People around the world have their own customs, their own rituals. Cultural differences determine ways of living, influenced by geography, history and politics.
New author Trent Reedy creates a foreign yet familiar world in his debut novel "Words in the Dust" (Arthur A. Levine Books, ages 9-12). A world away in rural Afghanistan, a girl named Zulaikha exhibits the kind of strength of spirit that is heroic in any culture.
Zulaikha lives in a small Afghani village with her father, his second wife, three brothers and a sister. Readers first meet Zulaikha when she arises one morning to the sound of the prayer call.
She strives to be a good daughter and faithfully answers the prayer call each morning. She dearly loves her beautiful older sister, Zeynab, and struggles to get along with her father's difficult second wife, Malehkah.
Then Mr. Reedy reveals what marks Zulaikha as different from the beautiful Zeynab: She has a cleft lip.
The simple surgery involved in repairing a cleft lip is taken for granted by most people in America. For Zulaikha, the idea of repairing her disfigurement is the stuff of fantasy.
While she lives her life with a certain grace and humility, her deformity is a source of obvious disgust and disdain for many people in her village. It is only in the sanctuary of her home that Zulaikha feels comfortable. And even there she must deal with Malehkah's constant scrutiny and disapproval.
Read more: at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
0 comments:
Post a Comment