The Pearl that Broke Its Shell: A Novel
*Starred Review* Hashimi’s first novel tells the story of two young Afghan women, separated by a century, who disguise themselves as boys in order to survive. In 2007, nine-year-old Rahima, the middle child among five daughters, becomes a bacha posh, a girl who dresses as a boy so that she can run to the market and escort her sisters when they leave the house. Rahima enjoys incredible freedoms as a boy, from attending school to roughhousing with children her age, but it all comes to an abrupt end when Abdul Khaliq, a vicious warlord, decides he wants her for his wife. Only 13 when she’s forced to marry Abdul Khaliq, Rahima draws her strength from her aunt’s tales of her ancestor Shekiba, who as a young girl was scarred by kitchen oil and was reviled by her extended family after the death of her parents and siblings. Shekiba eventually found unlikely refuge in the king’s palace in Kabul, dressing as a man to guard the king’s harem. Alternating between Rahima and Shekiba’s stories, Hashimi weaves together two equally engrossing stories in her epic, spellbinding debut. --Kristine Huntley