“Breathtaking…Riveting and profound! I adored this book!” —Ellen Marie Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Collector “A deeply involving and important novel by a master storyteller.” —Susan Wiggs, # 1 New York Times bestselling authorINTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERIn this moving, suspenseful debut novel, three courageous women confront the complexities of trust, friendship, … suspenseful debut novel, three courageous women confront the complexities of trust, friendship, motherhood, and betrayal under the rule of a ruthless dictator and his brutal secret police. Former foreign correspondent Gina Wilkinson draws on her own experiences to take readers inside a haunting story of Iraq at the turn of the millennium and the impossible choices faced by families under a deadly regime.
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At night, in Huda’s fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in from the desert encircling Baghdad, rustling the leaves of her apricot trees and carrying warning of visitors at her gate. Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, lives in fear of the mukhabarat—the secret police who watch and listen for any scrap of information that can be used against America and its allies. They have ordered her to befriend Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador’s wife. Huda has no wish to be an informant, but fears for her teenaged son, who may be forced to join a deadly militia. Nor does she know that Ally has dangerous secrets of her own.
Huda’s former friend, Rania, enjoyed a privileged upbringing as the daughter of a sheikh. Now her family’s wealth is gone, and Rania too is battling to keep her child safe and a roof over their heads. As the women’s lives intersect, their hidden pasts spill into the present. Facing possible betrayal at every turn, all three must trust in a fragile, newfound loyalty, even as they discover how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect their families.
“Vivid…secrets and lies mingle as easily as the scent of apricot blossoms and nargilah smoke. Wilkinson weaves in the miasma of fear and distrust that characterized Hussein’s regime with convincing detail. Richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot.”
—Publishers Weekly
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Gina Wilkinson based this book on her own experiences as a journalist and as a “dependent spouse” living in Iraq during the time Saddam Hussein was in power and during the Iraq War. When the Apricots Bloom is a beautifully written story about three women and how their lives are affected by Saddam’s dictatorship.
Ally is the young, naive wife of an Australian diplomat and Huda is a secretary at the Australian embassy. Rania, an artist and gallery owner, is the daughter of a Sheik, who has fallen on hard times since the death of her father and husband. Rania and Huda were childhood friends who have grown apart and reconnect during the story. Ally is searching for information about her deceased mother who worked in Iraq as a nurse in the 70s. Huda has been unwillingly recruited as an informant by the Mukhabarat, Hussein’s secret police, to befriend and gather information about Ally. The Mukhabarat have threatened to put Huda’s son in the fedayeen, a brutal, atrocious militia. Rania is determined to keep her daughter safe from Saddam Hussein’s son, who has his eye on her.
The story is narrated in their alternating points of view and provide the perspectives of a foreigner and two ordinary Iraqi women who must overcome the fear and mistrust, caused by the situation in which they have been placed. The characters were well developed and the reader develops great sympathy for their difficulties as “in Iraq, every friendship is a risk.” The descriptions of the danger and oppression suffered by the people of Iraq are terrifying and heartbreaking. The book touches on the history of Iraq and a better time when Iraq was thriving culturally and politically. Until the Apricots Bloom, is well-written, informative, riveting, suspenseful and highly recommended.
This is the story of three women whose lives intersect during the reign of Saddam Hussain in Iraq.
Ally, the wife of the Australian deputy ambassador, Huda, an Iraqi working as a secretary at the Australian Embassy, and Rania a childhood friend of Huda’s, whos family was wealthy and she was the daughter of a sheikh, but now are almost destitute.
Huda befriends Ally, to be an informant to the secret police, because Huda’s son is threatened. Rania is drawn back into Huda’s circle because her daughter is threatened by one of Saddam’s sons. Ally is looking for information about her mother who worked in Iraq in the 1970’s. All three women have secrets that they keep to themselves, unless it benefits them to share.
The terror, scare tactics, and targeting the most precious thing a parent has, by the Saddam Hussein regime, is balanced with the women coming together to help, console, and lean upon each other. Ultimately the question is, to save your family, what will a mother endure?
As the great-granddaughter of a physician who emigrated to American from Persia/Iran in the early 1900’s, I was intrigued by this book. From family oral history, we would have been in the same situation as Rania. Once having been part of the ruling class, then after the regime change, having nothing. The Middle East has always intrigued me because of my genealogical roots there.
A fascinating book by a new author.
5 stars
I think When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson will probably be my favorite book of 2021. Much like The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, gave me a brilliant look and feel of Afghanistan, When the Apricots Bloom gave me a look into the lives of two Iraqi women Rania and Huda who swore a blood oath as children but something separated them. Most of the story takes place in 2002 in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. The third woman, Ally who is the young wife of Tom who is an Australian deputy ambassador is searching to find out more about her dead mother’s past in Iraq. I loved he author’s portrayal of her.
Who can each of these three women trust? The Mukhabaret, the secret police, are pressuring Huda who is Tom’s secretary to give them information about Ally. Rania is struggling to make ends meet after losing the money her father, a sheik had when he was alive. Wilkinson’s writing made me feel that I was walking along side each of these characters in the story. There were some very tense times. I plan on asking my bookclub to read this amazing story. I think the discussion will be fantastic. Thank you Kensington and Bookishfirst for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.
When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkerson was a heart wrenching, tear jerking history lesson that I wasn’t expecting.
We are introduced to our three main characters, Huda, Ally and Raina who live in Baghdad during the regime of Saddam Hussein. Huda is a former extremely poor girl who has gotten a job at the embassy, and is reached out to by the secret policy to get information from her on her employer Tom and his wife Ally. She can’t refuse, or she’ll be thrown into torture and possibly her family as well. Ally is the wife of a very high ranking embassy employee and has a lot of secrets of her own, that could just put her in peril. Rania is a former close friend of Huda and a rich artist who is hired to paint a portrait of the presidents and his sons… and causes danger for her daughter.
This book was extremely well written. It is a glimpse into the history of Iraq when tensions were extremely high, and regime was extremely strong. I have never read anything from this point of view where we see what the citizens go through and I genuinely enjoyed every second of reading through this book. The ending was shocking, the events were wild, it was one of those books I couldn’t put down. There are some scenes that are slightly graphic in their description as it is very hard to know their struggles were real.
Im giving it a 4.5/5 stars. The beginning was a bit slow, as it was setting up the plot, but it was definitely necessary. I highly recommend checking this out. Its very different from my usual reads, but I really liked it!
Review & Book Tour of
When The Apricots Bloom by: GinaWilkinson
On Tour & Gifted by Bibliolifestyle
Published by Kensingtonbooks
On Sale: 2/2/21 – Link in my Bio
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This was a deeply moving and impactful novel of what it’s like living as a woman in the culture back under Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq. It was so impactful to see through the three main protagonists’ perspectives of dealing with the Mukhabarat, the secret police who give ordinary citizens no choice but to turn into spies and rat out just about anyone they knew that might be beneficial to the Mukhabarat. If they are denied, they could end up in jail, tortured or even killed. It drew out the horror of what it was like to live daily in fear. And to fear for your children’s lives and the lies you would tell and the lengths you would go through to protect them. I loved this book and feel so much more connected to a culture I didn’t know much about but am wanting to learn so much more.
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Huda is a secretary at the Australian Embassy in Iraq, a high paying job to get for an Iraqi Woman. She works for the Diplomat of the Embassy and befriends his wife, Ally. But how much of the friendship is real after the secret police visit her home and tell her she must spy on Ally and report back to them on every little detail. Huda has no choice because they put the threat in of sending her son to join the militia.
Ally, the wife of Tom; the Australian Diplomat has come seeking answers to her mother’s past who passed away when she was only 5 years old. She has her own secrets and finds friendship in Huda that she truly comes to rely on.
Then there is Rania, an old friend from Huda’s past, a sheik’s daughter. She is also worried for her daughter’s fate when she gets word that one of Saddam’s sons would like to meet her daughter.
Destiny brings all three women into each other’s lives. All three holding back something. Two who are willing to protect their children at any cost. This is a story of survival and living each day where survival is not guaranteed.
When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson is a great novel that kept me interested throughout.
This novel takes place mainly in Bagdad during Saddam Hussein’s reign. The book alternates between three separate women whose lives end up intersecting and coming together as the book progresses. It was interesting to see how seemingly three very different women were able to have so much in common towards the end.
There was suspense, mystery, intrigue, and for me, a few nail-biting moments that really kept my interest.
What I found most interesting is that not only is this a debut novel for this author, but that some of the events are based on true experiences that she herself witnessed while she was living overseas as a foreign war correspondent. It is always fascinating to read a story that is based on true events and experiences.
An enjoyable read. 4/5 stars
Thank you BookishFirst and Kensington for this arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.
When the Apricots Bloom is an impressive debut novel based on the author’s own experiences as a former foreign correspondent and partner of a diplomat living in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
The book centers on three women from very different backgrounds. Ally, 27, is the wife of Tom Wilson, 34, the Deputy Ambassador in the Australian Embassy in Baghdad. They have been married ony six months, and Ally is the only diplomat’s wife in Baghdad. Her days are long and lonely. A former journalist, she spends her spare time looking for information about her mother, an American who served as a nurse in Baghdad when she was young. She died of cancer when Ally was five, and her parents and grandparents won’t discuss her. Ally is determined to learn all she can about her mother while in Iraq.
Rania is the granddaughter of a sheikh. Raised wanting for nothing, like everyone else her economic situation has changed drastically under Hussein’s rule. Her husband of less than a year was killed when he was called up to fight the war with Iran. Rania was six months pregnant with her daughter (now 14) Hanan at the time. Now she lives by selling her grandfather’s possessions and the few painting commissions she can get. She has sent her daughter to live with her mother in the village near where whe was raised for safety reasons.
Huda is a secretary in the Australian Embassy and Hussein’s secret police have coerced her into being an informant for them. Her real job is to get close to Tom and Ally and gather any information she can find out and pass along to the police. She is married and has a son, Khalid, 13. Raised in a poor village, she and Rania were friends in their girlhood days and even took a blood oath of sisterhood. Past events have changed their friendship however, and now they are each cautious toward the other.
The three women’s lives intersect and tentative bonds are formed/re-formed, even as past and present secrets and the constant possibility of betrayal test their loyalties. When the danger for both Khalid and Hanan increases, the women must each decide how much they truly trust each other and what they are willing to risk to keep the children safe.
This is an immersive and suspenseful read. Wilkinson does a marvelous job of bringing both life in Iraq and her rich and complex characters to life. I look forward to reading her next offering!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book which is scheduled for publication on 2/1/21. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
“When the Apricots Bloom” is a debut novel that brings to life three women’s lives in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq — Huda, who is forced by the mukhabarat to inform on Amy, the deputy ambassador’s wife, and Rania, the daughter of privilege who is now forced to do whatever it takes to keep her child safe.
Wilkinson has written a book featuring strong women characters ensnared into betraying one another in order to save their children from harm. Her writing is, at times, lyrical.
This is not your typical novel by any stretch of the imagination. It is sometimes harsh, sometimes tender, but always well written. Her characters, although they are forced to spy on their friends in order to save their own families, must do things they never thought they’d do in order to keep their families alive. This is not a book to read in a single setting. It needs to be savored and you might even be asking yourself, what you would do under similar circumstances.
My thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for an eARC.
“In Iraq, every friendship is a risk.”
I was intrigued by this book because it was written by a former foreign correspondent and documentary maker, Gina Wilkinson.
This book was exceptional, both for the complexity of its central characters and for the glimpse into life under Sadam Hussein. For many, especially women, there were no good choices in Iraq at the time. The paranoia led to a life where no one could be trusted, even family. They faced the secret police unit that could knock on their front door or even break it down. Knowing they could be arrested and tortured since people disappeared all the time, fear ruled their lives. This book made me so tense and I couldn’t put it down. The friendship between two very unlikely women kept me totally gripped onto every page.
Huda al Basri and her husband, Abdul Amir, both had good jobs in Baghdad before the rise of Saddam Hussein, when Western sanctions virtually cut Iraq off from the rest of the world. By 2002, she considers herself lucky to have a secretarial position at the Australian Embassy despite the blow it causes to Abdul’s pride (because of higher pay and status). The position puts her in close contact with Ally Wilson, wife of the new Deputy Ambassador which draws the attention of the secret police. She’s forced to develop a friendship and report back every mundane detail. Refusal isn’t an option, especially after they threaten her son.
This is a really important book to read, especially for Americans who may not fully realize the damage caused in the daily lives of those in the region. Highly recommend this one!
Beautifully written, suspenseful exploration of secrets and betrayal in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, where every friendship is a risk.
Huda is a secretary at the Australian Embassy. She’s grateful for the job, as her finance analyst husband has been unemployed because of the American economic sanctions. But there is a problem: the Iraqi secret police are pressuring Huda to spy on her boss’ likeable young wife. As the menace and mistrust intensifies, Huda reconnects with a childhood friend, whom she blames for a terrible loss. How will these different women navigate such a brutal and uncertain world? What will survive of their friendships, their families, their sense of self?
This is an exceptional book. The characters have deeply grounded arcs, making difficult, life-changing choices that are understandable and relatable. It was informed by the author’s own experiences, but each main character is fully realized and sympathetic. Iraq is almost its own character, its beauty, elegance, and history still apparent in the lovely bookstores, the bright blue sky, but encroached all around by the ugliness and corruption of the regime.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.