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jeremynelson0899 's review for:
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
by Zoulfa Katouh
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly, I was so excited going into this book. However, it keft me feeling a little flat overall.
The best thing about it was that the twist towards the end really moved me. This writer did that perfectly.
The things that drove down my will to live was how repetitive it was. Like, take a shot every time she mentioned a 'might life', or Studio Ghibli, or lemons, then you'd be pretty horrifically drunk twenty pages in.
Not only that, but it followed the same structure of scenes for 300 or so pages;
1 - scene at the hospital with a wave of patients coming in.
2 - scene with either Kenan or Layla.
3 - scene where Khawf shows another hallucination. This can wear readers down, especially if it's 400-odd pages long.
I also wanted to learn more about Syria going into this book, but it left the historical context pretty much alone, which is a shame. I shall be seeking more books about Syria in the future.
I will close off this review by mentioning the vague impression I got that the author put a lot of herself in this book. Salama feels like her, especially based on interests. Furthermore, with Kenan and Salama, I desperately wanted more than just the odd quivering sigh of longing and fluttering eyelashes. I think the writer held back for personal reasons.
She is by no means a bad writer, but I'd like to see her flex more of her potential writing prowess. There were certain moments in this book where we could catch glimpses of it. We'll see what she does next if she does write another book. I'd like to see more.
The best thing about it was that the twist towards the end really moved me. This writer did that perfectly.
The things that drove down my will to live was how repetitive it was. Like, take a shot every time she mentioned a 'might life', or Studio Ghibli, or lemons, then you'd be pretty horrifically drunk twenty pages in.
Not only that, but it followed the same structure of scenes for 300 or so pages;
1 - scene at the hospital with a wave of patients coming in.
2 - scene with either Kenan or Layla.
3 - scene where Khawf shows another hallucination. This can wear readers down, especially if it's 400-odd pages long.
I also wanted to learn more about Syria going into this book, but it left the historical context pretty much alone, which is a shame. I shall be seeking more books about Syria in the future.
I will close off this review by mentioning the vague impression I got that the author put a lot of herself in this book. Salama feels like her, especially based on interests. Furthermore, with Kenan and Salama, I desperately wanted more than just the odd quivering sigh of longing and fluttering eyelashes. I think the writer held back for personal reasons.
She is by no means a bad writer, but I'd like to see her flex more of her potential writing prowess. There were certain moments in this book where we could catch glimpses of it. We'll see what she does next if she does write another book. I'd like to see more.