century." She was in Afghanistan 5 months, her "adventure that has lasted for more than a half-century" is almost completely her life in New York after her return. She also can't ever clarify if she loved her husband prior to or during her marriage, she repeats that she wondered if she ever really loved him. Next description quote - "She fought against her seclusion and lack of freedom" in reality, she complained to her husband because she could not go and do the things she wanted. I do not mean to imply that being in seclusion is not devastating, but the term "fighting against" usually implies a constant and ongoing struggle for the greater good. She actually expressed that she could not go mountain climbing, sightseeing and shopping without being escorted. The last quote "Chesler nearly died there but she managed to get out" In the book this is the chapter titled "Escape". She got hepatitis and her father in law bought her a plane ticket and her family all went to the airport to see her off. She goes sightseeing on her layovers in Russia and Germany on her way back to America. Not really the picture of someone who just narrowly escaped death.
The best part of this book is getting a small glimpse of the compassion from members of her husbands family. It is rare to read a story of women in Afghanistan that depicts a understanding and recognition for a woman's suffering, and the acts of kindness coming from the men in Muslim men in the story. They are often depicted simply as monsters, certainly some are, but the majority who are good and loving are not usually recognized. It is great to see them acknowledged.… (plus d'informations)

I am a second wave feminist who was politically active at the same time that Dr.Phyllis Chesler writes about. I have met her cast of characters at different political meetings and conferences and oh what a time it was. Dr Chesler writes about these times with wit, pain, honesty with a sharp eye for the contradictions, the drama, the turbulence and plain meanness and sweetness of it all. Like all social movements there are cliques, backstabbing, genuine animosity between members and among different factions of the movement. Yet, my overall feeling of the time was how exhilarating it was like to be in a movement that was making real change for women. I found myself chuckling that Dr Chesler focused on the gossip, the backstabbing and infighting of the time and in her book, was doing the same. A great read, an incisive look at a social justice movement with all of its warts, failures and beauty.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion.
Karen… (plus d'informations)