A heartbreaking story sadly very much rooted in reality but with a hope that shines through, No Land to Light on is an honest, non-judgemental and human look at the refugee crisis.
The story follows two young Syrians, in the USA, with very different journeys.
Sama went there to study, on a scholarship, before there was a need to escape. Hadi was a refugee, and left his family behind to find a better future for himself. Despite their different backgrounds they met, and fell in love, and when we meet them in the novel they’re on the verge of welcoming their first baby, but when Hadi is detained at the airport after visiting his family back home, things start to go very wrong.
While he was somewhere over the ocean, on his way back to his wife, a travel ban has been put in place and a spiral of tragic events has put him in the worst place at the worst time.
The story flits between years - before deciding to leave Syria, getting settled in the USA, and back again, and slides effortlessly back and forth between Hadi’s voice and Sama’s.
This made it a quick and compelling read and it helped me to understand the plight that people go to just to live in a safe place.
As an immigrant myself I’ve known my fair share of bureaucracy but I was never treated as a criminal for being here. I’m very aware of the reality for some people but this book felt very real and important in sharing just a part of their stories.
Sama and Hadi may not be real but their experience is reality for so many people, and this is a great read for anyone who wants to understand more about a very sensitive situation
Written in a compassionate, sensitive manner.
The story follows two young Syrians, in the USA, with very different journeys.
Sama went there to study, on a scholarship, before there was a need to escape. Hadi was a refugee, and left his family behind to find a better future for himself. Despite their different backgrounds they met, and fell in love, and when we meet them in the novel they’re on the verge of welcoming their first baby, but when Hadi is detained at the airport after visiting his family back home, things start to go very wrong.
While he was somewhere over the ocean, on his way back to his wife, a travel ban has been put in place and a spiral of tragic events has put him in the worst place at the worst time.
The story flits between years - before deciding to leave Syria, getting settled in the USA, and back again, and slides effortlessly back and forth between Hadi’s voice and Sama’s.
This made it a quick and compelling read and it helped me to understand the plight that people go to just to live in a safe place.
As an immigrant myself I’ve known my fair share of bureaucracy but I was never treated as a criminal for being here. I’m very aware of the reality for some people but this book felt very real and important in sharing just a part of their stories.
Sama and Hadi may not be real but their experience is reality for so many people, and this is a great read for anyone who wants to understand more about a very sensitive situation
Written in a compassionate, sensitive manner.