Fiction Review: Country of Origin

My next month’s reading will focus primarily on preparing for Booktopia 2022 (click Events and scroll down for more), my mom and I regularly visit an annual bookstore in Manchester, Virginia for our annual book weekend . Northern countries . This is a weekend for readers and authors to spend time together, chat with authors, have dinner, get recommendations from book sellers and have more fun with books. The bookstore selects 8-10 authors with new titles and clients often read the books in advance (so it's like a great book discussion over the weekend!). My first reading for Booktopia 2022 was Dahlia Azim's Country of Origin on April 12, and I really enjoyed this original multi-generational story about family and immigration. Northshire staff always chooses great books!

When the novel begins in Cairo in 1952, 14-year-old Halah flees, as she often does, to the roof of her family home. Young women in her community are tightly controlled and protected, and Halah rarely leaves her home, except when her father's manager is taking her to a private British school. This time, however, Halah sees fires burning across the city on the roof. This is the beginning of the Egyptian revolution to gain independence from Britain. As the violence escalates, Hala is expelled from school and her isolation is further aggravated, as is the annoyance of being tied to her home. His father is in the army and takes part in the revolution and on Friday night is visited by other loyal soldiers. One night on the roof, Hala meets a young attractive soldier named Khalil. There they often begin to meet, talk and get to know each other. Everyone dreams of going to America: Halil to avoid war and halah to gain some freedom. When she turns seventeen, they fulfill their dream and flee to New York, where they get married and settle in a small apartment while Khalili studies medicine. Halah still feels isolated and upset despite having more freedom. After all, they have a friend they call Amena. Occasionally visit Egypt and Amena grows. The novel contains parts from different perspectives of Khalil and Amena, both in adolescence and adulthood, paving their way into the world.

This novel succeeds on many levels. Yet Amena is a two-edged tale for adults about the turbulent journey that women strive to create and their own identity. It is a multi-generational family story that captures the love and challenges of Hala's relationship with her parents, husband and daughters, and Amen's relationship with her parents. It is a story about immigration and it is about the challenges faced by two different generations to find and find their place. It is a love story, romantic love and love between parent and child. And it is a fascinating historical fiction, set in a place and time of which I knew little. The emotional depth of the novel is augmented by the variety of perspectives, as the reader sees the world from all the protagonist’s perspectives. From the very first pages, I was completely immersed in the intricate and wonderful story, complex emotions and beautiful text. I never wanted to finish reading it and almost a month later I was still thinking about the book and its characters. I loved this place, my family, and this powerful and touching story that reflects my feelings and actions from generation to generation. I look forward to meeting the author!

320 pages, rare object

Date of publication: 12 April 2022

This book is suitable for the following 2022 reading assignments :

The challenge of diversity

Travel the World in Challenge Books - Egypt

Visit my YouTube channel for more fun books!

You can buy a book through Bookshop.org , where your purchase helps your independent bookstore (or all independent bookstores) of your choice — the convenience of shopping online but shopping locally.

   

 

Or you can order it from the country of origin with free shipping worldwide .