“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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A deeply involving and important novel by a master storyteller. Gina Wilkinson highlights the humanity at the center of a brutal conflict. She brings her lived experience to every page of this harrowing, dramatic, and ultimately hopeful book.
Gina Wilkinson’s breathtaking novel explores the plight of ordinary people who must flee their country to survive, as three women living under the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein and his brutal secret police risk their lives to protect themselves and their children. Riveting and profound! I adored this book!
Very suspenseful and dramatic story that perfectly demonstrates the drastic lengths to which a mother will go through to protect her child. These women not only brushed up against cultural norms but they burst through with every fiber of their being. Left me breathless and hopeful.
One of the best books I read in 2021. Recommended to my book club! Don’t often give 5 stars but this one…yes!
I did not finish. Boring
This wonderfully written, evocative novel follows two Iraqi women and an Australian woman in Iraq during the reign of Sadam Hussein. Huda and Rania, friends from their childhood in Basra, both now live in Baghdad. Though they’ve been estranged for years, they unite again in a common goal to protect their teenage children from falling prey to the regime. Huda works at the Australian embassy, and has befriended Ally, the wife of the ambassador, but when the secret police demands she report information on Ally back to them, she must decide where her loyalties reside.
I really enjoyed learning about Iraqi culture and about what it was like to live there under authoritarian rule. Wilkinson masterfully shifts the narrative perspective so we can understand the motivations of each woman and why they each make their choices. The descriptions of the landscape, the food, and the inner emotional worlds of all of the characters are clever, nuanced and tangible. I didn’t want this beautiful story to end, and yet the conclusion is satisfying and realistic. Kudos to Gina Wilkinson on this gorgeous debut.
This is a fictional but realistic account of life in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein written by an author who actually lived there for a period of time. So she brings a realistic perspective of what life was like in those years. Huda and Rania have lived there all of their lives. They have secrets between them that have torn their childhood friendship apart as they grew up and had children of their own. Ally is an Australian/American citizen living in Baghdad as a diplomat’s wife. She is naive and trusting and maybe doesn’t understand how different this society is from the one she knows. Their paths cross and become entangled as their stories unfold. Gina Wilkinson takes us through the fear and distrust that lead to unspeakable betrayals, but also to utmost loyalties. This is an engrossing and eye-opening read that brought attention to the fear many live with on a day-to-day basis under the thumb of sadistic regimes. Unfortunately, there’s too much of that in our world today. This book is available now. If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend that you do.
It’s a picture of the lives of women in a culture of oppression that most American women know nothing about. It is also a story of the unlikely friendship of three women from different cultures.
A gripping story of three very different women caught up in a tangle of obsession, survival and lies, the risks they will take simply to survive.
I truly felt for the memorable women risking their lives to protect themselves and their families… Baghdad springs into vivid violent life… Outstanding!
A thrilling yet heart-wrenching education in what it is like to live in a country without freedom and how friendship and forgiveness are sometimes the only way to enable profound change. This must-read novel is mesmerizing, captivating, and profound.
ery interesting book told by and thru the points of view of 3 very different women in Iraq during the time of Suddam Hussain. These are very different women but they share bonds between them. Author Gina Wilkinson is a former foreign correspondent stationed in Baghdad during this time period. I found this story interesting.. I was gifted this book from the Kensington publishers in exchange for my honest review.
Gina Wilkinson’s “When the Apricots Bloom” Features Women Under Saddam Hussein’s Tyrannical Rule. I enjoyed having the author on Charlotte Readers Podcast.
The fourth star was earned based on the last quarter of the novel, as the first dragged and I couldn’t seem to worry for the characters, despite the mounting dangers. I came away with an enriched experience of the culture and beauty of Iraq, though.
This is a very slow pace of book, and I actually kind of loved it. It feels so perfectly fitting for the life the three women have in Baghdad. The dull slog through every day for Ally. The intolerable passing of time for Rania and Huda. The burn building just under the surface, while the face must remain impassive. Or more colloquially, like that saying about how a serenely gliding duck is paddling madly just under the surface of the water.
This brushed with some of the most painful things in life. It mentioned them, and moved on, because that’s the way the women must be if they want to keep their lives. The brusque attitude towards horrors, the horrified casualness in dismissing them… it sinks in deep.
Plot was solid. Progression was slow and steady, and then the last third of the book absolutely flew by for me. No romance, just pain and love of a different kind.
This story is based on the author’s experience of living in Iraq during the rule of Saddam Hussein. The story centers around two childhood friends who are now adults, Huda and Rania. It is a story of survival and what a mother will do to keep her child safe. I found I was unable to put this book down. Very well written. I highly recommend it!
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.
A haunting but educating story. A story that will open your eyes to what took place in Baghdad under the reign of Saddam Hussein. You will feel the strength in the citizens of Baghdad, as they overcome daily struggles to survive. You will be holding your breath as you read of the courage many had to find, in order to protect loved ones from harm. My heart truly ached as I read this gripping story.
Three women with secrets come together, determined to save not only their own lives but the lives of two of the women’s teenage children. But, eyes are watching everywhere as they try to form a plan to escape. The ruthless Saddam Hussein’s eyes are literally plastered everywhere from posters to billboards. As one of the women exclaims, “ ‘ … . .”… “’ .”
Even though I had a hard time starting this novel, “ ” was a book that helped me understand more of what took place in Baghdad during a tragic time in history. I did a little research to help me see images of some things mentioned. It is a noble debut novel by Gina Wilkinson. I applaud her for writing this story as it was inspired by real-life experiences while she lived in Iraq. To understand the struggles and triumphs of this period, this is a must-read.
~I want to thank Kensington Publisher Corp. for this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.~
When the Apricots Bloom is a moving story about three different women set in Sadam Hussein’s Iraq. The lives of Huda, Rania, and Ally collide amid the turmoil of Sadam’s regime. Ally is the wife of an Australian diplomat, who arrives in Iraq hoping to find out more about the time her mother spent working as a nurse in the country in 1970. Huda, an Iraqi woman, works for the Australian embassy, and Rania, is Huda’s former childhood friend. Rania and Huda had a falling out in the past and lost touch.
In Sadam’s Iraq, everybody has secrets, nobody wants to talk about the past, and confiding in anyone, even friends, can be dangerous because anyone could be an informer of the mukhabarat (the secret police). In fear for her family, Huda is forced to befriend Ally and report her every move to the secret police. When Rania’s life becomes entangled with Huda’s and Ally’s, all three women and their families will find themselves in extreme danger from the regime.
When the Apricots Bloom is a poignant story of friendship, motherhood, and survival in one of the most brutal regimes. The book was inspired by the author’s own experience of living in Iraq as a foreigner during Sadam Hussein’s rule. It was not an easy read. Just reading about the atrocities and the trauma so many citizens endured filled me with sadness. When the Apricots Bloom is a compelling and thought-provoking story. I highly recommend it!
Set in Baghdad, Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s rule, the lives of three women—two Iraqi, Huda and Rania, and one Australian/American, Ally—become dangerously entangled. Why had Ally’s mom (who died when Ally was only 5 years old) spent time in Baghdad in her youth, and what secrets was she hiding? How does Ally’s search for information about her mom also draw unwanted attention from the regime to Huda and Rania? Will the three women betray each other’s trust to help the regime, or remain steadfast and loyal in their friendship?
“If we stay loyal to each other, if we trust each other, then maybe we change the patterns of the past.”
Based on the author’s own experience living in Iraq during this time, When the Apricots Bloom was powerful and intense, and I cannot imagine living in 2002 Baghdad, let alone as a woman. Imagine not being able to speak your mind freely because your every move is under surveillance and even your home and cars may be bugged. Now also imagine being forced to divulge your neighbors’ secrets or face violent consequences from the regime.
“[Ally] thought she was the one with secrets, but she’s begun to realize everyone had secrets here, enough to drown in.”
This was certainly a brutal time and country in which to be born, and this touching debut is one I won’t soon forget.
“The great poet Rumi said sorrow sweeps everything out of your house violently so that joy has space to enter.”
Location: 2002 Baghdad, Iraq
I received an advance copy of this book from BookishFirst. All opinions are my own.