Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born into a Muslim family in Somalia. This book is about the craziness of her early life and her gradual escape from Islam as she matured and moved to the Netherlands as an adult. It's really fascinating and revealing. Ali definitely provides a view of Islam that is not espoused by the American Media, for example.
It's hard to imagine growing up like Ali did with oppression, uncertainty poverty, complete sexism and constant beatings. It's even harder to imagine how someone from such a background manages to overcome it all to be a member of the Dutch parliament and all around great success. It really is an amazing and inspiring story - how despite all the depressing aspects of her early life she became so successful. It's hard to pinpoint the factors that lead to her escape from a life of subservience, but somehow it happened.
I don't know what to say about this book other than I loved it and it was incredibly insightful and inspiring. As with all of her books I've read, it's beautifully written and totally compelling. I would recommend this book to any adult interested in real life in a Islamic culture, particularly someone who seriously believes that Islam is a religion of peace or cultural relativism generally.
5/5 stars
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