The Kurdish Bike is the narrative account of an American teacher’s journey to Kurdish Iraq. Although entering Iraq as a teacher, Theresa leaves having learned more than expected.
On her journey, she immerses the readers into the Kurdish culture. It takes Theresa a while to adapt to the new environment and culture, but after purchasing a bike she is able to acclimate more rapidly.
To her surprise, she experiences but a small taste of the caste system primarily through a Kurdish woman that she becomes friends with. Theresa seeks to help her new friend but understands she must respect the rules of her friend’s home; and as an American woman has a hard time swallowing what she must accept. Her local friends are not always making the best decisions, and Theresa must watch as they reap the consequences. As a teacher in this foreign land, her career is tested, and character threatened.
So, it is only after her divorce that Theresa signs up to teach abroad in Iraq. I did not care for her anecdotal divorce history. At moments throughout her account in Iraq, she has moments of pining for her old life with her husband, and recounts details in her divorce often. It was not pertinent to the story of her life with Kurds and it took away from the culture of the book.
Although fictitious, this work is based upon the author’s time and experiences in Kurdish Iraq. The Author’s Afterward is a must read as the author briefly explains important events that transpired during her time there. A glossary is included in the back as a reference to the Arabic words, names, and phrases that were used in the book.
I highly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to those with multicultural interests.
