When the Apricots Bloom

Debut author Gina Wilkinson has written what I can only assume to be a future award winning best seller, and I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to read and review When the Apricots Bloom, a truly stunning and eye opening book.

Baghdad 2002: Huda, Rania and Ally all live in the Iraqi city and during the sadistic rule of Saddam Hussein. Huda works as a secretary for the Australian embassy, at night she returns home to her teenage son Khalid and her unemployed husband Abdul. Her house is a fortress, the front gates are chained, the entire home is surrounded by a high fence, she’s not game to talk freely in her own house in case it’s been bugged and speaks to her husband at night in the backyard. The mukhabarat or the secret police are aware of where she works; they visit her at home and want her to spy on her boss and his wife.

Ally Wilson accompanied her husband Tom to Baghdad and he’s the Australian deputy ambassador. Ally’s very naïve, she didn’t understand how restricted her life would be in Iraq, and it’s not safe for her to walk around the streets and she needs a driver. The secret police want Huda to befriend Ally, gather any information she can about the Australian couple and she has no choice. Huda doesn’t want to be an informant but they threaten her son and they could make him join the militia or as it’s officially called the fedayeen and she does what she’s told.

When the Apricots Bloom is a vivid and cinematic story that takes the reader back to Baghdad in 2002. I found myself immediately transported into the story and could feel the heat and dust on my skin, and smell the various scents of the city and country. Not only did I feel like I was right there witnessing the events of the story, but I could also feel the tension, fear, and everyday stress of living under the dark cloud of a powerful and vindictive ruler who used his own police to instill constant fear. The threat of possible arrest throughout the story had me gripping the pages and holding my breath several times.

Wilkinson didn’t just dwell on the fear and hypocrisy of the Iraqi regime. She also brought a beautiful and colorful light to the art scene, literature, history and vibrant life still to be found within the city of Baghdad. Somehow, the city of Baghdad and even the country of Iraq became their own characters in this evocative and elegant story.

Ally, Huda, and Rania’s characters are firmly grounded and fully developed. These three women are strong and constantly find themselves forced to deal with the twists and turns that come with everyday life. You can tell that Wilkinson put a lot of heart and emotions into the development of all her characters, and what I can only assume come from some of her own experiences while living in Iraq. This made each woman relatable, real, and sympathetic.

This is a book that left me speechless as I turned the last page. I was so invested in the lives of the characters and the events of the story that I completely forgot that I was living in 2021 America, and I wasn’t quite ready to leave this story and the women in it behind. I cannot recommend this complex and meaningful book enough!

What would you do if the secret police demanded you spy on a friend in order to protect your family?

Thank you Kensington Books for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.