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jackienq 's review for:
The Golden Cage: Three Brothers, Three Choices, One Destiny
by Shirin Ebadi
This book could have done so much more. I was really disappointed in the writing and the time spent developing the stories--there was so much material to get to know the characters better, to describe their lives and their relationships. Instead, it was written like a bedtime story and for most of the book the connections felt perfunctory. Frankly, it felt lazy to me, like Ebadi or her editor wanted to produce a book quickly, or wanted something that more people would be willing to read because it's not too long. On one level I understand that sentiment but really felt that it took away from some really powerful stories. Ebadi also seemed unable to figure out how to strike a balance between allegory and autobiography. It was awkward to see her as a narrator of a story that takes a fictional tone but then suddenly have her real persona interject into the narrative.
I thought the story really picked up in the last hundred pages or so, saving it from the 2-star rating I was originally planning on giving it. But it's horribly sad. So sad that I almost didn't even feel outrage anymore, only depression and helplessness. Nonetheless, they were important stories and I am glad that they are being published, whatever my feelings about the style of delivery.
I thought the story really picked up in the last hundred pages or so, saving it from the 2-star rating I was originally planning on giving it. But it's horribly sad. So sad that I almost didn't even feel outrage anymore, only depression and helplessness. Nonetheless, they were important stories and I am glad that they are being published, whatever my feelings about the style of delivery.