As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh is a remarkable, moving, and eye-opening book which deserves to be read by all. The book is set in Syria, which is amid a revolution, and the fictional story is focused on a girl called Salama. Salama has suffered first-hand the extreme hardships of war; almost all her family has died or been taken, and all she has left is her heavily pregnant best friend. That is until she meets Kenan – a boy willing to risk his life filming the protests to make a change in his beloved country. Salama grasps onto the happiness she feels when with Kenan and their beautiful relationship quickly blossoms throughout the story. He is her shining light amongst all the darkness and is also a distraction from her relentless hallucinations and torment. Furthermore, Salama works in a hospital, saving as many people as she can, helping those either injured from being caught in an attack, or from fighting for their country, so she is surrounded by the tragedy every day. Meanwhile she is struggling with inner turmoil over whether to escape Syria, leaving behind the hospital, and everything she has ever known or loved.
This eye-opening novel reveals the true extent of the horror of war as it provides an understanding as to what is really happening in Syria, which is widely unknown amongst lots of us. The story provides an uncommon insight into the thoughts and feelings of the real people in Syria who are stuck in the midst of a war that they don’t deserve. However, all the characters are incredibly resilient and optimistic, which is extremely inspiring, and as a reader it puts into perspective your own life. Furthermore, as this is a Young Adult book (Zoulfa Katouh is the first Syrian writer to publish a Young Adult novel in the UK) it is aimed at those who are just a bit younger, or a similar age to Salama and Kenan. Therefore, reading the book I could scarcely imagine all the pain and trauma they had to unfairly endure at a similar age to me. Despite this, there are lots of small snippets of regular teenage life that still exist and are very relatable to the reader audience. These moments offer hope and show that despite the destruction surrounding them, they are just normal teenagers who have been unfairly pushed into situations that no one should ever have to bear.
I would recommend As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow to anyone over 13, as I think everyone should have a comprehension of the destruction in Syria, and other countries suffering from war. However, the story does contain lots of graphic imagery, especially describing those coming into the hospital, and as a result, the story often left me on the verge of tears. Nevertheless, it was necessary for Zoulfa Katouh to add some gruesome but truthful description to show the extent of the adversity, and do justice to all those suffering in Syria.
Overall, this book shines a light on the reality of living in a revolution. It gives a voice to all those people killed, tortured, drowned, or murdered, who sadly have just become ‘numbers’. However, the story also shows the power of hope and love in a country that has been utterly torn apart by war.
