Let’s start by saying this is a strong contender for my favourite book of the year (even though it’s not a 5⭐️) because I only docked half a star for the fact that I’m gutted there isn’t an epilogue so it’s left me wondering what came of all the characters! Anyway, on to the good bits...
This book features a dual timeline where in one we follow Nuri and his wife Afra on their perilous journey from their war torn home in Syria across Europe to the U.K. where they hope to seek asylum. The other timeline tells us that they do indeed make it to the U.K. but that, on arrival, they unfortunately face no shortage of problems. Despite knowing that their journey was a success it didn’t stop me worrying for them every time they encountered danger on their journey! I adored the way the author seamlessly flicked between the two timelines I thought it was so clever... I won’t spoil it for you!
It is clear that both Nuri and Afra are absolutely traumatised by events back home and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see the struggle they go through on their journey and the not so warm welcome they receive on arrival at each stop. Despite all this, it’s such a hopeful book which is why I’m so gutted there was no epilogue to let the reader know that everything turned out okay! It goes without saying that immigration and seeking asylum is something that most of us could do to learn more about, and as this isn’t a long book at all I would 100% recommend it as a starting point.
This book features a dual timeline where in one we follow Nuri and his wife Afra on their perilous journey from their war torn home in Syria across Europe to the U.K. where they hope to seek asylum. The other timeline tells us that they do indeed make it to the U.K. but that, on arrival, they unfortunately face no shortage of problems. Despite knowing that their journey was a success it didn’t stop me worrying for them every time they encountered danger on their journey! I adored the way the author seamlessly flicked between the two timelines I thought it was so clever... I won’t spoil it for you!
It is clear that both Nuri and Afra are absolutely traumatised by events back home and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see the struggle they go through on their journey and the not so warm welcome they receive on arrival at each stop. Despite all this, it’s such a hopeful book which is why I’m so gutted there was no epilogue to let the reader know that everything turned out okay! It goes without saying that immigration and seeking asylum is something that most of us could do to learn more about, and as this isn’t a long book at all I would 100% recommend it as a starting point.