The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner, Deborah Ellis, Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press Inc, 2001.

The Breadwinner takes place in Afghanistan under the Taliban and follows the story of 11 year old Parvana, a girl who dresses as a boy to earn a living for her family. Her highly educated parents have held the family together through many bombings that have destroyed their homes and way of life, reducing their family of 6 to a one room apartment. Parvana's mother and older sister, like all women, cannot be educated or leave the house without a man due to the Taliban's restrictions; Parvana goes out only as her lame father's escort to the market to sell his reading and writing services. When her father is arrested, Parvana must dress as a boy to evade the Taliban and sell her own reading and writing services. She discovers a former classmate who also dresses as a boy, and the two of them embark on money making schemes that include digging up bones and selling cigarettes. Parvana's sister becomes engaged to a boy she hasn't seen in years because he lives in a part of Afghanistan free from the Taliban (Mazar-e-Sharif), so Parvana's family travels without her for the marriage. While they are gone, Mazar falls under the Taliban's rule and Parvana fears her family is dead. The novel ends on a note of hope when Parvana's father returns and they leave to find the rest of her family.

The novel explores many rich themes. It takes place in a country torn about by war, so there is a lot of discussion of bombings and the lack of stability in the family's lives. It also brings up issues with totalitarian police- Parvana's father is arrested for no reason and at one point of the novel she witnesses the Taliban cutting of men's arms for thievery. Similarly, the Taliban's restrictions for women and the strain it puts on families is discussed as well as coming of age as Parvana matures throughout the novel.

I think this book could be teachable, but you would need to be careful doing so. The reading level is not difficult, but there are lots of vocabulary words particular to Afghanistan that might cause trouble (there's a glossary at the end of the book). Almost all of the main characters are female, but there's a lot of action and suspense that would appeal to boys as well. Also, there are a few graphic scenes where people are beat by police that would need to be approached sensitively. However, the novel lends itself to teaching- there are lots of places to stop for shared reading, lots of description that could be used to create visuals of the text, and students would learn a lot about Afghan culture from the story.