An amazing book. Very descriptive and touching, yet propulsive. Evokes a strong sense of place and time Highlighting the plight faced by many women in Pakistan. Recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers, Canongate Books, for this ARC.

DNF at 25%.

Whilst there is some beautiful, skilful writing in this book, I felt the author tried to make as much of the writing lyrical as possible, which took away my ability to fully immerse myself in the story.

Through some beautiful lyrical writing, we discover this town's myths and the oppressive lives the women live. At times I agree with others that the impact on important themes of this book is lost in the beautiful writing. Other times, however, the harsh brutality of how the women are treated cuts through the lyrical writing, creating a gut-wrenching realisation.

I believe this could have been a right book wrong time for me as the themes this book promises are buzzwords for what I look for in a book. I hope to return to this at a later date and have a more positive review!

An Abundance Of Wild Roses, by Feryal Ali-Gauhar, is a story set in a remote village within Pakistan. As the book progresses, we meet a variety of different characters whose lives intermingle with one another. Each story shows the hardships of the time and remote location, set within wartime Pakistan.
I struggled a little to get into the first half of the book but enjoyed the second half much more. However, I was left feeling a little underwhelmed with the ending, feeling as if I needed more closure for each character and storyline.

This was such a beautiful book, the writing was wonderful and almost lyrical. A very moving, emotional read covering some very difficult and hard subjects but the author told the story in a such a stunningly atmospheric way.

I have very mixed feeling on this one: on the one hand, the writing is beautiful and the story deals with very interesting themes. On the other hand, I felt like the writing style hindered and undermined the messages this book was trying to get across. I'd still recommend it I think but I feel torn to be honest. 3 stars

The narrative unfolds in a secluded mountain village nestled within the rugged terrain of Pakistan. At its heart are the intertwined lives of its inhabitants, each grappling with the weight of tradition, gender roles, and the clash between antiquity and modernity.

Moosa, the esteemed elder of the village, epitomizes traditional patriarchal values, navigating the complexities of his polygamous household while wrestling with the legacy he leaves for his daughter. Meanwhile, Zarina, a dedicated local health worker, strives to empower her daughters through education, despite the absence of her husband stationed at a distant military outpost.

Kulsoom, burdened by societal expectations and her husband's addiction, grapples with the relentless cycle of motherhood and domestic duties, her yearning for fulfillment overshadowed by the absence of a son. Against this backdrop, the narratives converge to confront matters of life and death, as the village grapples with the inexorable march of modernity.

Central to the unfolding drama are the fates of women and young girls, whose aspirations clash with entrenched traditions, compelling them to navigate a delicate balance between societal expectations and personal agency. As the characters confront the consequences of their choices, the novel delves into the intricate tapestry of rural life, exposing the profound repercussions of challenging age-old norms and embracing change.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is an absorbing story with a wide range of flawed characters none of whom enjoy an easy life. The Numberdar is central to the story, finding himself caring for an unknown man who was discovered by two herders on the frozen mountainside. He does his best with the help of the local nurse but has his own family issues to deal with. His third wife is soon to give birth whilst the daughter of his second wife has been sent a love letter which angers the Numberdar.

Despite the tragedy, conflict and suffering that the characters endured, I found myself engrossed.

A book that talk to my heart and soul. Lyrical and impressive style of writing, excellent storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you for granting me early access to this incredible novel. So, I went into this totally blind with only the title as my guide and what a wonderful surprise it was. My favourite part of this novel was the depth of the characters, they're very nuanced. I also love that the novel has a strong sense of place, I felt very situated. It's a novel that will stay with me for a long time.

Intriguing and beautifully told book about rural pakistan and the many cultural and life challenges faced by its inhabitants. Hard to describe in lots of ways but would be a great book for discussion in the teenage classroom, So many issues raised

Feryal Ali-Gauhar's UK debut, "An Abundance of Wild Roses," intricately weaves lyrical storytelling with pressing contemporary issues such as gender violence, tradition, and patriarchy.

The book tells the story of a remote mountain village in Pakistan. Moosa, the village elder, is a proud man with three wives, and one daughter. Zarina is a local health worker, raising her daughters and trying to educate them, while her husband is serving in a remote military outpost in the mountains. Kulsoom is a mother of four daughters, and wife to a man addicted to cough syrup, struggling to find meaning and work, and blaming it all on not having a son. As these stories mature, we find our cast of characters dealing with matters of life and death, as a very traditional way of life comes into conflict with modernity. At the core of most of the narratives is the fate of women and young girls, and the terrible ramifications that occur when they get a glimpse of modernity and education, but are forced to live the lives of their forebearers, marrying young, bearing children (ideally boys), and slaving away for their husbands (in the true meaning of that word). As a backdrop, we encounter men who struggle to contain the erosion of their "respect" and "honor", and other men, who embrace modernity and aspire to have their daughters and wives learn, and be free.

I loved much about the story. The most astonishing thing was the characters and the depth of their emotional worlds. The character of Moosa, in particular, was a pleasure to understand, and see unravel. The characters were so vivid it was almost as if you could see them, and experience the angst and emotional turmoil that was eating them up inside. I also liked how the author prefaced most major events in the narrative with a story from folklore - it was enriching, relevant, and educational. Finally, while the book was not an easy read (content is not what I would call pleasant), it was well written, well paced, and contained just enough tension to make one want to find out what happens in the end.

I recommend it to anyone interested in the fate of young girls in the more remote parts of our world, be it Pakistan or elsewhere. The tragedies they endure, and the reasons for these tragedies, are soul shattering, and are worth being aware of.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

An Abundance of Wild Roses is not an easy read. It speaks of traditions that I may be able to understand but find very hard to accept. It’s with a heavy heart that you read about a husband beating up his wife for producing daughters and not sons, about mothers loosing their children in a war that “has little purpose”, about a boy running around in his dead father’s coat that is a few sizes too big for him. Your heart is bleeding from start to finish.

Despite all the uneasiness the novel is somehow very poetic and at times reads almost like a folktale.

The narration reminded me of a crochet blanket in the making where multiple colours are used. You start with one shade of yarn then leave it to pick up the next and so on. We slowly learn what life in this mountain village is like for different families. You’d nearly think this little place is lost in time but there’s governments, hair-removing creams, cell phones and newspapers that bring you back to the present. People here, nevertheless, are in tune with the nature as well as the spirits of many kinds. That was another reason why I felt this story was not attached to reality.

There are no speech marks but somehow, almost intuitively, you guess who’s talking. This was an unusual experience as well.

This is a devastating story but very powerful in its own way. It definitely makes me ponder over the essence of human existence.

This dark and challenging read details the hardship of women in a rural mountain village in Pakistan where the backdrop of colonial life, war and brutal conditions makes the thin veil between life and death wrapped in myth, folklore and tradition.
I think there were a lot of characters and voices in this book that sometimes became hard to distinguish or follow, there's beautiful imagery in the writing but again to eyes unfamiliar with the area there was a lot I struggled to picture clearly. The book covers the harsh realities of very young girls and women in such an oppressive way of life where their whole future is dictated by elders and men; they're equally relied on to do so much work but treated as useless and inferior to any son. It is a short and catchy read but I just personally felt I struggled to keep up with what was happening between the stories at once.

I enjoyed reading this book. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read it

Hard to read
I really struggled to review this book – when I had finished it I felt thoroughly depressed and I simply wanted to read something else. This is undoubtedly my own issue with the way the world seems to be going. If I hadn’t been reading an ARC, I would have abandoned it after two or three chapters.
So in an isolated village in the mountains of Pakistan there is a village where life hasn’t caught up with modern ways – and modern wars.
The terrible stories of the lives of these people and the characters are described with some passion – there is the headman who feels he has to punish his daughter when she is given a poem by a man he doesn’t know. There are his three wives who have no means to deal with him. There is the boy who may or may not be prophesying some kind of doom who no one hears and the woman who cannot bear to carry yet another girl child to term. There are young men fighting in a very modern war, not so very far from this pit of oppression and depression and themselves being crushed by a pitiless landscape while a brave dog tries to save them. There are women who try to help each other and bring modern medicine to the village.
Meanwhile human lives are overlooked by bitter and angry mythical spirits of nature (while it was impossible not to agree with the spirits crushing view of humanity, it got a bit tired after about six chapters. Yes, trees and flowers and otters and pretty antelopes and otters and leopards are great and humans have done terrible damage but these people were dealing with a lot and they didn’t need this endless whingeing disapproval from above – well I didn’t need it on their behalf)
There are sparks of brightness, courage and compassion in all these stories which made it just about bearable to finish the book. But in the end I guess my own anxiety about the remoteness of a hopeful resolution for the story of the human race is what made it impossible for me to like this book.

What a powerful Book ! it tells of the awful life many Women & Girls still live & have in many rural parts of the world who's menfolk refuse to allow them to enter the 21st Century! They also twist the words of their religious beliefs to justify how the Women are treated & sadly because of this so many of these young girls & women commit Suicide because for them Death by any means is far less torturous than the life they may have to face , often being married as young as 15 years of age & even sometimes younger once they have had their first blood Loss they are deemed fit to marry & bare a man Sons.
There were also other stories twisted between the lines of the main story , of men who have to fight & are posted to the highest outpost of up to 21, 000 feet & of amazing search & rescue Dogs ( mainly German Shepherds) or in the case of this book a Wolf Dog called Malika who helped her caring Soldier & his companion survive a horrific Avalanche!
I think this book should be read in every English Literature Class in every High School to make our young Women & Men realise how fortunate they are ! #NetGalley, #GoodReads, #FB, #Amazon.co.uk, #Instagram,# <img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>..

Sadly, I had to DNF this one around 40% of the way in.

I truly appreciate the book's attempt to address important themes of suppression and violence, both within cultural norms and in the broader context of the natural world. The potential for exploration was promising, but unfortunately, the writing style made it difficult for me to fully appreciate.

The vivid descriptions of culture and nature were beautiful, but this level of description permeated every aspect of the story, which led to it feeling a bit overwritten. I feel that some editing could have helped the more significant moments shine brighter.

One of the things I enjoy most about reading is immersing myself in lives different from my own, but sadly, the writing style made it challenging to fully engage with the story in this way.

Despite my experience, I will keep an eye out for more from this author in the future. I see the potential in this novel and genuinely feel disappointed that it didn't click for me this time around.

Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate Books for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this after 20% of the way in, I just had absolutely no interest in what was happening and I was finding myself starting to get into a reading slump from trying to force it - It took me 4 days to get to 20% and usually I easily read 20% of a book in one day without trying.

This is no shame at the author - the writing really was beautiful, hence the middling review, as I think that at another time I would adore this book, but now isn’t the right time for me to read it.

Emotional and moving, this was a well written and plotted book. I really enjoyed the characters and the entire premise, the backdrop added an interesting element and really brought the story together.