The unforgettable, haunting story of a young woman’s perilous fight for freedom and justice for her brother, the first novel published in English by a female Kurdish writer Set primarily in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel weaves 50 years of modern Kurdish history through a story of a family facing oppression and injustices all too familiar to the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to … of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Her 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.
Inspired by the life of Kurdish human rights activist Farzad Kamangar and published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of his execution, Daughters of Smoke and Fire is an evocative portrait of the lives and stakes faced by 40 million stateless Kurds. It’s an unflinching but compassionate and powerful story that brilliantly illuminates the meaning of identity and the complex bonds of family. A landmark novel for our troubled world, Daughters of Smoke and Fire is a gripping and important read, perfect for fans of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun.
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I’ll be honest, Daughters of Smoke and Fire was not initially on my radar since I don’t typically read a lot of political fiction or literary fiction for that matter. That being said, I was drawn to the synopsis because I am not well versed in Middle Eastern culture, and I do try to branch out of my comfort zone for reading in order to constantly challenge myself and beliefs.
The story follows the life of Leila, a young Kurdish woman growing up in the turmoil of Iran. Leila dreams of going to University to become a filmmaker in order to document the struggles and oppression that her people deal with on a daily basis. But as a woman, society has different expectations and rules for her to follow.
Leila’s brother Chia, who is haunted by the torture his father endured in prison, decides to become a social and political activist in order to fight the oppression of their people. However, the more Chia gets involved, the more dangerous things become until one day he disappears from the streets of Tehran. Now Leila is determined to find her brother, but vocal women in society places a target on her back. Can Leila save them both?
Y’all, this book was so damn painful to read because of the oppression, the injustice, and the hypocrisy. Leila’s anger and rage became my own. Leila is fierce and refuses to succumb to the injustices that have been placed before her. Even though standing up for what she believes in has the real consequence of death, she doesn’t let that stop her.
The author crafted a beautifully written story that reminds us how the bravery of one individual has the ability to change the mindset of many. This story is full of tragedy, despair, love, and hope. Don’t go into this book thinking it will be an easy read because it won’t be. It’s going to hurt. It’s going to make you upset. But this story is so important and reminds us that we still have a long way to go to get to a world of equality and peace.
Thank you to ABRAMS for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
This book hits on some weighty topics and is not a light read, but that’s exactly why it’s essential, and 100% worth your time. Many of US in the West have read headlines about the Kurds, of terrifying events in Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq (the countries that made up Kurdistan). We’ve heard of life in Iran under Khomeini, of the morality police of “Enjoining Good and Forbidding Vice” who targeted women who behaved out of line with society’s expectations of staying demure.
All of that can seem overwhelming and hard to relate to, until we are gifted with a book like Daughters of Smoke and Fire, that lets us inside the head of Leila, a Kurdish child, then woman, who struggles to find her own identity, hope and purpose, in a world where women are de-valued, free speech is scarce, and decades of brutality and repression sink into the core of your being before you are even of adult age.
Leila is a reluctant activist, questioning her very purpose in the world and losing hope in the future, until her brother Chia is arrested and imprisoned without cause, and she finds courage, takes the mantle and fights for his freedom.
I noticed another review call this book haunting, and I agree in that it will stay with me long after finishing it. But I also want to add a thought: although the world can feel heavy right now, this is the moment to read this book.
If you’re looking around us in 2020 and trying to find true empathy and understanding for what it’s like to live in in a world where, because of your race, you are lesser valued and how that is woven into the very core of how society operates includes police practices (sound familiar in US right now?), then this book will help. No, it’s not about black Americans, it’s about being Kurdish, but every sickening step toward clamping back on protests, tear gas, arresting those who speak up, felt eerily familiar.
Ultimately, thought, to me, this book is also about hope. About how and why Kurdish women lose it, and how piece by piece, slowly, it can be reclaimed. The final chapters also helped me remember to see behind the language barriers, and remember that, when dealing with others, we never know the true story when we look into the eyes of a refugee or immigrant, and whether we’re at work, or at simply at a café buying a cup of coffee, simple acts of kindness and caring do matter.
I could not more whole-heartedly recommend this book.