“To identify that thing you long for and seek it out, it’s heartbreakingly human,” Olivia thinks. This is an unforgettable story about war and family, responsibility and love, but Sardar also pays tribute to the priceless connections we forge at the most terrible moments. Warm and lush descriptions of the Kurdish countryside and culture contrast vividly to sudden moments of unthinkable violence. Sardar’s decision to make her protagonist American and not Kurdish is deliberate, and she places the reader squarely in Olivia’s inexperienced shoes with compassion and insight. Olivia is dimly aware that the country is politically unsettled, but the landscape turns out to be far more treacherous than she imagined, and life-threatening chaos shatters her romantic notions about photography in a war zone. When her actor boyfriend, Delan, a Kurdish immigrant, decides to attend a family wedding in northern Iraq, she jumps at the chance to tag along, thrilled at the idea of traveling to such a bold destination, meeting his family, and, most importantly, taking the sort of exotic photos that will secure her a new career. Set in 1979, the novel focuses on Olivia, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper who dreams of becoming a professional photographer.
Inspired by her father’s stories of growing up in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Sardar’s new novel is a devastating reminder of what happens when American privilege smacks against hard reality. All of it will be tested when Olivia captures a shattering, tragic moment on film, one that upends all their lives and proves that true bravery begins with an open heart.An aspiring American photographer travels to war-ravaged Kurdistan with her Iraqi-born boyfriend. Yet when the return home proves less safe than Delan believed, Olivia is confronted with a reality she had not expected, and is awakened to the dangers of a town patrolled by Iraqi military under curfew and constant threat.īut in this world torn apart by war, there are intoxicating sights and scents, Delan's loving family, innocence not yet compromised, and small acts of kindness that flourish unexpectedly. More important, though, the trip is a chance to understand Delan's childhood and bridge the differences of their pasts. When opportunity arrives, she seizes it, accompanying her Kurdish boyfriend, Delan, to northern Iraq for a family wedding, hoping to capture an image that lands her a job in the photo department. Olivia Murray, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper, is determined to become a photojournalist and make a difference with her work. An aspiring photographer follows her dreams and faces her fears in a poignant novel about finding beauty, promise, and love amid the chaos of war-torn Kurdistan.
0 kommentar(er)
