When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi - 4 stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

When the Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi - 4* - My Review

This is the story of a family who flees Afghanistan in the wake of the violence of the Taliban. The beginning chapters are told from the first-person perspective of Fereiba, depicting her early life in Kabul, marriage, children, and a tragedy that leads to the decision to leave. The middle chapters are focused on the family’s journey out of Afghanistan to Iran to Turkey to Greece to western Europe. The later chapters are told in the third person, focusing on Saleem, the eldest son. They hope to reach England, where Fereiba’s stepsister and her husband have settled. The two storylines serve as an effective way to portray the refugees’ dilemmas and the challenges they face. It moves along at a good pace. There are several harrowing scenes (per the author’s note, these scenes are adapted from real experiences), and though it is sad it also contains threads of hope. It is a well-crafted narrative that calls attention to the human cost of oppression.