Mariane Pearl's - A Mighty Heart

Genre : A True Story
Rating : 5/5

I was not aware of this book until I read about it on Sampada's Semantique and her review made this book's entry in my 'To-read' list.

This is the most intimate portrayal of Mariane's fight for the life of her husband- Daniel Pearl, Wall Street Journal reporter. The story starts with the dawn of January 23, 2001 in Karachi - the day when Danny has an appointment with Sheikh Gilani, an spirtual leader, (apparently more than that)! Mariane has accounted every single incident from the day Daniel went missing till the day she received the news about the death of her beloved. The tireless efforts of all the people in tracing Danny's kidnappers. The minute particulars of the stringers (liasons between Danny and Sheikh Gilani). Exact details as they put the pieces of the puzzle together. Her every emotion. Every individual who helped her in the investigations. And while describing this she doesnt shred an iota of wrath against those extremists. Neither there is any melodrama in the book. The extraordinary courage that she displays is simply rivetting. Not even for a single moment did she wish bad of Danny's captors. Daniel was mistaken as an CIA agent and all she wanted was to let his kidnappers know that they have abducted an innocent journalist, whose only weapon was pen! She indeed possesses A Mighty Heart.

Daniel's love for journalism His penchant for truth. His moral strength to declare his religion. His fondness for his wife. His affection for their unborn. Everything was modest, and yet I found him so exceptional. Through the book, I had gained so much respect for the Pearl couple that inspite of knowing the consequences and watching similar kind of brutality on the internet, my heart skipped a beat or two as I read about the hideous end of Daniel.

Though this book relates to the terrorism, while reading about the moments Danny and Mariane spent together, at times I felt it as a love story. Such was the beauty of their relationship, which was sadly scattered to pieces!