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A review by ree16
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus
4.0
The message of this novel is inspirational, especially as someone studying finance I relate to Yunus's initial struggle of emphasizing theory that is very distant from reality and individuals. The novel provides Yunus's description of his journey to establishing Grameen bank. The journey is powerful and is enlightening to the impact that individuals can have in achieving social goals. Yunus describes the complicated and deep causes of poverty in a social, economic and cultural framework and describes how those barriers had to be combatted for the success of Grameen bank. The novel describes this journey and the wonderful progress of micro credit from a small village in Jobra to programs and conferences that expand globally. My favourite parts of this novel were the personal stories of women whose lives were impacted and improved, testament to the social change that Yunus was able to bring. Yunus also draws conclusions as to how social change can be brought in the future and he challenges institutions in an interesting way.
I do have concerns with the novel as well. I did come into my reading of this book expecting a memoir depicting the life events that led to the creation of Grameen and his journey bringing it to fruition. Although the message and content is present the delivery can come off as required reading for a course and less like a novel. Yunus occasionally depicts beautiful scenes from his life and showcases his writing ability but at other times simply reveals a series of facts that make the novel seem more like a business report on the Grameen business model. I do understand that he is providing these details for others to be able to understand and possibly replicate this model themselves but as someone reading more for literature than for research, it was a little dry.
Overall I would recommend this novel, especially for those who feel their careers and studies are distanced from real problems and people. It provides inspiration and hope about the possibility for betterment of the overall human condition and can provide inspiration to make changes in ones own life to contribute more socially for other groups. My only complaint is that the writing could have been more interesting.
I do have concerns with the novel as well. I did come into my reading of this book expecting a memoir depicting the life events that led to the creation of Grameen and his journey bringing it to fruition. Although the message and content is present the delivery can come off as required reading for a course and less like a novel. Yunus occasionally depicts beautiful scenes from his life and showcases his writing ability but at other times simply reveals a series of facts that make the novel seem more like a business report on the Grameen business model. I do understand that he is providing these details for others to be able to understand and possibly replicate this model themselves but as someone reading more for literature than for research, it was a little dry.
Overall I would recommend this novel, especially for those who feel their careers and studies are distanced from real problems and people. It provides inspiration and hope about the possibility for betterment of the overall human condition and can provide inspiration to make changes in ones own life to contribute more socially for other groups. My only complaint is that the writing could have been more interesting.