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(More customer reviews)I learned about this book after hearing a recent interview with the author on NPR. I've read several books on the Iraqi conflict, most of them falling under the "what went wrong" category, and I'd have to say that this is probably the most heartfelt and emotionally wrenching one I've read. The author basically relates the experiences of four women who lived in Iraq during the post-invasion period and throughout the insurgency.
Two of these women, Zia and Nunu, are Iraqi sisters of Shiite background. The other two women are Americans who went to Iraq to aid in the reconstruction process. Heather joins the army and goes to Iraq out of a conviction that, whatever the merits of the invasion, the U.S. can and should play a positive role in spreading democracy. Manal is an American Muslim who staunchly opposed the U.S. invasion but nevertheless goes to Iraq to run a women's rights center. Manal and Heather eventually come to collaborate together on the construction and operation of a women's center, and the book recounts their struggles in overcoming bureaucratic inertia, interference by the Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority, cultural resistance, and the constant threat to their security.
Zia, the older of the two Iraqi sisters, is the undisputed "star" of this story. She is fluent in English, independent-minded, and confident, characteristics which help her land a job with the CPA in the Green Zone. The book traces her initial naïve optimism in the capacity of the U.S. administration to fundamentally reshape Iraqi society and build democracy, to her eventual disillusionment with many of the policies pursued by the CPA. Her job working with the Americans also makes her a special target of the insurgents, who made a special point of targeting Iraqis who collaborated with the Americans.
Nunu, the younger sister, lacks her sister's confidence and self-assertiveness, and for much of the first part of the book she remains in the background. In many ways, however, her story is much easier for many of us to relate to. As the insurgency spirals out of control and her neighbors and friends are threatened and murdered, she withdraws into a shell. The author deserves credit for portraying these women so candidly that the reader is drawn into their universe. The narrative almost feels like a novel, as the reader is compelled to keep turning the pages to find out how these women's stories were turned out.
These women's stories occur, of course, in a context of carnage and an overall diminution of women's freedom. Many women's rights activists and female politicians, including people that these women know personally, were murdered during this period. If I had to think of one shortcoming, the author might have followed a second family, perhaps from a Sunni background, or from a less privileged economic background, to provide a fuller account of women's experiences during this time. Nevertheless, I really can't recommend this book enough for those interested in how the insurgency was experienced by everyday Iraqis and U.S. aid workers, or for those interested in a more gender-focused account of the Iraqi conflict.
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