Welcome to Litsy!

I am so sad today. #literati announced that the book subscription service is ending. It really is my favorite subscription service-giving you tons of seriously thought provoking selections each month to choose from. The app was fantastic and included a page tracker for your current read. Oh well. I guess all good things come to and end 😭 The tagged book appears to be my last selection.

First novel published in English by a Kurdish female author.based on Kurdish history through the story of one family s history looking forward to reading and learning about a world far far away,

It was good, but against Five Little Indians it didn't have the same emotional pull. Similarities in the stories with removal by beating of their culture, language way of life yes, but to me FLI is stronger - I'm reading this with the Giller longlist potential in mind.

Was asked to comment on the cover - I don't see it as being overly pertinent to the content?

#ShadowGiller
@Lindy

Like in Five Little Indians with the residential schools forcing abandonment of their Indigenous language, here we see Kurdish children beaten for speaking their native language. Their identity, roots and culture brutally taken from them.

#CanLit #ShadowGiller

Going to give this one a try now. Been on my shelf for a bit.

It's a nice night out now, the stupid heat and humidity died down.

#ShadowGiller

@Lindy

This book is so good. Leila is Kurdish, growing up in Iran during the ethnic genocide. I don't even know where to begin. This is about speaking out and doing the right thing even if you might be killed. Because you might be killed anyway. Be true to yourself and fight for your family and your culture. I definitely recommend this.

#BookSpinBingo square 20
@TheAromaofBooks

I have an #ARC but it looks like this came out in May.

Leila and Chia are siblings in Kurdistan, technically in the Kurdish part of Iran, when their father is named an enemy of the state and not allowed to work. Their family struggles for money while both children also try to get an education, but the odds are not in Leila's favor (and she wants to be a filmmaker in a region that polices everything including books and films.) Then her brother disappears.... ⤵️

Based partially on the teacher and human rights activist Farzad Kamanger, Ava Homa tells an extremely engaging story, making the characters leap from the page. She is one of the first Kurdish women to publish a novel in English. If you don't know much about the Kurds going into this book, you will learn a lot about them through the reading. Similar to how you'd learn about the cultural experiences of a close friend.