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. 448 pages Published 15 September 2022 Recommended for ages 13+ 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.

CommunityAdmin well, what a pleasant surprise to see this reading group offer. I’m so into it and would love to participate and discuss this novel with other readers. 🥰 thanks for this new reading group offer!

A reading session in English, great 😃I would be happy to take part.

Wow the book sounds very interesting, and I will have some extra time for reading around Easter, therefore I hope I will get to participate. Good luck to everyone!

Finally an English book!! How wonderful!!

CommunityAdmin , wow, this would be a big challenge for me to refresh my English skills. The last book I’ve read in English, was the first part of “Harry Potter”, “The philosopher’s stone”. Quite a while since…

CommunityAdmin As an absolute fan of literature in English (reading the books of the Booker Prize longlist every year) I would be delighted to participate in this group and share my thoughts with others. What a wonderful offer!

What a wonderful idea to hold an english reading group! Have fun!

Great idea but unfortunately I’m excluded from this group because I’m living overseas. I guess a digital copy of the book would have been too expensive to deliver! Anyway, I bought a digital copy and was wondering if I can participate as a silent reader? Wishing everybody a pleasant reading experience.

Huskey in the German reading groups, people who bought their own copy are usually encouraged to contribute to the discussion. Therefore I think that there is no need to be a silent reader, you are welcome to join in.

Englische Leserunde: «As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow» by Zoulfa Katouh

fiona-fiona-fiona

Fanny

Mine arrived some hours ago, thank you. I have a busy schedule at the moment so i don’t know if i can keep up with the reading pace, but I’ll try my best.

Frani

Fanny

The book was in the mailbox today. A pretty, oriental cover. To my delight and surprise, the book is signed by the author and also has a note/prompt to look at/about Ghibli Studios and the animated film Castle in the Sky. I read up in the author’s bio online that this is one of her favourite pasttimes! So nice, now the reading expands. Thank you very much for this detail.

RadioSilence

Fanny

My copy arrived too!😄

Carol16

Fanny Hey, my book arrived yesterday as well, thanks!

Fanny

Hi everyone, great that most of the books have already arrived! Do you like the cover design?
I hope you’ve had a look at the first couple of pages because a little surprise is waiting there for you - all of your copies are signed by the author with a personal message! 😊

Reading week 1 ✨

Let’s start with our first reading week! This week we’ll read and discuss pages 1-130. To make sure there are no early spoilers in the comments, we’ll start our discussion this Friday. I’ll open the conversation and you can then join to share your thoughts an impressions anytime after. Happy reading!

Another_Bookstory

Fanny i knew i would love this book and author as soon as i saw her quote from Sugar aka Agust D 💜 #BTS #Armyallaroundtheworld

Bamie

Fanny My book just arrived today and I am already impressed by the fibrant picturesque description of the first few pages. And the cover is incredible with the calm blue color and its simple but oriental design, really catchy. The quote and signature a welcome surprise!😊

AnaRPG

Fanny My book also arrived beginning of this week 🙂 and I loved the cover design and the surprise in the first pages! Looking forward to the discussion of this initial part!

Frani

Fanny

After the first few pages I find myself amidst the fate of this country and impressed by the density of the story, the spirit of the characters… I feel as if I will enjoy this book. I’ll keep reading right away.

stephiesheena

For anyone who’s yet to start reading: You can look forward to some beautiful writing! *-*

Another_Bookstory

stephiesheena i am already heartbroken and i just started. 😪

stephiesheena

Another_Bookstory honestly, same! 😢

Patrick72

AnaRPG I also loved the first pages. The way we’re introduced in the story is very cinematographic.

Very kind the authograph and nice surprise the dedication to Miyazaki 😍

LupaLou

Oh my… I’m already flashed by the book.

And the personal note from the author got me. I might not be the most patient person on the planet but, I’m really curious about listening to the song in her note she told me to listen after finishing the book. Can’t wait to share it with you too 🙂

SaraBooklove

my book arrived on Monday. I hope i understand what i read. My Englisch isn’t the best but i think its a good thing to learn.

fiona-fiona-fiona

Frani While I was reading the beginning of the book I felt kinda empty and lost(?). There was much happening, and knowing what the narrator had gone through was even more sad.

i think the hallucination is a very interesting “character” and i’m interested in reading more about his appearance and how Salama is going to fight him.

MDSOMA

Fanny

I’m finding these opening pages very hard to read. The depictions are so vivid it is hard to credit that there’s so much truth within. I’ve already looked up some of the history of Old Hams - depressing!

I use GoodReads to record my reading life and noted that this was a 2022 nominee for best young adult fiction. By the content so far - surprising categorisation.

Side note: couldn’t see this book on the shelves in Basel’s Orell Füssli. I was there last Friday and had a good look round. Seems a shame.

AnaRPG

MDSOMA It was the same for me: the writing style is amazing, but the story is hard to read, especially knowing the history of the region. I do find the characters likable and I can identify myself with their reactions to hard choices (staying vs leaving). I am curious about what will happen next, even though I expect that this book will break my heart…

RadioSilence

I have just finished part one of As Long as The Lemon Trees Grow and so far I like the book.

It is really sweet that Zoulfa Katouh signed the copy☺Thank you so much!!

Before starting to read the novel, I flicked through the pages and stumbled upon the Author’s Note and Zoulfa Katouh is right: many people do not know what happened/ is happening in Syria and I am one of them.
I mean of course I watch the news, but when everything started I was too young to comprehend and then again, news reports are more of an overview. So, this is the first novel I read about Syria and I definitely have to do some further research, because at some points I do not really understand what is going on – or I just want to know more context than the author is giving us at that particular moment.

Overall, the first part impressed me (especially the scenes at the hospital and the operation! On an emotional level really hard to read!).

However, I am not a fan of Khwaf (so far). For me personally, he does not quite fit into the story – plus, he is somewhat of a cliché. When Khwaf showed up and it was revealed that he is a hallucination of Salama’s I did not find it believable. I think the story could be more powerful without him…

Am I the only one who feels like this?

The other characters are interesting though and I am eager to know how the story will continue in the second part.

Horapolo

RadioSilence I agree, Khawf has a very strong personality to me too. He appears to me as rational and moral instance which keeps Salama on her path between self-destruction, promisses she gave and she tries to keep to her family members who are dead and/or lost and dreams of a life she might have lived when things had come differently. For me this character expresses the danger Salama is facing every day is burnt in her memories erupting from her subconcious when she‘s not bound to daily routine.

stephiesheena

RadioSilence

I’m finally caught up on the first part too and I share most of the thoughts and feelings of you all.

It feels wrong to say that I love this story so far, as it depicts such horrors and difficult situations with the war being the one big thing that drives thoughts, words and actions of our characters.

I love the writing style and really enjoy diving deeper into Salama’s mind. Khawf, to me, seems like an accurate representation of what trauma and guilt can look like for someone.

Not to compare her suffering and trauma with mine (as I’ve never had to experience war), but I do believe that his aggressivnes is not over the top, because I know the cruel things I hear in my own head - with trauma that hasn’t even got guilt in it, or war as a setting - so I do believe that Khawf’s part is very authentic.

I hope that we see Salama silence him more and more as the story progresses, and all in all, I’m very much intrigued to read on.

Horapolo

I realy like the books cover with its blue oriental Paternoster. The picture of a tree for me relates to the title and the human figueres underneath and the city scenery are giving me an idea what the book is about.

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