The story is admirable for its characters, for they are not only well-thought out, but also reflective of a country whose people are torn by a decade-long war. Being in the company of strong women of the village, Theresa learns the value of her comfortable life back in the United States and vows to make a difference in the lives of Bezma and her students at the Academy. Recently separated by her ex-husband and losing her life savings in the process, Theresa feels her problems are inconsequential, as she is appalled by the suffering of women in Kurdistan, who have to endure genital mutilation and child marriages. Each conflict in Bezma’s family makes her realize the importance of being educated and independent in this world, but also highlights the fact that women all over the world suffer from similar problems. Theresa meets Bezma, a village girl, and her life gives her a peek into the lives of women in third world countries. Determined to make the best of her time in Kurdistan, Theresa purchases a bike and sets out to explore the nearby villages. Wary of a country ridden by ethnic conflict, Theresa is amazed to see the poor living conditions of people living in Kurdistan.

After a teaching job in Saudi Arabia, she applies for a teaching job at a school in Kurdistan, in Iraq to her surprise, she lands the job. The novel begins with Theresa Turner, who's a single mother and looking for work. The Kurdish Bike by Alesa Lightbourne is one of those books that have strong characters and story, so much so that the reader feels like a member of the family. (BookLife)įew books have the ability to engage the reader so much that they feel the emotions of the author and characters.

This story of sisterhood, motherhood, and nationhood should have wide appeal. Lightbourne writes in a cinematic prose and easily folds in background about the Kurdish people’s suffering under Saddam Hussein. As Theresa struggles to implement her employer’s rigid curriculum and weathers financial calamity, the purchase of a bicycle lets her occupy two worlds: in one, her colleagues warn her away from “ragheads” and roads littered with land mines, and in the other she becomes something like family to Ara and Bezma, whose lives, ambitions, and fears soon become enmeshed with her own.

She dubs the imposing school designed for diplomats’ children “The Fortress” and is soon exploring the local bazaar (“a wonderland for the senses, this cacophony of colored plastic, traffic honks, donkey brays, dust swirls and smells of chicken fat dripping from spits”) and visiting the home of Ara and her daughter Bezma, two women in the local village. Fresh out of a disastrous marriage, 57-year-old Theresa Turner, the heroine of this moving novel, leaves the Pacific Northwest for a teaching position at The International Academy of Kurdistan in Iraq in 2010.