Why this book works so well is that it’s such a simple and innocent story. Seen through the eyes of two girls as they grow up and start to explore the world, well at least as far as they can in war torn Baghdad, they manage to reveal their dreams, their hopes and their fears as well as acute observations of war. What we read about war sometimes can be gathered in such torrid graphic headlines that it’s there to shock. The lyrical, innocent childhood observations of these children make it all the more horrific and that’s why the book should be read slowly to take in the repercussions of what you are reading. When the girls are in the shelter, how they see the burned out city, why they dream about the Baghdad clock…I had tears in my eyes.

The story follows them as they go their own ways but it’s their Baghdad and childhood bond that keeps them close. You should discover this book for yourself without having any ideas of what you might find as this is an experience you won’t have had before and I’m very grateful to One World for having translated this. It did read like a stream of consciousness at times and especially as the girls grow up, but stand back and see the novel for how it shines a light on this part of the world and its people.