Monday, August 25, 2008

A Summer Treasure

This summer I feasted on a variety of books from life altering to mindless entertainment. They include Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin; The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel; Bar Sinister, by Linda Berdoll; and the series, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer. My favorite novel was without question the eloquent, Three Cups of Tea. Mr. Relin’s account of Greg Mortenson, a real life hero who built more than fifty schools for impoverished villages in Pakistan, is at once both captivating and inspiring. I was very touched by this man’s selfless mission to improve the future of Islamic children in the Taliban’s backyard. I was impressed by his unflagging devotion to this cause in the face of incredible odds. And I was often brought to the point of tears by the moving descriptions of the children’s reactions to the gift of education, something that is taken for granted here in the United States. However, the most poignant moment in the novel is when Jahan, one of the girls who attended Mortenson’s very first school in the conservative Islamic village of Korphe, attends medical school and then returns to improve conditions in her village. As Kevin Fedarko, one of Mortenson’s friends and a former editor of the Outside Magazine explains: “[s]he had graduated from school and was the first educated woman in a valley of three thousand people” (300).

But what makes this account so inspiring is the way Mr. Mortenson is portrayed as a selfless hero—compassionate, humble, but yet very human in his flaws. He is a contemporary Mother Theresa who makes countless sacrifices for Islamic children, yet a husband and a father who must neglect his own family. I also connected with Mortenson in a different way. I particularly enjoyed the account of Mortenson’s childhood in Africa, growing up alongside children of many different nationalities. As he recalls, “it was a wonderful place to go to school…it was like a little United Nations. There were twenty-eight different nationalities and we celebrated all the holidays” (36). This reminded me of my own childhood in Tokyo. I attended Nishimachi International School and like Mortenson I had friends from countries all over the world. I was raised to embrace the differences in the cultures and religions of my friends. And when he struggled initially to fit in at his school after moving back to America, I understood and empathized completely.

Three Cups of Tea is a book that allows you to believe that one person can truly make a difference in the world. This novel attests to the old adage, “you are never given a dream without the power to make it come true.” In addition, this story has the ability to change American attitudes toward peoples of the Middle East. Three Cups of Tea dramatically changed the way I view the region of the Middle East, its people, and the religion of Islam. The story goes a long way in dispelling some of the hatred and mistrust that has become a part of us since 9/11. By exploring some of the origins of the political, economic, and social problems that exist in the Middle East today, Relin and Mortenson are helping to change the way Amerians think about this volatile area. Perhaps one of the novels most important messages however is that there are peaceful and humanitarian alternatives to fighting terrorism, human rights violations, and the ceaseless violence in the Middle East. Mortenson, through his journey as a Muslim, allows Americans and the west to view Islam in a different light-- as a noble religion of compassion and duty.

It is not often that one finds a book that has the ability to alter your prejudices and at the same time inspires you to chase improbable goals and dreams. Three Cups of Tea is one of those rare treasures. (649)