Part I of this book covers Abir's childhood in Pakistan and all the turmoil and turbulence that accompanied it. The story starts with Abir's father making a vow that should her be graced with a son, his son will be a devoted servant of Allah. And that is exactly the intention of his father. Abir's father, a doctor, has tried many avenues to provide their family financial security, from applying for passage to America and being told the best way would be to have his wife apply for citizenship through her brother who lives in America and even that will take seven years. He sends his family back to the extended family and goes off in search of a more lucrative post, and gets robbed. He returns home and Abir is sent to school to learn the Quran. As sure as Abir is in his faith, he soon sees he has much to learn, and the teachers' method of instilling an education is through violence.



I'm doing this book a little bit differently because it is set up in four parts, and to be honest, it's not an easy read for me at this point. I keep going back to certain parts and re-reading them to make sure I read it right. In no way does this mean I'm not interested in the book, it's such a departure from what I'm used to that I'm fascinated. Eteraz is very descriptive and in depth with describing his family and their faith. Certain parts of the story have made me cringe thus far, but it is written from the viewpoint of a little boy and so I suppose it's to be expected that bodily functions are mentioned. The one thing that has shocked me is his devotion as a little boy to his religion. He accepts his beatings in the name of his faith, a tragedy in the family, and several other happenings that would have made someone less secure turn away from what they were raised to believe in.