"A Rope and a Prayer," a memoir by New York Times journalist David Rohde and his wife Kristen Mulvihill, is the haunting account of Rohde's seven-month captivity under the Taliban in Pakistan.
The couple's retelling of Rohde's kidnapping is entrancing from the very beginning. Mulvihill and Rohde interweave details of their courtship, marriage, honeymoon and early life together throughout the opening chapters of the book, thrusting readers immediately into the horrific situation the couple experienced. The alternating viewpoints remind readers that there are always two sides to a story.
Although Rohde's account is arguably the better written of the two, his wife's is more compelling. Mulvihill's description of her efforts to balance the contrast between her everyday job at Cosmopolitan magazine and working with the FBI to secure her husband's release is both genuine and powerful.
In contrast to Mulvihill's emotionally wrenching prose, Rohde's account of his capture is surprisingly disimpassioned. He recounts the events of his kidnapping calmly and deliberately. Although he relates the pain and guilt he endured throughout his captivity, Rohde is careful not to linger on the terrors he encountered.
Instead of writing extensive descriptions of the physical pain he suffered, Rohde focuses on the perhaps more mundane but very real details of his experience as a hostage. For example, he describes the Barbie comforter his captors gave him and his mounting preoccupation with BBC radio programs, which provided Rohde's only connection to the outside world during his bondage.
In keeping with his journalistic background, Rohde is careful to include extensive background about the historical and political context of his capture. He details the history of British imperialism, provides insights into the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and explains the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Although this part of the narrative is well-written and informative, it is also somewhat tedious. At points, Rohde appears to be more concerned with presenting a thorough picture of the situation in the Middle East than focusing on his own experience.
The most powerful passages in Rohde's narrative are those of a more personal nature. In one of the book's most gripping scenes, Rohde describes his efforts to pray for a safe escape from Pakistan, despite the fact that he is not religious. In this instance and in other personal scenes, readers can clearly sense that Rohdes was grasping for every last chance during his captivity.
Rohde's narrative is powerful on its own, but it is even more compelling with the addition of Mulvihill's commentary. Indeed, the strongest aspect of "A Rope and a Prayer" is the way the strength of the couple's relationship emerges in an understated way poignant but never mushy.
It is clear throughout the text that the terror Rohde and Mulvihill experienced was ultimately overpowered by their commitment to each other. In this way, "A Rope and a Prayer" begins as a harrowing and tragic narrative, but gradually emerges as a powerful love story.
