Alesa Lightbourne's The Kurdish Bike, not surprisingly is set in Kurdistan, where Lightbourne taught in 2010. It's protagonist is an American woman who teaches in Kurdistan so likely much of the book is based on the author's experience there. This is another book MJV sent me and she writes about it:
'The San Francisco Book Review notes the wide range of this initial writing effort: “The Kurdish Bike is a gripping story of one woman’s immersion into a not-so-comfortable world, where she struggles to make sense of critical issues, like violence, lack of respect for women, poverty, and the general sense of the absurd characteristic of war-ridden areas. But it is more than that. When Theresa answers the ad to teach at a Kurdish school, she has no idea of the challenges that lie ahead. Now, thrown in an unknown world, she has to reconcile with new cultural values and witness the aftermath of war and its implications on culture and lifestyle. Can her voice be heard? What does it take to replace structures of oppression? What hope do the marginalized have vis-à-vis the cultural divide and the harsh political landscape? Alesa Lightbourne’s debut explores such critical issues and a lot, lot more.” Clearly, this is not just a fairytale, it is written “based loosely” on the “author’s experiences in northern Iraq in 2010.”
Having a family member who worked in international development I have absorbed some of the protocols for helpfully engaging in a foreign culture. Theresa, the protagonist in the story, violated the most basic guidelines for helpful engagement. Consequently it made it difficult for me to fully appreciate the story as the this American woman quickly attempted to force her American values on her new found Kurdish friends with disastrous results, though there is no hint in the book that she recognized her role in the tragedy that unfolds.
It is helpful to read a book set in Kurdistan, of which most of us know little. Some history and cultural learnings are a by product.
Takk for alt,
al
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