Discover the start of the discussion here.
Duration: 3 weeks, 21/03-11/04/23
Win 1 of 20 reading copies
✨ In dieser Leserunde wird der Roman in der Originalsprache Englisch gelesen und die Diskussionsrunde im Book Circle findet in englischer Sprache statt.
An epic, emotional, breathtaking story of love and loss set amid the Syrian revolution. Burning with the fires of hope and possibility, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow will sweep you up and never let you go.
For this reading group we’re giving away 20 free reading copies of the novel, in cooperation with Bloomsbury Academic.
How to participate
You’d like to read along and discuss the novel with other readers? Fill in this form and enter your postal address to apply for the reading group and to win one of the 20 free copies. By confirming the completed form you’re automatically in the run for a space in the reading group.
The reading group 📖
The number of participants is limited to 20 people. Participants will be selected at random. After the application deadline, the winners will be announced in a comment in this thread and will receive an email with further information.
All confirmed participants will receive a free copy of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow. We’ll read and discuss the novel together. The exchange will take place in writing, in this forum discussion thread. After completing the book, all participants will write their personal review of the book here in the community.
Conditions of participation
Residence and valid postal address in Switzerland.
Time to read the book during the specified period and to actively participate in the discussion, in English.
Writing a personal review of the book at the end of the reading group on bookcircle.ch.
Agreement that the feedback from readers and the reading group will be shared with the publisher and may be used by the publisher for advertising purposes.
More about the book
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She was even supposed to be meeting a boy to talk about marriage. Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors. She knows that she should be thinking about leaving, but who will help the people of her beloved country if she doesn’t? With her heart so conflicted, her mind has conjured a vision to spur her to action. His name is Khawf, and he haunts her nights with hallucinations of everything she has lost. But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, when she crosses paths with Kenan, the boy she was supposed to meet on that fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all. Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are-not a war, but a revolution-and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.
About the author
Zoulfa Katouh is a Syrian Canadian based in Switzerland. She is currently pursuing her master’s in Drug Sciences and finds Studio Ghibli inspiration in the mountains, lakes and stars surrounding her. As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is her debut novel.
