CULTURE CLUB
BY ZOULFA KATOUH As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow Set amid the Syrian Revolution of 2011, this gripping YA novel – Katouh’s first – follows Salama Kassab, a young pharmacy student pressed into work as a doctor in the emergency department of Homs’ main hospital. Devastated by grief and the daily horrors that unfold around her, she is tormented by the vision of Khawf, a sinister man who appears in shadows to remind her of the nightmares she’s witnessed and those imagined atrocities meted out on her brother, taken by the authorities and not seen since. Her brother’s heavily pregnant wife is also her best friend, Layla, and Salama promised her brother to do everything she could to protect his family. But as bombings and sniper attacks become more indiscriminate and food scarce, does that mean finding a route out of Syria, smuggled to a potentially safer life in Europe? Before the uprising began, Salama’s mother was beginning the process of introducing her to a young man called Kenan with the hope of a marriage. A chance encounter throws these two young Syrians back together in the midst of the devastation, and intertwines their lives even further. Kenan – who has been uploading footage of events to the internet to prove the authenticity of rebels’ accounts – asks Salama to start filming inside the hospital, just a few hours drive away from Damascus where people sip coffee on sun-drenched terraces. This is a hugely impactful novel about choices, free will and the right to happiness, the difference between war and revolution and the enormous repercussions of the cruelty inflicted by political conflict. One of the central themes in this at-times horrifying, impassioned book is to look for the precious moments of beauty and joy. A humbling read, and a reminder that, as poet Warsan Shire puts it: no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.
WINTER LITERARY FESTIVAL DON’T MISS
Bringing together leading lights of the literary scene, plus prominent journalists, poets, scientists, broadcasters and more, the winter edition of the Cambridge Literary Festival returns 17-21 November. Offering unmissable talks at some iconic Cambridge venues, this year’s headliners include Ian McEwan, who’ll take to the stage to discuss his anticipated novel, Lessons , while Kamila Shamsie – winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2018 – presents her new book Best of Friends . Other highlights include talks with broadcasting legend David Dimbleby, Downton Abbey ’s Hugh Bonneville, and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, all of whom stop by to share tales of life in the spotlight. Special strands at this winter’s festival include a spotlight on the BBC, featuring election night legend David Dimbleby, The Great British Sewing Bee ’s Esme Young and Gavin & Stacey’s Ruth Jones. There are also leading voices to discover, from Reni Eddo-Lodge – celebrating one million copies sold of her seminal book Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – along
TELLING TALES Hear from some of your favourite writers this winter, as the city gears up for the festival
with Kate Mosse and Abi Morgan, to an indulgent afternoon tea with Jo Browning Wroe and Francis Spufford. cambridgeliteraryfestival.com
with witchcraft expert Malcolm Gaskill, and authority on European history, Orlando Figes. There are also events taking place at the University Arms, from luxurious literary soiree
38 OCTOBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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