“Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons never die out.”

Zoulfa Katouh from “As Long as The Lemon Trees Grow”

This is single-handedly one of the finest books I have read in 2023. Our story begins in war-torn Syria; except it isn’t a war but a revolution, a protest against a tyrannical government. It is fiction, but based off real life experiences of the Syrian people who fought and died and overcame this dictatorship. Much of what we know about the Syrian revolution is shaped by the news, but this is a love letter written by one of Syria’s daughters. She tells of the sorrow and loss and grief, but also of love and hope and all the beautiful feelings that makes life worth living.

“As Long as The Lemon Trees Grow” begins with Salama Kassab, an 18-year old, navigating life under a cruel dictatorship. Before the revolution, she was a bright pharmacy student, flourishing under the light of her family’s love and dreaming of exploring the world beyond her beloved Syria. When disaster strikes, her father and brother are captured for protesting and suffer brutal torture in prison. Her mother dies following a bombing, Salama is all alone in this world, save her sister-in-law and bestfriend, Layla.

Jaded by her numerous losses, Salama volunteers at the local hospital. She tends to the wounded, and is forced to grow up too fast, too soon. She is paralysed by fear which manifests as hallucinations she names ‘Khawf’. Until she meets Kenan, during a hospital shift and realizes he was her bethrothed. In another life, there would have been happiness for them, and yet, the possibilites of ‘should have been’ doesn’t stop them. In the face of uncountable loss and trauma, their love blooms.

Salama battles with her subconscious on whether to flee Syria. She longs for safety but her heart sings for her people and her land. Ultimately, this book is about people’s undying love for their country and the hope it grants them.

Salama’s story is one I will hold with me closely. Her character is so brave, so selfless and giving. She made many difficult decisions that tortured her but that only endears her to the reader. It shows her human nature. She faced so much trauma and struggled with PTSD but her unrelenting inner strength pushes her to carry on.

This novel is not about the romance between Salama and Kenan, but wow was it needed! They found each other in the most desolate situation and were a source of light and hope for each other. These are fictional characters but I wish them all the love and peace in this world, and I am very grateful they got their happy ending.

“As Long as The Lemon Trees Grow” is difficult and heavy but it is such a necessary read. The author’s note at the end of this novel really sums up why- the news reports death so clinically that we become desensitised to the fact that each number on a death toll was a real human with family, and hopes and dreams. As much this novel reports on the loss, it tells of the martyrs and nameless heroes who embody the heart and future of Syria.

This was an inspiring, heartbreaking story about hope that will remain with me for time to come.