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A review by ninjakiwi12
The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Fun(ny) fact(s): I picked up this book for £3 at Oxfam during my first week in Cambridge when I was exploring some of the local used bookshops, and I finally read it (mostly on the train and in the airport on my way to meet Anna!) several months later as part of my goal to read more this year (even as I do chemistry full-time).
Favorite quote/image: "If they are killed right here, would their ghosts continue as they are...? She can imagine that, the silence and peacefulness of it, a source of envy to passers-by - battling with the rage and chaos of life - who happen to glance in through the barred window." (pg. 317-318)
Honourable mention: "It isn't the cleanliness she is used to - patches of her skin have not touched any water at all - but it is enough to make her feel human again; soap, warm water, and the touch of another's hand has that power now." (pg. 147)
Why: Set in Somalia in the late 1980s on the eve of civil war, The Orchard of Lost Souls is a captivating, quickly-moving, chaotic, interweaving story of three women struggling to find the meaning of hope, family, and peace amidst the swirling tides of despair, loss, and violence.
Favorite quote/image: "If they are killed right here, would their ghosts continue as they are...? She can imagine that, the silence and peacefulness of it, a source of envy to passers-by - battling with the rage and chaos of life - who happen to glance in through the barred window." (pg. 317-318)
Honourable mention: "It isn't the cleanliness she is used to - patches of her skin have not touched any water at all - but it is enough to make her feel human again; soap, warm water, and the touch of another's hand has that power now." (pg. 147)
Why: Set in Somalia in the late 1980s on the eve of civil war, The Orchard of Lost Souls is a captivating, quickly-moving, chaotic, interweaving story of three women struggling to find the meaning of hope, family, and peace amidst the swirling tides of despair, loss, and violence.