Nadia and Saeed meet while taking a class together at the local university. Nadia wears a burqa which hides her fiery nature and Saeed loves his life with his family and finds Nadia mysterious, together they make an odd couple but they are falling in love all the same. Unfortunately it is against the backdrop of a civil war breaking out in the country and circumstances worsen forcing them to flee their homeland and become refugees.
I really liked how the author transported his refugees from one location to another. Doors start opening around the world letting people go from one country to another. A door to a pantry in a restaurant in Iraq can lead to the bedroom closet in a seaside resort in Australia; another door in a villa on a Greek island can lead to a door in an upscale highrise in London. Having people move quickly from place to place really let the characters be the focus of the narrative, similar to the Underground Railroad being an actual railroad in Colson Whitehead’s book.
I was hoping for a book that focused on the hardships of the refugee experience and instead this book illustrates what would happen in the flow of people were (for the most part) unhindered from place to place. What that would look like in the beginning as doorways and routes opened up. It was an interesting concept and while at first I was disappointed as time goes by I find myself thinking about the book more and liking what the author created. A what if novel that starts great discussions within yourself.
