Will I love Take What You Can Carry?

This novel is haunting, and filled with moments of piercing beauty and an exquisite attention to specific, sensory detail. Vivid scenes and the rising suspense immersed me in the plot. The characters are beautifully developed in all their messy human complexity, and nuances of motivation and emotion. Each struggles to survive, thrive, and love in systems of oppression, from sexism to genocide. What a gorgeous book that shares a terrifying era and a beautiful land, written by an author with personal connections and insight into both. The triumph of the human spirit shines through in the protagonist as she learns… show more.

A Californian woman travels to Iraq to visit her Kurdish boyfriend’s family. It’s during Saddam Hussein’s regime, when just being a Kurd can get you tortured or imprisoned. The author perfectly captures the smells, sounds and cultural details that fascinate a Western newcomer to Kurdistan -- including markets, weddings, dancing, and foods. All is not what it appears, however, and murky secrets lurk beneath the smiling faces. Like most books about Kurds, this one is disturbing in parts. But the romantic subplot keeps you turning pages. It also has great insights into the complexity of cross-cultural relationships, both pros and… show more.