Honour by Elif Shafak

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



If there is one thing this book succeeds in impressing upon the mind of reader, it is that it takes years and lots of suffering and pain to let go off deep-seated notions of righteousness, passed down through generations in a conservative society. One of the most horrific outcomes of such practices is ‘honour killing’ where a woman is murdered in cold blood to supposedly keep the honour of family intact in case she deviates from the rules of modesty dictated by the system. While it is also true that sometimes the awareness of oppressive practices especially prejudices against women, is stifled by the patriarchal systems vigorously lest it upends the existing rules of male dominance.

But what happens when such an act results in a kind of introspection by the perpetrator. When the dark, dingy cells of a prison, lets the murderer come to face with the darkness inside his own heart. When the burden of his own act gets the better of him and he looks for penance, which might never come his way.

This book has at its heart, one such murder – that of a mother by her teenage son. But this book is also so much more than that. It is a window into a world largely unknown to the developed world, into its customs and mores. It effectively portrays the deprivation of a world that clings to its traditions and rituals to keep a sense of belongingness intact. More importantly, it brings to the fore, the muffled voices of the oppressed women as well as of the sometimes-confused voices of the oppressor, who have never questioned the long held beliefs, who haven’t felt liberated either from the societal expectations.

And then this book is a page turner too. I was left in awe of Shafak’s ability to hold reader’s attention with a fast pacing plot, which gratifies literary senses too.




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