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The Breadwinner [Paperback]

Deborah Ellis (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: 4 Mar 2004
AFGHANISTAN: Parvana's father is arrested and taken away by the Taliban soldiers. Under Taliban law, women and girls are not allowed to leave the house on their own. Parvana, her mother, and sisters must stay inside.

Four days later, the food runs out. They face starvation.

So Parvana must pretend to be a boy to save her family. It is a dangerous plan, but their only chance. In fear she goes out - and witnesses the horror of landmines, and the bruality of the Taliban. She suffers beatings and the desperation of trying to survive. But even in despair lies hope

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The Breadwinner + Parvana's Journey + Mud City
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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: OUP Oxford; Reissue edition (4 Mar 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0192752847
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192752840
  • Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 21,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

We've heard and read millions of words about living under the Taliban, yet it remains a distant horror. But [The Breadwinner] brings everything to poignant life. (The Independent )

very remarkable and highly topical. The horrors of life under the Taliban are balanced by loyalty, courage and hope. Read it. (Independent on Sunday )

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"I can read that letter as well as Father can", Parvana whispered into the folds of her chador. "Well, almost."
She didn't dare say those words out loud. The man sitting beside her father would not want to hear her voice. Nor would anyone else in the Kabul market. Parvana was only there to help her father walk to the market and back home again after work. She sat well back on the blanket, her head and most of her face covered by her chador.

She wasn't really supposed to be outside at all. The Taliban had ordered all the girls and women in Afghanistan to stay inside their homes. They even forbade girls to go to school. Parvana had had to leave her sixth grade class, and her sister Nooria was not allowed to go to her high school. Their mother had been kicked out of her job as a writer for a Kabul radio station. For more than a year now, they had all been stuck inside one room, along with five-year-old Maryam and two-year-old Ali.

Parvana did get out for a few hours most days to help her father walk. She was always glad to go outside, even though it meant sitting for hours on a blanket spread over the hard ground of the marketplace. At least it was something to do. She had even got used to holding her tongue and hiding her face.

She was small for her eleven years. As a small girl, she could usually get away with being outside without being questioned.

"I need this girl to help me walk," her father would tell any Talib who asked, pointing to his leg. He had lost the lower part of his leg when the high school he was teaching in was bombed. His insides had been hurt somehow, too. He was often tired.

"I have no son at home, except for an infant," he would explain. Parvana would slump down further on the blanket and try to make herself look smaller. She was afraid to look up at the soldiers. She had seen what they did, especially to women, the way they would whip and beat someone they thought should be punished.

Sitting in the marketplace day after day, she had seen a lot. When the Taliban were around, what she wanted most of all was to be invisible. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A timely glimpse into the hardship under Taliban rule. 28 Nov 2001
By Midnight Sun Books
Format:Paperback
The Breadwinner offers a timely glimpse into life in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule. Hopefully, this book will become a memorial for the hardship and oppression the common people experienced, especially women, under Taliban rule, now that the Taliban rule is crumbling as I write. The book though, gives a compelling portrait of how one family tries to cope and survive. 11 yr old Parvana disguises herself as a boy so she can sell things at the marketplace when the family no longer has a male who can escort a female or take care the family's day to day affairs. Parvana pushes aside her fears and gathers her courage to provide for her family. The book describes many difficult experiences, but doesn't go overboard so that it is still accessible for children. The book doesn't go into the religious or cultural reasons why the Taliban has set up these harsh rules. It's a great book to read about contemporary life in a distant land, one that is dominating the headlines of our newspapers.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars AN UPLIFTING TALE OF RESILIENCE AND STRENGTH 12 Sep 2002
By Gail Cooke TOP 500 REVIEWER
Accomplished actress Rita Wolf ably reads "The Breadwinner," an affecting story of childhood in a repressive land.

As difficult as it may be for those of us who live in a free country to imagine, there are parts of the world where women and girls are not allowed to leave the confines of their homes without a man, and they must wear clothing that covers every part of their bodies. A bizarre look back at some nether region? No, it is a way of life in Taliban ruled Afghanistan.

Parvana, an 11-year-old girl, lives with her family in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan during the days when the Taliban held sway. Her home is one room in a bomb damaged apartment building.

Parvana's father, a former history teacher, now earns the family's living by sitting on a blanket in the marketplace and reading correspondence for those who cannot read or write. While the pittance he earns is negligible, it is something. That is taken away when he is arrested. The charge? He has a foreign education.

Now, there is no one to earn a living for the family or even to leave the house to shop for food.

Before long it is evident there is only one solution if the family is to survive - Parvana must disguise herself as a boy and become the family's breadwinner.

Listeners will be astounded at the strength and courage displayed by Parvana and, quite possibly, be reminded of the bravery evidenced by thousands of youngsters in ravaged countries. "The Breadwinner" is, indeed a sobering story. It is also an uplifting tale of stamina and strength in the face of apparently insurmountable obstacles.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Tragic yet honest 2 Mar 2013
By Michelle
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very sad book. Although it was written for children, it is also appropriate for adults. Great read!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars bread winner
Excellent read, I read this book about 6 years ago, captivating. I bought this book for my 13 year old daughter, well worth the money. Brilliant author
Published on 1 Jan 2011 by anwen01
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction for Young People
The Breadwinner is written simply for young people and is based on true events in Afghanistan since the Taliban arrived. Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2008 by Lincs Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This is a well written, eye-opening book about life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Pavana's mother is well educated but is forbidden to work because women have to... Read more
Published on 12 May 2007 by DubaiReader
5.0 out of 5 stars The Breadwinner
I really enjoyed this book and was so pleased when the second in the series came out. It is about a girl growing up under the rule of the Taliban and her life and adventures. Read more
Published on 7 July 2006 by Catherine
4.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellant book and I recomend it.
I thought it was a smashing book and I think it can get very upsetting in some parts of the book.
when you are reading the book it almost makes you feel like your there under... Read more
Published on 22 May 2002 by jack.collis@which.net
4.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story of everyday life
The Breadwinner is an inspirational story about the plight of a family living under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

The main character in the story is a young girl, Parvana. Read more

Published on 24 Jan 2002
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