As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

To flee her homeland and everything she’s ever known for the chance of safety, or to stay behind and do her duty to a country under fire. That is the decision eighteen-year old Salama Kassab grapples with in Zoulfa Katouh’s 2022 novel, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow.

Before the war, Salama was a university student in Homs with dreams of becoming a pharmacist. Now, several months into the war, she volunteers as a surgeon at the same hospital she once hoped to work at, tending to the wounded under the mentorship of Dr. Ziad, while struggling to keep herself and her pregnant best friend and sister-in-law Layla alive following the arrest and imprisonment of her father and brother for attending a protest and her mother’s death in a bombing. Haunted by Khawf, the morally-gray manifestation of her fear and trauma, he conjures up nightmares and horrific visions to urge her to take Layla and escape to Germany, an expensive and dangerous journey by boat that offers no promises of safety. But Salama hesitates to leave Syria behind, and when she meets the rebel Kenan Aljendi and his young siblings, the situation becomes even more desperate.

This novel is not an easy read. It doesn’t hold back in its depictions of war, nor is it apologetic for doing so. While Salama’s story is fictional, the novel draws upon real-life events and honors all of the lives that have been lost. Katouh’s greatest strength is her ability to humanize her characters and bring them to life in a way that shows the true cost of war. It’s poignant and timely, given the current state of the world. Beneath the rubble and chaos, Katouh also weaves a love story that draws upon the magical works of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, reminding readers that hope can be found in even the darkest of times.

For similar titles, check out Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini, The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar, and A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming. All titles are available through the Westmont Public Library in physical or digital format.