When the Apricots Bloom

I loved this! Three women in Sadam Hussein's Iraq. Two are from the same remote, small tribe... one privileged, one not... they had been best friends, blood sisters, but became estranged. The third is an Australian diplomat's wife. They all come together in Baghdad... The author was also a diplomat's wife, in Baghdad, and lived there for many years, under Hussein's reign, and then during the war. She knew women like the two Iraqi women, although none of the characters are based on actual people. Look forward to reading this one again. (the audio version was great!)

Blown away that this is a debut. The writing is wonderful and flows well. The Author's Note at the end is worth reading as it explains how this debut came to be...that while it is fiction...it is based on her life experiences.

I couldn't imagine having to live in fear the way these women do...add to that a mother's fear for her child...man my heart couldn't take it.