
Published: 15/09/2022

A searing novel set in war-torn Syria, Katouh's deeply powerful work centres around Salama and her agonising decision as to whether to flee her native country or stay and help those in danger.
Shortlisted for The British Book Awards 2023 Discover Book of the Year
Burning with the fires of hope and possibility, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow will sweep you up and never let you go.
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She was even supposed to be meeting a boy to talk about marriage.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors. She knows that she should be thinking about leaving, but who will help the people of her beloved country if she doesn't? With her heart so conflicted, her mind has conjured a vision to spur her to action. His name is Khawf, and he haunts her nights with hallucinations of everything she has lost. But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, when she crosses paths with Kenan, the boy she was supposed to meet on that fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.
Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are-not a war, but a revolution-and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria's freedom.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781526648525
Number of pages: 448
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Zoulfa Katouh writes from the heart about the Syria she knows and loves. She tells with an authentic voice one of the great and most tragic stories of our time. The tender love story at the heart of the novel humanises the horrors of war and the shocking tragedy that has befallen Syria. This is an important book. Everyone should read it' - Elizabeth Laird, award-winning author of Welcome to Nowhere
'A searing story of war, loss, family and love, of seeking grace in madness and hope in tragedy, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a phenomenal tale, a piercing keen for the Syria that was and the Syria that is. An absolute must read.' - Sabaa Tahir, author of An Ember in the Ashes
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