At the core of her novel Broken Chains, the author Emiliya Ahmadova examines three generations of women: Sadaget, the grandmother; Esmira, the single mother; and Silvana, the dutiful granddaughter and mother herself. In these interrelationships lie rivalries, jealousies, and vendettas, culminating in Silvana's Christian and Muslim intermarriage. These women's clashes with overbearing and abusive males lie at the core of the novel's message about redemption and victory over neglect and negligence.
The novel provides an incisive treatment of abuse in all forms: sexual, familial, marital, and parental. Ahmadova takes us into Silvana's inner world of turmoil, and her narrative appeals to not only English-speaking women readers, but also men in marriages that are dysfunctional. Moving is the percipient candor of the narrator--her struggles, her ambitions, and her eventual victory over abuse and through a headstrong focus on achieving what we all deserve in life: happiness and independence. Such a victory serves as an inspiration and role model for all of us in a world gone insane with divisiveness, deception, and deceit. The author serves as an admirable and worthy mentor for everyone.
Ahmadova invites American women overwrought in their kitchen by demanding husbands or micromanaged at their jobs by male misogynists to escape into the world of Silvana and the exotic locales of the Middle East. In intermarrying, she combats a Christian monster and, as a result, a divided and mutinous Muslim family in an effort not only to declare her dreamt independence, but also to pursue her deserved happiness, all universal aspirations in a world fraught by conflicts, collisions, and confrontations of religions, nationalities, and gender. You will find similarities to your own lives, yet Ahmadova exposes the intricacies of Islam when it comes to love beyond its borders.
Mr. Brian Daniel Harvey, M.Phil. (Oxon)
Chico, California, USA
The novel provides an incisive treatment of abuse in all forms: sexual, familial, marital, and parental. Ahmadova takes us into Silvana's inner world of turmoil, and her narrative appeals to not only English-speaking women readers, but also men in marriages that are dysfunctional. Moving is the percipient candor of the narrator--her struggles, her ambitions, and her eventual victory over abuse and through a headstrong focus on achieving what we all deserve in life: happiness and independence. Such a victory serves as an inspiration and role model for all of us in a world gone insane with divisiveness, deception, and deceit. The author serves as an admirable and worthy mentor for everyone.
Ahmadova invites American women overwrought in their kitchen by demanding husbands or micromanaged at their jobs by male misogynists to escape into the world of Silvana and the exotic locales of the Middle East. In intermarrying, she combats a Christian monster and, as a result, a divided and mutinous Muslim family in an effort not only to declare her dreamt independence, but also to pursue her deserved happiness, all universal aspirations in a world fraught by conflicts, collisions, and confrontations of religions, nationalities, and gender. You will find similarities to your own lives, yet Ahmadova exposes the intricacies of Islam when it comes to love beyond its borders.
Mr. Brian Daniel Harvey, M.Phil. (Oxon)
Chico, California, USA
This book is the story of multi-generational domestic abuse. It is not an easy book to read, but it is an important resource, I'm sure, to those struggling with the same issues. I found it a bit of a wake-up call for me, since I have been sheltered from this. It certainly raised my awareness.
It is not only an indictment of a hidden evil in society, but shows that there is hope for those caught in the trap described in the book.
Jeremy Helton
It is not only an indictment of a hidden evil in society, but shows that there is hope for those caught in the trap described in the book.
Jeremy Helton
This book recounts the story of three generations of women who endure the common theme of domestic abuse. In every case the abuse is inflicted upon them by the very people who should have loved, cherished and protected them. The reader is introduced to Sadaget, who is the mother of Esmira. Esmira becomes a single mother when she gives birth to Silvana who then becomes a mother and herself suffers from the scars of the heritage of emotional cruelty.
This chain of suffering is referenced in the title, but the book offers hope of redemption when Silvana breaks the chain and frees herself from the trap that generations of her family had endured. Though the story ends on a hopeful note, the suffering is painful to read.
This is a sad story, but well worth reading. It clearly shows how difficult a trap these emotional prisons can be. But it also shows that the chains can be broken, and that the cycle of emotional and physical abuse do not have to be endured or passed along to one’s children.
Mary Fox
I came across Emiliya Ahmadova’s book “Broken Chains” after reading Emily Hayworth’s book “Verbal Abuse: Diary of an Abusive Relationship”. Broken Chains is another moving story pointing out domestic violence. Some people may say these are just common stories. Are they? I don’t think so. The fact that too many women live a life of oppression, injustice, and abuse, be it verbal or physical, doesn’t mean these life-stories are “ordinary”. It should not be considered normal when people, especially women, are treated like slaves, trash, and “second class humans”. But, unfortunately, the reality is quite different. That’s why, in my opinion, it’s so important that more women dare to raise their voices.
Broken Chains is an awesome book. I love it. The plot is rich, unique and really gripping. I couldn’t put it down until I finished reading the last chapters at 5 o’clock in the morning.
Emiliya Ahmadova writes in her very own fascinating style. Authentic and honest. It’s a very touching story of 5 generations of Azeri women. Mary, Sadaget, Esmira, Silvana and Silvana’s daughters. Each of them tries to prepare the next generation for a better life. In vain? Is there a way to escape fate and traditions, break up with unwritten rules and change the future for good?
The author shaped colorful and very believable and likable characters. These women have a lot in common and are so different at the same time. The story seems very real. Indeed it is, because, unfortunately always today, myriads of women deal every day with domestic abuse. The kind of taboo topic. It happens only to the others.
There are never too many stories narrated, too many books written, too many songs sung or too many people raising their voices against abuse, violence, and humiliation. Whoever argue that this is only one more ordinary story never lived it and should hold his tongue. For the rest of us, this book is very inspiring and full of lessons and hope. Hope for a better life for all of us. Hope for a new future for the next generations. For a new world, where justice and human rights reign instead of hate and indignity.
This book will find its way to many readers across the world. It is beautifully written, stirring, and full of suspense. The story is filled with drama but also a lot of hope for a better future. A better world will come. I truly want to believe it. Congratulations to Emiliya Ahmadova who created this inspiring story--with passion, love, and hard work. Women, get the words out! Each story is important and helps to raise awareness, and finally, shape a new future for all of us.
Herby
Broken Chains is an awesome book. I love it. The plot is rich, unique and really gripping. I couldn’t put it down until I finished reading the last chapters at 5 o’clock in the morning.
Emiliya Ahmadova writes in her very own fascinating style. Authentic and honest. It’s a very touching story of 5 generations of Azeri women. Mary, Sadaget, Esmira, Silvana and Silvana’s daughters. Each of them tries to prepare the next generation for a better life. In vain? Is there a way to escape fate and traditions, break up with unwritten rules and change the future for good?
The author shaped colorful and very believable and likable characters. These women have a lot in common and are so different at the same time. The story seems very real. Indeed it is, because, unfortunately always today, myriads of women deal every day with domestic abuse. The kind of taboo topic. It happens only to the others.
There are never too many stories narrated, too many books written, too many songs sung or too many people raising their voices against abuse, violence, and humiliation. Whoever argue that this is only one more ordinary story never lived it and should hold his tongue. For the rest of us, this book is very inspiring and full of lessons and hope. Hope for a better life for all of us. Hope for a new future for the next generations. For a new world, where justice and human rights reign instead of hate and indignity.
This book will find its way to many readers across the world. It is beautifully written, stirring, and full of suspense. The story is filled with drama but also a lot of hope for a better future. A better world will come. I truly want to believe it. Congratulations to Emiliya Ahmadova who created this inspiring story--with passion, love, and hard work. Women, get the words out! Each story is important and helps to raise awareness, and finally, shape a new future for all of us.
Herby
Broken Chains by Emiliya Ahmadova is a touching story that will appeal to a wide audience because of the sensitive, not-so-often discussed questions it raises. In the heart of this story is the important question: What does it take to live with a deep sense of inner freedom? The author opens her narrative with a fortuitous encounter between the parents of the protagonist and moves on to show how this encounter leads to a brief affair that culminates in an unwanted pregnancy. Esmira, the mother of the protagonist, raises her daughter alone, under difficult conditions. Now an adult, Silvana has to face the challenges of growing up and the horrors of abusive relationships. How she deals with her abusive Christian partner is what will blow readers' minds. This is a page-turning tale of one woman’s struggle to avoid the same fate that befell her mother, a story of suffering, inhumanity, and redemption.
Emiliya Ahmadova’s Broken Chains is a powerful work in the area of protest literature, a tale that gives voice to the voiceless people who suffer in any form of relationship. In Silvana, Ahmadova develops an icon of protest against the numerous forms of injustices orchestrated against women. The author writes confidently about issues in a wide selection of themes, including religion, interracial, and inter-religious marriage, the primacy of human dignity, the primary right to freedom and happiness, and a lot more. Silvana is a compelling and well-developed character who will not only interest readers, but will be a powerful example of a warrior for freedom and human rights.
Reviewed By Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite
Emiliya Ahmadova’s Broken Chains is a powerful work in the area of protest literature, a tale that gives voice to the voiceless people who suffer in any form of relationship. In Silvana, Ahmadova develops an icon of protest against the numerous forms of injustices orchestrated against women. The author writes confidently about issues in a wide selection of themes, including religion, interracial, and inter-religious marriage, the primacy of human dignity, the primary right to freedom and happiness, and a lot more. Silvana is a compelling and well-developed character who will not only interest readers, but will be a powerful example of a warrior for freedom and human rights.
Reviewed By Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite
Domestic abuse, both physical and verbal, traps so many people but this important book can hopefully help those who are suffering finally break free from their shackles. Broken Chains is an uncomfortable read as you witness the damage two selfish, abusive men wreak on three generations of women. You read on in the hope that Silvana won't suffer the same anguish as her mother but in the expectation that her own marriage will end up equally doomed. Broken Chains highlights how easy it is for women to end up imprisoned in their own homes and how hard it can be for them to free themselves from abusive relationships. However, it ultimately offers hope by showing that no matter how bleak things become, people still have the power to control their own destiny if they are brave enough to stand up to those who are oppressing them. Silvana ultimately finds this inner strength with the help of her religion and this book also examines how the faith of those who suffer is tested throughout their darkest moments.
Kevin McAllion
Published author of Moristoun
Austin Macauley Publishers LTD
Kevin McAllion
Published author of Moristoun
Austin Macauley Publishers LTD
A few month ago I have translated Broken Chains into Russian language. I must say Broken Chains is a fascinating novel, the primary merits and strengths of Broken Chains are its sincerity and originality. The author is a woman who was raised in a Muslim multinational setting, thereby becoming acquainted with the customs, traditions, and peculiarities of life in different countries and even different continents. In addition, she has had the unique opportunity to communicate with a wide spectrum of people from varying cultural backgrounds and outlooks on life. All this has culminated in her relating in fictional form (throughout riveting pages) her multifaceted life experiences and a wealth of knowledge. In her novel the story line seems so natural, including engaging dialogue. Ahmadova describes her characters so vividly and clearly that readers will not view them as uniform and unipolar. Each elicits sympathy or antipathy in a natural manner. Before encountering the protagonist, readers will learn the dramatic story of her mother's life, followed by that of her grandmother. Such an opening permits readers not only to trace the relationships among generations, but also to assess the influence of parental conduct on the lives of the descendants. Nonetheless, the chain of "hereditary damage" is derailed by the protagonist's faith and hope in God in reaching out for salvation. The main character, Silvana, finds inner strength to change the trajectory of her life and, in turn, transforms the lives of many around her suffering alone and in silence, also feeling shackled and chained down by paralyzing fear and hopeless despair enveloping their human condition. In this way, Silvana becomes a role model for all of them, living proof that fundamental human happiness is in their own hands and can make all the difference, together with not only hard work and an unceasingly and unquestionable faith in God, but also an insatiable desire to make a difference on this earth.
It is said that there are certain cycles that are extremely difficult to break. Chief among them are poverty and abuse. It takes a person of stalwart resolution and faith to break those chains and fly free.
In the case of Silvana’s family, the cycle continues through several generations and across several countries. From Mariya, Silvana’s great-grandmother, to Sadaget the grandmother, and then to Esmira, and her daughter Silvana, the abuse or neglect spreads down like a genetic plague. The mothers try too hard to keep their daughters from making the mistakes they made themselves, and the daughters rebel by inadvertently choosing men who are just as bad as their own fathers—whether or not they ever met them.
Silvana has an advantage over her female relatives, though. She knows she is worth much more than her mother keeps telling her (abuse finds itself into the next generation in more than one way).
The story begins with the meeting of Esmira and Samed, who fathers Silvana. This relationship is rocky at the beginning, and ends badly. Silvana loves her dad nonetheless, and rankles at her mother’s and grandmother’s severe infringements on her freedom. When she finds Mark, she is sure he will be her source of freedom.
Instead, the nightmare is only made worse. Through the birth and raising of four children, Silvana never finds the freedom she thought she would have. That is, not until she believes in herself enough to make the first step from the emotional cage she’d been subjected to.
She never gives up, and this is the core and message of the book. The ending is very believable, and the journey there only too real.
This is a very important book for anyone who wishes to find their way out of the cycle, or for those who want to help someone who is abused.
I highly recommend it.
In the case of Silvana’s family, the cycle continues through several generations and across several countries. From Mariya, Silvana’s great-grandmother, to Sadaget the grandmother, and then to Esmira, and her daughter Silvana, the abuse or neglect spreads down like a genetic plague. The mothers try too hard to keep their daughters from making the mistakes they made themselves, and the daughters rebel by inadvertently choosing men who are just as bad as their own fathers—whether or not they ever met them.
Silvana has an advantage over her female relatives, though. She knows she is worth much more than her mother keeps telling her (abuse finds itself into the next generation in more than one way).
The story begins with the meeting of Esmira and Samed, who fathers Silvana. This relationship is rocky at the beginning, and ends badly. Silvana loves her dad nonetheless, and rankles at her mother’s and grandmother’s severe infringements on her freedom. When she finds Mark, she is sure he will be her source of freedom.
Instead, the nightmare is only made worse. Through the birth and raising of four children, Silvana never finds the freedom she thought she would have. That is, not until she believes in herself enough to make the first step from the emotional cage she’d been subjected to.
She never gives up, and this is the core and message of the book. The ending is very believable, and the journey there only too real.
This is a very important book for anyone who wishes to find their way out of the cycle, or for those who want to help someone who is abused.
I highly recommend it.
For an author whose first language is not English, this book is pretty well-written. There are a few stumbles but nothing that cannot be overlooked, as the story is pretty intense. It is a story about generational abuse, and it is as sad and painful as it sounds, but the story is compelling. It also brings out a light that shows there is hope even when the life being led is dismal. A heart breathtakingly inspirational subject that is more true than fiction.
Amy's Bookshelf Reviews
Amy's Bookshelf Reviews
Emiliya Amadova's book 'Broken Chains' is very compelling. It is an enjoyable read. It takes you into the unfamiliar world of Azerbaijan,before going to Kenya and Canada. The book gives good insights into how women sometimes are victimized by abusers, and how they can get free. Teh intergenerational nature of victimization was made very clear through the tragic stories of the grandmother, mother and daughter. Christian faith shines through a rather tortured journey of guilt, shame, fear and regret. The book's ending has the heroine sharing at a conference on how to say no to abusers. The ending would benefit from being tightened up.
Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, author of Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit.
Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, author of Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit.