The Moonlit Cage

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

What an emotional journey this book takes you on. The protagonist is Daryâ, an Afghan girl who begins her tale by saying she has always been told she was wicked. She is not a meek, obedient girl -- she is inquisitive and stubborn. She has an excellent voice and her description of her experiences is very evocative. I loved her descriptions of the landscapes she passed through and the scenes of quiet domesticity. But her life is rather tough in places and downright harrowing in others -- her time with Osric Bull toward the end of the book prompted horror and outrage on my part. I couldn't read fast enough to get away from his depravity and wickedness, taking advantage of a woman because she has no show more other choice. By this point (which is pretty close to the end) I had become so emotionally invested in Daryâ that it made me cry to think that Osric had gotten the better of her. Fortunately, her strength and a fortuitous rescue pull her through. Yay!

Actually, this book is an important reminder for women in more affluent societies that not so long ago things were not very good for our sex. Imagine being treated as a man's possession, good only for producing children sons and not being able to fend for yourself, not even being able to travel unaccompanied by a man. The men in this book were jerks for the most part, except for Kaled and David. Oh and Govind. Kaled was great. He was wise and reasonable, while his son, the man Daryâ is married to (it's an arranged match), is a second son who feels inferior and takes it out on his wife. She's his third wife, he's never had kids, and he blames her. Sure she has a curse of childlessness put on her by her dad's second wife, but you have to think that hubby can bear some of the blame for the lack of children. Well, he can't think that, but the reader certainly can.

In any case, if you enjoy gripping personal stories, strong female characters who face tough choices, literature set in Victorian times, and evocative description, pick this book up. show less

This epic story starting in Afghanistan and moving on to India and England tells the story of Darya, a Afghani girl emerging into womanhood in the 1840‘s. A woman’s life is worth little in those times and she is completely in the power of the men in her life. Believing her to be cursed by his second wife, her father sells her into a nightmare of marriage with a nomadic tribesman . After enduring some years of being mistreated and beaten on a regular basis, she finds herself fleeing into the desert, after she is told that her husband has found out about the curse and plans on killing her (something that is perfectly within his right to do).

She is found by David, an Englishman who takes her into his care and tries to find a place for show more her to have a life of her own. She is rejected by both natives and whites alike. All suspect that a woman who has run from her husband does not deserve to be helped. The Englishman plans on returning to England and believes he has placed her in safety not realizing they plan on turning her out on the streets after he leaves. Another white man takes her under his wing, tells her he will take her to England and keep her safe. She agrees to go with him, not realizing this is a man to be afraid of.

She finds herself a virtual prisoner , a possession and plaything of a man who will eventually grow tired of her and when he discards his women, they often never turn up again.

Through all her travails she remains a woman of strong character and dignity, believing that somewhere there is a place for her to belong. I found this story of a wilful muslim girl who dreams of a life of freedom for herself well worth the time invested. Every time I picked up this book I entered into a different world, wonderful portrayed and richly detailed. This is a story that stays with you long after you have read the final page. show less

This is the first book I've read by Linda Holeman and it was good enough to make me want to read more of her work. I love books that help me to learn about other times and other places: in The Moonlit Cage, Holeman introduces us to life in 19th century Afghanistan.

The story is narrated by Darya, a young Afghan girl. All her life Darya has refused to conform to others' expectations and secretly dreams of one day finding freedom. When her father's second wife, Sulima, puts a curse on her, Darya is forced to leave her village and is sold into marriage with the son of a nomadic chief. However, when her husband learns about the curse and threatens to kill her, she runs away again. As she escapes through the Hindu Kush mountains, she meets show more David Ingram and begins a journey which takes her first to India and then to London.

I really enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down. The first two thirds, which took place in Afghanistan and India, were fascinating, though I didn't like the way the storyline developed after Darya's arrival in England. The only other problem I had with the book was that while Darya was an interesting, likeable character, I found David Ingram, as the hero of the story, quite boring and two-dimensional.

Throughout the entire story, Darya constantly questions why she has to behave in a certain way just because she's a woman and challenges the belief that daughters are worthless and only sons are of value. I admired the way Darya's strength and courage helped her to survive all kinds of pain and abuse.

I would recommend The Moonlit Cage to anyone who enjoys long historical fiction novels...but you can prepare to be saddened and shocked by Darya's story show less

This novel was an interesting way to learn about life for a young Afghani girl. In Darya we learn of the repressive life of females in Afghanistan. We follow her jouney to India and then England where she is always being ruled by men. There is a feminism to this novel that was really strong. I did find Darya's time in England to be the longest part of the novel and more predictable. The love story between Dary and the Englishman David is rather predictable and somewhat "Harequin" but the novel has a lot of important things to say about women's rights in Middle East at this time that far outway any of the standard love struggle.

I liked this book. It was well written and had a nice flow. I really liked the main character Darya and felt much sympathy for her problems. It is unbelievable to me that a woman had no value unless she could bear children and was with a man. It makes me wonder if much has changed in Afganistan since 1845.

The story of Dayrâ, a young afghan girl who overcomes her destiny and begins an unprecedent journey. I loved it.

Love this author! Can't wait for her next book.