Book Review - The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela

This picture book is an interesting fact-filled read about a medieval Jewish traveller known as Benjamin of Tudela. Over 100 years before Marco Polo made his journey, Benjamin left Tudela, Spain to travel throughout the known world - a journey that took him 14 years. The author, Uri Shulevitz used original Jewish sources to write about Benjamin's travels including Benjamin of Tudela's own account, appropriately titled, Book of Travels.

Each destination in The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela, and there are alot of them, is accompanied by unique, colourful artwork depicting a famous event or aspect of the locale. Shulevitz, in his author's note at the back of the book, writes that his "aim was to convey primarily a feeling of what it might have been like in Benjamin's day."

The places Benjamin visited include Marseilles, Genoa, Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Baghdad. Shulevitz frequently presents lesser-known facts about many of the historic cities and regions Benjamin visited. The book also contains a colourful, easy-to-read map outlining Benjamin's route throughout the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. This is an excellent feature of the book, and helps young readers to put the scope of Benjamins travels in perspective.

This book is highly recommended.

Book Details:

The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela
Through Three Continents In The Twelfth Century
by Uri Shulevitz
2005 Farrar Straus Giroux

Book Review

My Forbidden Face. Growing up under the Taliban: A young woman's story by Latifa is an eye-opening book. The author, who has written under the psuedonym of Latifa, escaped Afghanistan in 2001 with her parents. Growing up under the Soviet occupation of her country, life was relatively "normal" for this young woman until civil war developed between the army of General Massoud and the Islamic extremists (Taliban) supported by Pakistan. Latifa's description of life under the Taliban and what it meant to women in Afghanistan are truly horrifying and almost unbelievable. She decribes the rules implemented by the Taliban as "the total negation of women". Unable to work, be educated, seek medical help, shop for basic necessities, or even go out among society without the accompaniment of a man, were just some of the rules women had to endure.

I enjoyed reading this book because it provided a perspective on life in a country most Canadians know little about, and yet is now a part of the daily news. Like other reviewers on Amazon.com, I found the book to be very difficult to follow. The history of Afghanistan is complicated and unfortunately, is presented in a rather disjointed fashion. The author opens the book with the events of the Taliban entering Kabul, where she lives, in 1996. Latifa then has pages of recent Afghan history strewn throughout the book and it's difficult to understand how everything fits together. A second detailed chapter on the history of Afghanistan would have been a more effective way of dealing with the events that preceded those in the opening chapter and would have provided a platform for discussing the events in her family's life. Other comments made throughout the book, such as how Afghani's viewed American foreign policy, might have been discussed in detail.
Nevertheless, I recommend this book. The author's style is readable and she has some valuable insights into the effect of the Taliban on the Afghan people. It would be interesting to know how Latifa is doing today and whether she has returned to her native Afghanistan.
My Forbidden Face. Growing up under the Taliban: A young woman's story.
Latifa
Editions Anne Carriere, 2001

Domenic's War by Curtis Parkinson

In this post I would like to review a book I just read entitled, Domenic's War by Curtis Parkinson. This book is fiction but the author arrived at the idea for the story after listening to a friend recount his experiences as a teen in Italy during World War II. The story deals with a specific time frame, that is the Allied campaign to remove the German Army from the monastery of Monte Cassino. Monte Cassino was a German stronghold and a barrier to the Allied army's move northward into Italy and ultimately up towards the rest of Europe. Parkinson's novel focuses on events in two (fictious) teens lives, Domenic Luppino and Antonio. Domenic lives on a farm and courageously helps his father during the War, while Antonio has a more difficult time as a young man who has lost everything and is forced to work for the Nazi's.

I felt that this YA novel presented an accurate portrayal of the physical hardships and emotional distress encountered in an occupied country during WW II. It also touches on the controversial bombing of the beautiful and sacred monastery of Monte Cassino where the tombs of Benedictine founder, St. Benedict and his sister, St. Scholastica are located. The Afterword contains information on the mind-boggling numbers of soldiers from various countries who died in the battle for Monte Cassino as well as information on the Allied strategy.

This book would appeal to especially to teen boys and those teens interested in WW II historical fiction.

Book details:

Domenic's War. A story of the Battle of Monte Cassino

Curtis Parkinson

2006 Tundra Books

191 pages

Silver Birch Awards Official Selection