Daughters of Smoke and Fire
Ratings2
Average rating5
15
Ratings2
Average rating5
The unforgettable, haunting story of a young woman's perilous fight for freedom and justice for her brother
Set in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel takes listeners into the everyday lives of the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Leila's younger brother Chia, influenced by their father's past torture, imprisonment, and his deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. But his activism grows increasingly risky and one day he disappears in Tehran. Seeking answers about her brother's whereabouts, Leila fears the worst and begins a campaign to save him. But when she publishes Chia's writings online, she finds herself in grave danger as well.
Daughters of Smoke and Fire is an evocative portrait of the lives and stakes faced by 40 million stateless Kurds and a powerful story that brilliantly illuminates the meaning of identity and the complex bonds of family, perfect for fans of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book was very thought provoking and resonated with me deeply. However, it was more on an intellectual level than an emotional one. I think partly because the characters were not as well written as the story but also because the narration is a bit dissociated from the trauma being told. Although I don't think I could have handled reading this if it did emote as strongly as it could have. As it is I am still tearing up after reading it, and the amount of violence and sorrow was already so challenging to digest. I hate to say anything else against such a powerful and moving book buuuut I just really needed a chapter with Shiler or Joanna instead of the parents at the end. I guess we are supposed to assume from the interview they made it to Jinwar through the fact that the fictional character in the book (written by the fictional character in the book) was based on Shiler. They deserve their own ending!!!!!! They. Deserve. An. Ending.
Speaking of endings I would normally detest such an iconic feminist piece of literature to finish with a romance but in this case it was surprisingly satisfying.
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