I am thrilled to be on the tour for this read.
What's it about?
Winner of an English PEN Translates Award.
Historical fiction meets crime fiction in The Djinn’s Apple, an award-winning YA murder mystery set in the Abbasid period—the golden age of Baghdad.
A ruthless murder. A magical herb. A mysterious manuscript.
When Nardeen’s home is stormed by angry men frantically in search of something—or someone—she is the only one who manages to escape. And after the rest of her family is left behind and murdered, Nardeen sets out on an unyielding mission to bring her family’s killers to justice, regardless of the cost…
Bobs and Books review:
This starts right in the action and is quite shocking.
This is a powerful and moving novella, where themes of innocence and experience shines through. Nardeen has to grow up fast and isn't ready to.
I liked how books and reading show an escape and solace in this read, and whilst this situation isn't relatable, using books as a coping mechanism is, and shows how universal themes in this book are.
About the author:
Djamila Morani is an Algerian novelist and an Arabic language professor. Her first novel, released in 2015 and titled Taj el-Khatiaa, is set in the Abbasid period (like The Djinn’s Apple), but in Kazakh- stan. All of her works are fast-paced historical fiction pieces. She is yet to have a full-length work translated into English.
Out 29 Feb.
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