This is the first novel I read from Syrian author Rosa Yassin Hassan and I loved reading. The novel is well written, creative, innovative and about a specific topic rarely treated. The novel is about the women whose husbands were political prisoners and had been imprisoned for a long and unspecifc period of time. The rising dilemma with time whether to stay loyal or not, how to survive without them, how to live with them after their release...
The story is set in Damas, Syria up to 2003. The novel follows a woman in her thirties who's stayed loyal to her university boyfriend, who's been jailed during 15 years. She works at the Canadian embassy in Syria as an interpreter in the service that receives those who from the region come and seek political asylum. She's also friend with another woman who's husband had been jailed.
The author offers us the relationship between the woman and the man prior to being jailed, while prison and after the release. Furthermore, the author writes several stories of refugees from Sudan, Saoudi Arabia and Irak. While the novel might seem too dramatic, the author intelligently introduces readers to local poetry and writes about romance and erotism.
The leading and secondary characters are well developed. The story is well written, clear and concise. The story follows a chronological order and the intrigue is kept til the end.