I loved that Deborah Ellis provided a map at the beginning of this novel. This sets the stage for where this story takes place. It also allows the reader to further research the location if he or she wished.
One thing that I thing could be challenging in this book is the vocabulary. As an experienced reader, I found it easy to define words based on the context. For younger readers, however, I believe that the vocabulary would pose both a challenge as well as an opportunity. As I was reading, I began to make a list of words that I needed to stop and define. These are the words I had written down for this section of chapters:
- Chadar: a large piece of cloth that is wrapper around the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed.
- Salwar kameez: a pair of light, loose, pleated trousers tapering to the ankles.
- Chowkidar: A watchman or a gatekeeper
- Imam: The person who leads prayers in a mosque
- Tosahk: A narrow mattress used in many Afghan homes instead of chairs or beds.
- Qur’an: The Islamic sacred book
Something that I found right away in this novel is how Ellis encourages the reader to feel certain ways about the characters. For example, in only the first chapter, I already knew that I disliked the Major. I found him to be cocky and rude. When he speaks to and about Parvana he uses incredibly dehumanizing language. On page 16 he says “What would a girl like this be doing with an American classic… Why are we even trying to civilize these people?” This dehumanizing language makes me dislike the Major in an extreme way, which is confirmed further in the next six chapters. The Major claims that he wants to show respect for Parvana’s culture, all the while refusing to return her chador. He also taunts her later saying that he really wants her to have a good meal and a good sleep while refusing her food and rest until she speaks to him.
As the story continues, I begin to understand who Parvana is and what her character is like. Ellis begins to outline Parvana’s background throughout the first seven chapters. Whether through specific descriptions or allusions to the past, we learn that Parvana has experienced much hardship, which has contributed to the way she behaves and understands the world. Some of the ways that Ellis develops Parvana’s character and elaborates on her past are:
- Parvana’s appreciation of the prison cell. She comments that the cell is clean and nicer than where she has been living.
- Discussion of school. The narrative flips between Parvana’s current situation and flashbacks to when she was attending school with her sister as a teacher and her mother as the head mistress.
- Discussion of a past life. Throughout the story, we learn more and more about Parvana’s time acting as a boy, her life and interactions with family, and a little bit about her time in the marketplace.
In preparation for this book, I began reading the first book in the Breadwinner series. Although I didn’t get very far into the first book, I do believe that it allowed me some insight into the character of her family. I wish I had had the chance to read the other books before this, as I believe I would have a more full understanding of who Pravana is and what has led her to where she is now.
Some of my predictions after reading the first seven chapters are:
- I think the Private will help Parvana. I don’t know in what way, but I think she will become an ally while Parvana is in prison.
- I think the reason Parvana was wandering around the school yard was not because she ended up running away, but because the school was somehow destroyed, perhaps by the angry people she encountered in the market who believed that girls should not be in school.