The Pearl That Broke Its Shell A Novel

Afghan American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut is asearing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fatethat combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works ofKhaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See.In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers,Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school and can rarely leavethe house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh,which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is ofmarriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, andchaperon her older sisters.But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt thisunusual custom. A century earlier, her great-aunt Shekiba, left orphaned by anepidemic, saved herself and built a new life the same way.Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl That Broke Its Shellinterweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who sharesimilar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of age?Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as abride, how will she survive?