Inspired by her own experiences stationed in Baghdad during Saddam Hussein's rule, former foreign correspondent Gina Wilkinson's evocative, suspenseful debut is told through the eyes of three very different women in Iraq at the turn of the millennium. A secretary, an artist and a diplomat's wife, each must confront the complexities of trust, friendship, and motherhood under the rule of a dictator and his ruthless secret police... At night, in Huda's fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in from the desert encircling Baghdad, ...
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Inspired by her own experiences stationed in Baghdad during Saddam Hussein's rule, former foreign correspondent Gina Wilkinson's evocative, suspenseful debut is told through the eyes of three very different women in Iraq at the turn of the millennium. A secretary, an artist and a diplomat's wife, each must confront the complexities of trust, friendship, and motherhood under the rule of a dictator and his ruthless secret police... At night, in Huda's fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in from the desert encircling Baghdad, rustling the leaves of her apricot trees and carrying warning of visitors at her gate. Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, lives in fear of the mukhabarat--the secret police who watch and listen for any scrap of information that can be used against America and its allies. They have ordered her to befriend Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador's wife. Huda has no wish to be an informant, but fears for her teenage son, who may be forced to join a deadly militia. Nor does she know that Ally has dangerous secrets of her own. Huda's former friend, Rania, enjoyed a privileged upbringing as the daughter of a sheikh. Now her family's wealth is gone, and Rania too is battling to keep her child safe and a roof over their heads. As the women's lives intersect, their hidden pasts spill into the present. Facing possible betrayal at every turn, all three must trust in a fragile, newfound loyalty, even as they discover how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect their families.
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WHEN THE APRICOTS BLOOM is listed as historical fiction, but honestly this felt kind of like a thriller to me. The book follows Huda, Raina, and Ally and takes place in Iraq in 2002. The three women�s lives intersect, but they all have secrets that can tear their worlds apart.
This book has a lot of secrets, a lot of ââ?¬Å"sitting on the edge of your seatââ?¬Â? moments where youââ?¬â?¢re hoping the women find a way to make it out of the situation safely. Each of the womenââ?¬â?¢s stories captured my attention, but I found myself really rooting for Huda especially. The story talks a lot about the secret police under Saddam Husseinââ?¬â?¢s regime, so thereââ?¬â?¢s some mention of violence that some readers might not feel comfortable reading. Overall I found the book to be really interesting and thought the writing was phenomenal.
One thing I was a little unsure of going into the book was a white woman writing about the experiences of two Iraqi women. The authorââ?¬â?¢s note was really helpful in explaining that the book is drawn on her experiences of living in Iraq in a similar situation that the American/Australian character Ally was in. The author also acknowledges the need for ââ?¬Å"diverse books, written by diverse authors, in settings and situations that reflect the deep richness of our worldââ?¬Â?. Reading that put my mind at ease a little bit, but that does not mean this is the only book set in a Middle Eastern country that I will be reading this year. Iââ?¬â?¢m looking forward to reading more books set in the Middle East by authors who are from the region. Thank you Bookish First and Kensington for my copy of WHEN THE APRICOTS BLOOM
