The Breadwinner
Deborah Ellis, Author Groundwood Books $15.95 (170p) ISBN 978-0-88899-419-6
Ellis (Looking for X) bases her contemporary novel on refugee stories about the oppressive rule of Afghanistan by the Taliban. Eleven-year-old Parvana must masquerade as a boy to gain access to the outside world and support her dwindling family. Parvana's brother was killed years earlier by a land mine explosion and, for much of the story, her father is imprisoned, leaving only her mother, older sister and two very young siblings. The Taliban laws require women to sheathe themselves fully and ban girls from attending school or going out unescorted; thus, Parvana's disguise provides her a measure of freedom and the means to support her family by providing a reading service for illiterates. There are some sympathetic moments, as when Parvana sees the effect on her mother when she wears her dead brother's clothes and realizes, while reading a letter for a recently widowed Taliban soldier, that even the enemy can have feelings. However, the story's tensions sometimes seem forced (e.g., Parvana's own fear of stepping on land mines). In addition, the narrative voice often feels removed ""After the Soviets left, the people who had been shooting at the Soviets decided they wanted to keep shooting at something, so they shot at each other"" taking on a tone more akin to a disquisition than compelling fiction. However, the topical issues introduced, coupled with this strong heroine, will make this novel of interest to many conscientious teens. Ages 10-12. (Apr.) FYI: All royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to Women for Women in Afghanistan, dedicated to the education of Afghan girls in refugee camps in Pakistan.
Details
Reviewed on: 03/01/2001
Release date: 03/01/2001
Genre: Children's
Prebound-Glued - 170 pages - 9780613444880
Hardcover - 170 pages - 9780888994196
Paperback - 179 pages - 9780888995926
Paperback - 16 pages - 9780198329817
Downloadable Audio - 1 pages - 9780739366899
Open Ebook - 1 pages - 9781554980079
Paperback - 170 pages - 9780198329800
Paperback - 170 pages - 9780888994165
Hardcover - 174 pages - 9780192752116
Hardcover - 170 pages - 9780307258007
Paperback - 170 pages - 9780192752840
Paperback - 192 pages - 9789863380658
Prebound-Glued - 176 pages - 9780606372329
Paperback - 165 pages - 9780192734020
Paperback - 176 pages - 9781554987658
Paperback - 176 pages - 9781554987641