Cover Image: Take What You Can Carry

Take What You Can Carry

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This one took me far too long to get into. I think it started off too slowly with far too many descriptions. While I love an atmospheric book, I don't need to know every little detail as it becomes tedious and distracts from the actual story.

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What a beautifully written book. The cultural differences, the dangerous environment, the beauty of the landscape, the devastation of war in Iraq, and the pain and suffering family members will experience will touch you deeply. The characters are well developed and you find yourself invested in their lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Great concept, really interesting topic. I found there was too much time “in the main characters head” and long descriptions that didn’t contribute to the storyline. That said there were some beautiful descriptions, so it may suit a more patient reader!

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I was intrigued to read this book as I don’t think there is much fiction out there that deals with Kurdish history. It makes a refreshing change to pick up something that is significantly different to everything else out on the shelves.

However, I did struggle a bit with this, in terms of perhaps a little more information might have been useful. It’s difficult – I didn’t read this book on the basis of it being a historical textbook, so I understand why there is not a full-blown detailing of a very complex situation. That said, I think a little more would have helped orient readers, especially those who may not be inclined to spend an hour doing research in the midst of reading this piece of fiction, just to understand the context. There’s a fine line and for me, the author just fell slightly short in this area.

That said, the story is gripping, regardless of context, and the relationship between Olivia and Delan is very moving. I found all the characters interesting and well portrayed, with enough depth to make them interesting. I felt myself caught up in the moments, and panicked for the characters when situations took a turn.

My main criticism is that this felt like it was needlessly overcomplicated and heavy handed when it came to writing style. There was a lot going on, and in all honesty, it detracted from the actual story itself. I found myself feeling dizzy with the dances the author kept putting on the page, where a simple description of an event, feeling or conversation would have sufficed. It was very distracting and definitely, at times, dampened my enjoyment.

Otherwise, a well thought out and finished piece of writing. I will definitely check out more by this author.

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This is another first for me. I have only a smattering of knowledge of the Kurds and their complicated lives. Reading this, however, helped me for a better picture of very intricate and long-standing issues.
The story is based in 1979 and is partly in the US, with the other more significant part based in Iraq's Kurdish region. The author's note towards the end, giving us more details of her own family history in the area, was fascinating (while emotionally potent).
The narrative heavily relies on emotions and the ties to people; there is a dream-like quality connecting the various people, leading and supporting the prominent storyline. Each branch of the story carries a heavy load of grief and frustration while simultaneously not being down on life itself. This is probably the best way I could describe my understanding of the way the story unravelled.
We have a young couple; one is a photographer who is yet to make a mark at her workplace (the way she wants to), and the other is a now US citizen whose family still lives in Iraq. They travel back for a wedding, and we are slowly let into the complexities that this entails. We have family and those who amount to family, all bonding together to survive. The portrayal carries the authentic feel and weight of the situation (which makes sense given the previously mentioned author's note). I felt it a little slow initially; the second half was unputdownable once the story actually took off. I would recommend not giving up if anyone finds the first half not to their taste, as the second half more than makes up for it.
It is not a happily-ever-after in the traditional sense of the word, but there are slivers of light in this tunnel.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

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By taking the protagonist to two extreme environments, the authors really emphasises the reality of a country impacted by war. I struggled to classify this book as it straddled genres so well - a thriller, yes, but more than that as it explored relationships and even romance. I liked the writing style, which was mature and sophisticated in style.

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I enjoy reading about other cultures and that is why I bought this book. I had hoped to learn more about the Kurdish people, too. However, the author barely kept my interest in her overly creative writing and confusing narrative. The story got more interesting when she and Delan, her Kurdish boyfriend, visited his family, but I still found myself skimming the story.

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This is a fantastic book, and I'm recommending it to everyone. The author is brilliant in portraying both insider and outsider perspectives throughout the novel, and the characters are human and original. I enjoyed the tension of the structure, with the small internal flash-forwards and flashbacks that made the ending tantalizing until the last minute. The writing itself is beautiful and I learned a lot as I read.

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This is a love story between an American woman and her boyfriend, a man born in Kurdistan. It is told by the perspective of the girlfriend. As a Kurd in the 1970s, a trip back to visit his family in Iraq was somewhat of a risk, especially when he brings his girlfriend, an aspiring photographer in a man’s world. The realities of culture shock and extreme mistreatment of a people, were experienced on this trip.
I was highly interested in this work of historical fiction because I had never read anything about the Kurds. Good descriptions and overall a good story. I did have trouble getting in to the book for a long while though, and found that the writing style was not my favorite.

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Based loosely on events from authors own life. I loved this book. Found it very well written, and the characters well written and easy to identify with.
5 stars

Thank You to NetGalley and the Author and publisher for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

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I received a free electronic copy on May 6, 2021, of this novel by Gian Sardar from Netgalley at the invitation of Lake Union Publishing. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am so glad to have been exposed to Gian Sardar and this wonderful novel. The plight of those folks without a voice or a country have never been more important. We must all listen, and assist in every way possible. This is a book I can highly recommend to friends and family, one I will want to read again occasionally. I look forward to her continuing works.

Olivia is a 28-year-old reporter in L.A. in the spring of 1979 - a reporter trying hard to break into the field as a professional photographer. Her fella and housemate Delan is an immigrant from Kurdistan, who invites her to accompany him to a family wedding in the Rawanduz area of the country he calls the Grand Canyon of Kurdistan located a full days car journey from Baghdad. Olivia is thrilled to be invited to experience this journey, and getting to know Delan's people. The first thing she packs is her camera and lots of both color and black-and-white film. Because of the length of the time involved in the trip, she will only get back to work the day the winner of the newspaper's competition for photographic 'excellence' is announced, but her presence in L.A. in the interim would not increase her chances of winning. It is after all 1979, she's female, and with no pull with the big wheels of the newspaper, the fact that her photos do tell an excellent story is moot.

The trip, though broken up unexpectedly by international affairs, is long but exciting, and Olivia is greeted and treated warmly by all of Devan's extended family. But there is trouble coming. Politics are involved with every aspect of the lives of the Kurds. It is a fact Olivia 'knew', but seeing it in action is horrifying and the danger to the people is extreme. Devan is her heart's desire. She would bring all of his family back home with her to L.A. if they would come. If any of them can make it safely back to the airport in Baghdad... And if she can get her film out safely, she will have a most excellent and necessary story to tell.

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This is Gian's second book -- but the first one I have read by her. With that being said -- I thought it was totally fascinating. I felt like I was back in 1979 -- the main characters Olivia and Delay have a relationship anyone can envy. Even with all of their differences.

If you love historical fiction -- give this one a read -- its' different than most because it covers a part of the world we don't get to read about often and worth every word!!

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This is the first ever fictional story I've read that talks of Kurdish struggles. I had requested the ARC simply by virtue of the plot summary and to a certain extent, this book delivers.

Plot summary:
Olivia, an American and an aspiring photojournalist, decides to accompany her Kurdish boyfriend Delan to his village in northern Iraq for a family wedding. While they both are aware of the dangers there, nothing can prepare them for the actual state of affairs and the visit upturns their lives forever.

Where the book clicked with me:
1. The story is set in 1979 and though fictional, relies on some family memories of the author's Kurdish relatives. As such, there is a sense of authenticity to the narrative and you can't help but wonder how terrifying it must be to live your routine life without knowing whether it is your last day on earth. In terms of revealing the harrowing truth of the daily struggles, and in creating an awareness of the problems faced by the largest ethnicity in the world not to have its own nation, "Take What You Can Carry" fulfills its role adequately.
2. One question that the book raises time and again is about the ethical dilemma faced by photojournalists. Where can they draw the line between art and invasion of privacy? That factor is handled extremely well in the book.
3. The ending is also a redeeming factor and provides hope and closure to the reader.

Where the book could have been better:
1. Unnecessarily complicating the writing style:
Remember all those old riddles about a snail who climbs up three feet during the day and falls back one foot at night? I felt like that snail for the first half of this book. The writing is so heavily embellished with descriptions and thoughts and allusions that you simply can't read it smoothly. The point of the content vanishes under layers of verbal padding. The writing is in third person from Olivia's point of view, and her narrative moves from present to past to present to past to present.... The frequent jumps in the timeline create even more hurdles to the reading flow. The second half is much better in comparison, especially as the focus stays more on action than intellection.

2. Providing a meagre background about the conflict.
Two things made me complete this book: I wanted to know more about the Kurds, and I didn't want to DNF an ARC. At the end of the book though, I am left with more questions than answers as this book doesn't give much background about the struggle but jumps into it headlong. For instance, the "peshmerga" are mentioned multiple times along with what they do but I had to Google the meaning to find out who they actually are. Incomplete tidbits of facts don't help an outsider in comprehending the gravity of the problem.
I am not aware of many other fictional books based on the Kurdish struggles except for Daughters of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa and I Stared at the Night of the City by Bakhtiyar Ali. I want to give a try to these books and see if they handle the topic better.

3. Focusing so much on the writing that it loses the plot.
In literary fiction, using descriptive phrases, fanciful writing, random time leaps, et all are justified and necessary because they add to the "literary" beauty of the book. But when you have a book that seeks to educate through fiction, that aims to create an awareness about the past, that means to shock you at the extent of human heinousness, then all such literary devices take away from the impact of the narrative. The writing distracts you from the key content and reduces its emotional force, which is a sad waste for such a stunner of a story.
There are shades of The Kite Runner in this book, but Khaled Hosseini kept his narrative so straightforward that one could concentrate on the plot without being distracted by its writing. This book would have made a much greater impact if it had followed a similar style.

One more thing is that the book is marked as Women's Fiction on NetGalley. It would have worked better if categorised as Historical Fiction. Women’s Fiction conjures up quite different expectations in the mind of the reader.

Overall, I do not regret reading this book as it did benefit me in my awareness about the Kurds. But I did hope to have a better reading experience. If you aren't as fussy as me about the brain-numbing writing style (and I'm sure most of you aren't; I’m really very stringent at times…), do give this book a try for the intent behind the content.

For the content: 4.25 stars
For the writing style: 2 stars
Final rating: 3 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Oh this story is so beautifully written, I know the author said it was based loosely on true stories but I can totally see that. The story is very emotional and very realistic, it was as if I were there with them. Loved every minute of it, even the heartbreaking moments.

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Romantic and thrilling at the same time. This story took me away from everything going on right now and I was totally absorbed in storyline. This is a brilliant read. Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable. The escapist read everyone needs right now.'

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American photographer, Olivia Murray, accompanies her Kurdish boyfriend, Delan, to his home in Iraq in 1979 for a family wedding. They experience danger many times in this divided country and when their safety is in question due to a conflict between the Arabs and Kurds, it results in Olivia and Delan being confronted with a challenge: are the differences between them too great to bridge?

You’ll be bogged down with the first half, you’ll be frustrated with the grammar, you’ll be angry that there are no time indicators, BUT stick with it as it’s an amazing story. You’ll be witness to the love and generosity of these beautiful people. People with hearts as beautiful as their clothing. People who’ve experienced terror and the worst of humanity yet exude kindness and love. You’ll be immersed in a culture you probably don’t know anything about, you’ll get a glimpse into why the Kurds are fighting for independence and you’ll be entranced with the rich, vivid descriptions of this beautiful place. Along the way, you’ll face fear, violence, injustice, tragedy and devastation, your emotions will be riding high and you’ll definitely be moved. You’ll still be thinking of this one many days afterwards.

Take what you can carry, be it beauty, promise, or love and leave behind the chaos, fear and destruction. . Never stop seeing the beauty in the world.

I was gifted this book by Gian Sardar, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

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This book was just so beautiful! Everything..... The characters, the writing. Its so full of emotion.
I was hooked on how this was written. One of the best I've read in awhile.

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