One Way to Pakistan

"One Way to Pakistan" Harold Bergsma's tale of corruption and abduction in Pakistan is a very compelling read that rates right up there with, "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. The novel is set in a post 9/11 world where American freedoms are at odds with Islamist traditions and the law of Sharia. Bergsma paints a vivid picture of sexual repression and wide-spread graft in a culture foreign to most of us but all too familiar to him as having been born and raised on the sub-continent. His characters are from all walks of life and social castes and give an insightful peek (literally) at how the other half lives. Inevitable none of them escape unscathed as they try to survive in the maelstrom caused by daily terrorist threats and the clash between imperialism and fundamentalism. As a world traveler and raconteur myself, I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in finding out more about a society that we as Americans have embraced as an ally in the war on terror- it is a real eye-opener.

Robert McMahan, San Diego, California.





In One Way to Pakistan, Harold Bergsma takes us behind the headlines to a world where Muslims and Christians are all too human. Using powerful images of three abductions, he weaves a tale which is engaging and passionately written and causes us to care deeply about his characters and their fates. Characters and events such as these, at first glance, may be misunderstood by westerners, but their cultural context on the global stage is made clear and definitely compelling. Fascinating, thought-provoking and sympathetic, this novel is an important contribution to both global and multicultural understanding.

Elaine Jarchow, Ph.D., Dean, Author, Preparing to Teach Global Perspectives, Corwin Press, 1997



Reading One Way to Pakistan by Harold Bergsma gave me a nostalgic visit to my childhood in India. The characters in it became real people for me and I felt very involved in their lives. The story drew me in completely as I traveled familiar roads and visited familiar places when the action took us from village to city. I especially appreciated the detailed descriptions of these areas.

Sally Hazlett Woolever, Storyteller. Living on the Edge Editorial Board and Contributor to Otsego Stories, A Bicentennial Collection, Walton, N.Y. 1995



You are in store for an amazing, bazaar-level, people's-eye view of a microcosm in 21st. century Pakistan! The spotlight is on sex-starved men, who indulge, with impunity, in hypocrisy, graft, bribery, extortion and abduction, using their victims as chattel.

Tom Stoup, Bluedoor Bookstore, San Diego