Storyteller's Daughter

The startling memoir of a young woman
shaped by two dramatically disparate worlds

Born in Britain, Saira Shah was inspired by her father's dazzling stories to rediscover the now lost life their forebears knew for 900 years within sight of orchards, snow-topped mountains, and the minarets of Kabul. This is Saira -- part sophisticated and sensitive Western liberal, part fearless (even fierce) life-gulping Afghan, falling in love with her ancestral myth, chasing Afghanistan. Saira, at 21, becoming a correspondent at the front during the war between the Soviets and the Afghan resistance. Then Saira, self-imprisoned in a burqa, risking her life to film Beneath the Veil -- her acclaimed record of the devastation of women's lives by the Taliban. Saira discovering her extended family, discovering a world of gorgeous family ritual, of community, of male primacy, of arranged marriages, finding at last the (now war-ravaged) family seat, discovering at last what she wants and what she rejects of her compelling heritage.

Well written and well told!

Saira Shah is a great storyteller. Her story narrates her time in Afghanistan as a female reporter. She is intense and weaves her tale into an incredible 3 hours. You should put aside the full three hours, as you will not want to turn the book off!

Love the book, wish more of it had been included.

I read this book years ago, and loved it, but am really disappointed with this version, so much of the book is missing, some of the authors most exciting and charming experiences have been left out.