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The End Of Manners: A Novel (2008)

by Francesca Marciano(Favorite Author)

3.49 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0375425101 (ISBN13: 9780375425103)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Pantheon

review 1: Although fiction, this book gave me great insight into the country of Afghanistan, perhaps even more so than Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Sons. For instance, an amazing fact I learned is that real estate in Kabul in much more than in Manhattan, and the real estate in Afghanistan is usually pockmarked and ravaged from war rather than a gleaming loft atop a building soaring into the skyline of the city. A second insight was the difference a cell phone these days makes in war mongering. An Italian photographer, Maria, who has left photojournalism because of feeling unauthentic when capturing people's heartbreak and capitlizing on the sadness that makes for a great photo, for the field of filming food as art, now returns to the field to accompany a... more journalist from London's The Observer researching an article on young Afghani girls/women who are turning to suicide by self-immolation rather than be coerced into an arranged marriage, usually with a man as much as three times their age.Though the book does not really even scratch the surface of this women's social issue (the reason I picked up the book) it still teaches some cultural sensitivities that are very important for the modern world that not only doesn't understand but judges the women behind their veils. And in fact, one gets more look at the foreigners and mercenaries and those making money off of the unrest than the actual Afghani people. A bit anti-climatic but still a good read.
review 2: The End of Manners leaves me thinking about what and why I read – in this case a story within a story with more kernels of stories inside that. Are the outer and the inner story both superficial? The characters or the story? Isn't all fiction superficial? Perhaps reading is mostly a substitute for thinking? Must be time to become immersed in a different book! Questions aside, I did enjoy this novel about a writer and photo-journalist who travel to Afghanistan to do a story on young women who have attempted suicide to avoid a forced marriage. Other thoughts while reading this book: Manners and respect vary not only by culture but by perspective and gender. Shifting power in relationships can happen intentionally or accidentally. Ethics of journalists and photo-journalists. less

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