Freedom’s Edge
It’s a fascinating and moving read. It’s such a reminder of the days when many people travelled in those wonderfully exotic parts of the world, and freely and easily spent all sorts of time (for all sorts of reasons) in Kabul. It was all somehow OK and adventurous and dangerous at once. Those days are certainly over. So it’s full of a very real nostalgia and sense of place. She has a real ability to travel back in her own memories and to create vivid and crisp scenes and to let us see through her eyes.
I thought that the most intriguing parts were the jail sections and would have liked even more details about those experiences. She was able to bring the other women to life, she has a gift for description (very like photographic sketches). The intricacies of the Afghani judicial system remain a maze of confusions as they are. It is hard to follow the twists and turns of her various setbacks and negotiations and I’m sure the real story was even more convoluted and unfathomable.
The treatment is like a long diary/journal, and that’s why it’s a fascinating and credible read. Her experiences and observations are always interesting and there is a great deal of natural drama/tension built into her very serious predicament...
Anne Mackenzie, Telefilm Canada—January 26 1998