Reviews with content warning for Schizophrenia/Psychosis - As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

The beginning of the book was a little miserable, her writing is so smooth and well paced you don't realise when you get sucked in, my first war novel as such, barrings things like hunger games cause the arena is still rather artificial in some sense. Kenan is every green flag in the book, rightfully the unconventional hero and salama being the heroine that well and truly takes the centre stage.

when I say finding out Layla was a hallucination, did me in, bro the rug was pulled out from right under my feet quite literally. I was in near tears; didn't think I'd miss khawf in the end but the author managed to do that as well. <spoiler/> my blood pressure was consistently fluctuating and oh my was my anxiety through the roof, there's this deep dread that the author builds up from the very first page and what a wonderful climax it has. Burned through the book and look forward to more writing from her cause buy can she wrote angst. Even in the midst of this chaos, my heart fluttered and soared and beat for salama and Kenan.

Content Warnings

mxcopmy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"These stories really happened, and they are happening right now as you read this"

This are the harsh words you read in the epilogue at the end of the story. This story touches you through the marrow. Not only because of the horror, but also because of the hope and love.

It is miraculous that this is Katouh's first book, so powerful. This may be a fictional story in the grand scheme of things, but very realistic in the details that take place in each individual story of maimed people. The author also addressed this in her epilogue, that each story is true that she described.

This story follows the life of Salama who is left alone in the war raging in Syria. Her only hope left with her is Layla, who is her sister-in-law. Salama was (or still is!) a 2nd-year pharmacy student who was forced to stop her studies due to the revolution that started. As followed, Salama was forced to be a surgeon at the nearby hospital and fill in for the wounded. Before her baba and brother were send away by the government army, she made a promise to them that she and Layla were going to flee Syria safely. But now she faces a dilemma... her heart is with saving and helping people, with her country. But also with her promise. Despite the horrific facts, Salama meets Kenan, causing them to grow closer and closer. But also more and more whisper warmth and hope to each other.

This book really caught me off guard. The reason why I was hugely drawn to this book was because I had read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini this summer which had such a big impact on me. That book always sticks out above all other books I have ever read. I bumped into this book and thought "I have to read this". And by golly, it left its rightful emphasis too. In these books, you see the terror that you saw daily on TV between 2011-2014 (which unfortunately doesn't get enough attention anymore, because yes this war is still going on!!!). The stories suddenly make it a rock-hard reality and you also start looking at current war situations at the east through different glasses which always makes me feel moved and get a lump in my throat when I read such news reports. And Katouh's book did the same for me.
I also somehow started this book blind without knowing that a love story was going to turn, which positively surprised me. Through this, Katouh allows the hope of the Syrian people to echo through the words that Salama, Kenan and Layla confide to each other through their love unfolding and friendship. You can figuratively taste the tenderness through the written pages how the bond between them develops. The build-up was also so phenomenal that I myself felt butterflies fluttering in my stomach for Salama's happiness. That's when you know you are truly taken by the story! An important and special nuance here is that this is a halal love story :) .
The plot that also turned in the story I definitely did not expect. My heart ashed after reading it... Every page of this book was also full of suspense. I was on the edge of my seat so many times, cherishing hope for the characters in this book. The suspense really had a hypnotic impact.

What is also important to mention is that there are a lot of reference to PTSD and anxiety disorders which only makes me praise the story even more. I don't think people dwell on contemporary war victims more often that mental problems also rear their heads. As Katouh herself wrote in her epilogue,

"we are not just numbers as written in the news reports", which I regret I have to agree with. We dwell far too little on what these people have to go through. As a result, unfortunately, a lot of people take advantage of their vulnerability by discriminating them or throwing out racist statements

This story is predestined for people who want to read a war story with an instructive touch. It is also slightly more accessible and less heavy (in my opinion) than Hosseini's books. I hope to read more stories by this writer in the future and especially in general revolution/war stories that are more contemporary (because I do find that I am hugely drawn to this and want to learn more about it).

I will now close with the words of Kenan:

"There is still colour in this world."

Content Warnings

valkyrie1's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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team_mosaic's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ummm???? i would not be shocked if this ends up being one of my all time favourite books by the end of my life. so heartbreaking and gutwrenching but also so hopeful and beautiful. i'm so deeply in love with the characters and the writing and ugh i'd give it 10 stars if i could

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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this was beautiful but devastating. i fell in love with the characters which only made it more difficult.

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thebookfetishist's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely wow. A novel that is desperately needed in today's time. It perfectly shows the human and emotional side of the nameless Syrian faces you often get shown in media outlets. It is an absolute must read!

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sophmcgraw's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

this book was brilliant - for a couple of reasons.

but i want to get into what i didn't enjoy first, to get it out of the way.
the book was really slow, bordering on boring, especially around the middle part. it felt like i was stuck at fifty percent for an eternity. i never once thought about dnf'ing it, because it was still interesting to read, but the longevity of it just put me off.
i also think you could just really feel that this was a young adult book. the romance was quite romantic, but somtimes so cheesy with the characters always calling each other by their names and saying 'romantic' lines that one could as well find on a teenager's instagram page.

now don't get me wrong, the romance wasn't bad, not at all! quite the opposite, actually. the ghibli references (esp. sheeta and pazu) were really adorable, but you know. cheesy.
i generally enjoyed the characters though and thought they were rather relatable. their dreams felt very real and i liked the diversity of them. i've never read anything about someone wanting to become an animator until now. their might life also left me feel very giddy and it made me root for them a lot, since they're both just such good (not flawless though, which was nice) people.
another thing i really enjoyed was the occasional banter, and khawf, whose sarcastic and sometimes 'funny' personality i liked.

but the romance and all that wasn't the point of the book.
the point was to educate people on what's happening in syria, because as the author states in the author's note, she noticed that very little people actually know what's going on. i think she did a great job combining awareness and information with great storytelling and a sweet romance.

the things that happened in this book were horrible, frightening, traumatic, because they are. this is not a product of the author's imagination. all the characters in the book are real. this is happening. it's not fiction, and katouh tries to convey exactly that.

i learned a lot through this book - about syria, and syrian culture specifically - and this review cannot capture how much impact this book had on me.

i recommend as long as the lemon trees grow to everyone, but especially to those who
... like me, didn't know a lot about syria,
... and to all of those in any situation who need something, a shimmer of hope, to cling to right now.

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