I deeply admire how the author draws vivid, verbal pictures of a world we know nothing about, and how she presents snapshots of the country's political and cultural complexities through her memoir-style vignettes. The book is infused with the authority of personal experience, making it--at times--hyper-real.So many scenes and ideas in Farishta have come back to me since reading the book, especially with Afghanistan a continuing issue in the news. I wonder how Afghanistan will re-set when the American presence is lessened, and whether a decade of freedom from Taliban rule will have a lasting influence on politics and culture. The book makes me wonder what will become of the Western-style infrastructure "improvements" that can not be sustained, and whether appropriate technologies (such as solar cooking, which Farishta advances) will ever be formally advocated in foreign aid programs to Afghanistan and other countries that have chopped down and consumed everything that will burn. I didn't really think about these problems until I read the book. And I like anything that gets my brain working like this. The depiction of the lives of Afghan women are described accurately. The fictionalized tale of a female American diplomat working in Afghanistan is far too sensationalized, inaccurate and unrealistic. I read this book before coming to Afghanistan and I now add my comments after living and working in Afghanistan for nearly 11 months. I have great admiration for Pat McArdle. She did so much more to improve the lives of Afghan women than anyone could have expected of her. I just found the artificially added foreign intrigue/romance completely incompatible with her original mission to have a positive impact on the women and children of Afghanistan.
What do You think about Farishta (2000)?
An view into the life of a diplomat in a challenging part of the world.
—Tashadawn
This book was fantastic. A lovely account of a year in Afganistan.
—MissyMonroeVanity
