Reviews

La Perle et la coquille by Nadia Hashimi

astrodish's review against another edition

2.0

This was painful and sad to get through . I liked it but I knew I would when I picked it up. I'm glad I finished it

heidirgorecki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Really well written and engaging. I thought the dual timeline and tie-ins between Shekiba and Rahima were well-correlated and I felt invested in both their stories. Beyond the environment and corruption they were forced in, it’s additionally so sad how isolated the women were and how often they were pitted against each other. While it was overall not a happy landscape of a book, it was still hopeful and inspiring. 

ruby_99's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

nderiley's review against another edition

3.0

Nothing like reading a book like this to remind me that I won the birth lottery by being born in the states. I found this difficult to read at times because you want to jump into the story and protect the protagonists. The book is well written and I liked the two interwoven generational stories, but it was a bit long for me.

cayleejanet's review against another edition

i just wasn’t into it, it was interesting enough but the thought of reading it made me sad so 

violetnosegay's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

seknight61's review against another edition

3.0

Took a very long time to read, but I liked the story. Felt like a very long book but I wanted to know what happened to all of the characters

areedhel's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

lediamond4's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I struggled with this book more than I wanted to. The premise was promising, and I did learn quite a bit. I had never heard of the custom “bacha posh” and I was fascinated by that part. I thought that both of the protagonists, Rahima and Shekiba, were strong and likable. I felt their joys and their sorrows. There were parts of this book where I felt entirely engaged. 

Unfortunately I really had a difficult time with the writing. It would have benefitted from heavier editing. It was a lengthy book and decent chunks of it failed to further the plot OR develop characters. 

wamz's review against another edition

4.0

Very well written. But allow me to say that it will be a very long time before I read anything from Afghanistan again. I am traumatized by the experiences the characters endured. It felt like I was reading 'A thousand splendid sons' again. The hoping and praying the women would make it to the end of the book alive. The book was good, but I hope I will recover.