Two years ago, I had the privilege of working with Ms. Bernard's husband, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. What made that time such a rich experience was the opportunity to work with someone whose intellect had two rare qualities. First, he was a true Renaissance Man, who not only possessed an impressive breadth of knowledge, but also a similar breadth of abilities in which to apply it. Second, although like all intellectuals, he based his decisions on theories and doctrine, he always understood that, like even the best people, every idea has its limitations.



On the strength of the evidence in this book, Ms. Bernard shares these same rare traits. It is the work of a Renaissance mind with an ability to apply her knowledge in many ways: this book is at once a droll social satire, a sharp murder mystery, an acute observation of Muslim mores and a feminist tract. It also displays a knowledge that doctrine and ideas are limited by how they reflect the real world, not the other way around.



Unlike any other feminist document, however, this one appeals to men as well because it does not treat men as the enemy, but appeals to our better nature. The story is told partly through the eyes of men, which allows men to see the nature of women in the Muslim world.



One or two of the people I shared this with found the resolution of the mystery somewhat disappointing, but this was because they were expecting a nice tight British drawing room solution. Any one who is familiar with Muslim counties knows the premium put on resolutions of conflict in a way which puts the interests of society first. The ending reflects that perfectly.



You will not be disappointed with this book.

Two years ago, I had the privilege of working with Ms. Bernard's husband, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. What made that time such a rich experience was the opportunity to work with someone whose intellect had two rare qualities. First, he was a true Renaissance Man, who not only possessed an impressive breadth of knowledge, but also a similar breadth of abilities in which to apply it. Second, although like all intellectuals, he based his decisions on theories and doctrine, he always understood that, like even the best people, every idea has its limitations.

On the strength of the evidence in this book, Ms. Bernard shares these same rare traits. It is the work of a Renaissance mind with an ability to apply her knowledge in many ways: this book is at once a droll social satire, a sharp murder mystery, an acute observation of Muslim mores and a feminist tract. It also displays a knowledge that doctrine and ideas are limited by how they reflect the real world, not the other way around.

Unlike any other feminist document, however, this one appeals to men as well because it does not treat men as the enemy, but appeals to our better nature. The story is told partly through the eyes of men, which allows men to see the nature of women in the Muslim world.

One or two of the people I shared this with found the resolution of the mystery somewhat disappointing, but this was because they were expecting a nice tight British drawing room solution. Any one who is familiar with Muslim counties knows the premium put on resolutions of conflict in a way which puts the interests of society first. The ending reflects that perfectly.

You will not be disappointed with this book.

Two years ago, I had the privilege of working with Ms. Bernard's husband, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. What made that time such a rich experience was the opportunity to work with someone whose intellect had two rare qualities. First, he was a true Renaissance Man, who not only possessed an impressive breadth of knowledge, but also a similar breadth of abilities in which to apply it. Second, although like all intellectuals, he based his decisions on theories and doctrine, he always understood that, like even the best people, every idea has its limitations.

On the strength of the evidence in this book, Ms. Bernard shares these same rare traits. It is the work of a Renaissance mind with an ability to apply her knowledge in many ways: this book is at once a droll social satire, a sharp murder mystery, an acute observation of Muslim mores and a feminist tract. It also displays a knowledge that doctrine and ideas are limited by how they reflect the real world, not the other way around.

Unlike any other feminist document, however, this one appeals to men as well because it does not treat men as the enemy, but appeals to our better nature. The story is told partly through the eyes of men, which allows men to see the nature of women in the Muslim world.

One or two of the people I shared this with found the resolution of the mystery somewhat disappointing, but this was because they were expecting a nice tight British drawing room solution. Any one who is familiar with Muslim counties knows the premium put on resolutions of conflict in a way which puts the interests of society first. The ending reflects that perfectly.

You will not be disappointed with this book.

Two years ago, I had the privilege of working with Ms. Bernard's husband, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. What made that time such a rich experience was the opportunity to work with someone whose intellect had two rare qualities. First, he was a true Renaissance Man, who not only possessed an impressive breadth of knowledge, but also a similar breadth of abilities in which to apply it. Second, although like all intellectuals, he based his decisions on theories and doctrine, he always understood that, like even the best people, every idea has its limitations.

On the strength of the evidence in this book, Ms. Bernard shares these same rare traits. It is the work of a Renaissance mind with an ability to apply her knowledge in many ways: this book is at once a droll social satire, a sharp murder mystery, an acute observation of Muslim mores and a feminist tract. It also displays a knowledge that doctrine and ideas are limited by how they reflect the real world, not the other way around.

Unlike any other feminist document, however, this one appeals to men as well because it does not treat men as the enemy, but appeals to our better nature. The story is told partly through the eyes of men, which allows men to see the nature of women in the Muslim world.

One or two of the people I shared this with found the resolution of the mystery somewhat disappointing, but this was because they were expecting a nice tight British drawing room solution. Any one who is familiar with Muslim counties knows the premium put on resolutions of conflict in a way which puts the interests of society first. The ending reflects that perfectly.

You will not be disappointed with this book.

Cheryl Benard plunks us down in Pakistan with a socially inept American businessman, adds a murder to the stew, sprinkles liberally with women hidden beneath chadors - and stirs in wicked funny narrative. The author is obviously familiar with Pakistan; although she is not a native, she strews her brew with stories about the locals: the police investigator and his modern wife, an ex-pat American who is a champion of the poorest of the poor, and a girl enslaved in a wealthy man's home. Each side character raises timely moral issues within the strictures of the Taliban who lurk in a nearby refugee camp. In spite of this heavy background, Moghul Buffet entertains at every step along the way.

While this book is technically a mystery, it is more effective as an occasionally black comic look at modern Pakistani society and the way it interacts with westerners. The plot of the novel is rather convoluted: it follows a series of murders starting with the apparent murder of an American business man. However, this book is both much more and much less than a standard murder mystery. The plot quickly develops numerous subplots involving a mysterious woman seemingly involved with all the murders, a fundamentalist Iman, the birth of the Taliban, not to mention to complex relations between modern men and women in Pakistan's upper classes... hence the title, Moghul Buffet. The book has a little of everything.
The subplots and depth of characterizations of some of the main characters are the books best qualities. As a mystery, the story is rather convoluted and in the end not completely resolved. Some things are left only implied, and some are never really explained at all. It wasn't the best mystery I've ever read... but it was an incredibly interesting book for the way in which it examines Pakistan today, and especially the role of women in Pakistani society. The book is also fun. The author has an understated sense of humor all through her story... and yet she is always detached, also.
I should also say I was in Peshawar some 15 years ago and from what I remember the author's depiction of this place is quite accurate.... go ahead and read the book, you won't be sorry!

This is a strange book, shortly it has no purpose being a book. Moghul or Buffet or Peshawar really have nothing to do with the book it could be in timbktoo and still be boring. The plot is not only confusing but totally bizzare and left for the reader to imagine in the detail. Murder and sex is mixed in at odd places without purpose. This is not a novel, or a story, tt's a gibberish. Odd collection of minor facts arranged to no end. Try hard as you may you can't like anything about the book, neither plot, nor locale nor characters or the writing is of any consequence and one would do well without dwelling on them.

When businessman Micky Malone disappears from Peshawar on the Pakistani/Afghan border, the Pakistani government becomes alarmed and sends out Detective Iqbal to investigate. As the body count rises Iqbal struggles to find the murderer. He is hampered by his lack of understanding about how the women of Pakistan think and this leads to a great many comic moments and wrong deductions during the investigation. This is a fascinating look at a country in turmoil and also features a brief glimpse of the Taliban before they came to power in Afghanistan

Humor and feminist fiction in the same breath? Is such a thing possible? Author Cheryl Benard certainly seems to be proving her point with her first novel, "Moghul Buffet." I read her second novel, "Turning on the Girls," and found it to be neck deep in sarcasm and humor, but also naive and judgmental. Regardless, I was so blown away by Benard's satire and skewering of her subjects that I just had to check out her earlier work.

There are so many sub-plots to Moghul that I'm not even going to try to describe them all.

It's odd that the "official" description of this book is slanted towards the male perspective. Micky Malone and Iqbal are important characters, but the story doesn't revolve around them. Indeed, the main character is Fatima, a sixteen year old girl who's raped by a fanatical Muslim zealot and then forced into prostitution by the female head housekeeper. Things go from bad to worse for Fatima as she is threatened and beaten by the various men in her life. At the core of the story is the farcical notion that Fatima is behind all the mysterious murders that are taking place in Peshawar. 

Just like "Girls," Benard has created something that defies categorization. "Moghul" is fiction, murder mystery, feminist theory, social commentary and humor all wrapped into a small package of 264 pages. And also just like "Girls," Benard targets everyone from US imperialism to Muslim misogyny. Take, for example, the following passages:

"Before interrogating or accusing an American, Iqbal, ask yourself one thing: is this person worth an F-14 fighter jet?"

And:

"A good Muslim man prefers his women to die modestly, in his tent. And a good Muslim woman, " Mara lectures, in the hopes of grinding on the nerves of the Muslim woman who stands before her, "if she has any decency at all, will prefer to be shoveled straight into her grave rather than display her body to one of the leering, depraved foreign doctors who staff our clinics."

Perhaps other readers will blanch at such passages, particularly the latter, but I found myself at least chuckling as Benard took her aim and fired. At the very least, she's consistent, not tolerating the excesses of either Western or Eastern cultures. 

With that said, I can see at least two patterns in Benard's writing that are quickly getting on my nerves. 

For one, both "Moghul" and "Girls" have moments where Benard interjects her sarcastic omnipotent narrator perspective. It is funny at times. In fact, she can be frequently hilarious. However, she's followed the same pattern in both her first and second novels. As a new fan of her biting social commentary, I hope her third ditches this repetitive device. It works once, maybe twice, but continuing to rely on it will only reflect her inability to create something new.

My second major criticism is almost identical to what I thought of "Girls." Ms. Benard needs to seriously get out in the world and meet different kinds of men. Both books generally had two kinds of males: Those who were violent, and mean (alpha males) and those who were kind and considerate but are absolutely clueless about the realities of gender issues (perhaps on the cusp of being beta males). In the case of "Moghul," Benard presents countless men who fit the former description and three of the latter. These include the American Micky Malone, Fatima's protective brother, and a college student who believes that Fatima is a righteous prostitute because she "represents all the oppressed of the Third World." Benard is particularly harsh on all three of these males and more than once illustrates their ignorance by pointing out how convenient it is for them to talk about gender justice and equality while obviously conveniently inhabiting the body of a privileged male. Only once does Benard divert from this path when it's revealed that Micky was forced as a child to suffer the beatings and humiliation of larger males.

This is the same pattern in "Girls": The women always get it, the men, at best, try but still remain out in la la land. This is ridiculous considering both the real world and Benard's own writing. In direct contrast to the men, Benard presents us with at least four female characters who she, at most, only mildly ridicules. It was pretty obvious to me that she saw them as realistic, pragmatic, and generally supportive of women's equality. Fair enough, especially since she also gives us women in the story who oppress other women. But where are the male equivalents? In the real world this kind of thing just doesn't wash. There are sexist patriarchal females and egalitarian males. Benard, just like in "Girls," either doesn't see this part of the world or refuses to interject it into her writing.

Despite these criticisms, I'm still a fan of Benard's work. I love how she's able to reveal society's moral inconsistencies with humor and sarcasm. You won't finish her books and think, "Well that was a real downer!" Still, I wish she would expand her horizons a bit. If she ever happens to read this review, I hope she will get this message: Please , PLEASE, incorporate some males who "get it" into your writing.