Sadam Hussein's grip on Iraq is recent history and I recall hearing of the atrocities he managed through his oppressive regime.

"When The Apricots Bloom" takes us behind the scenes of this time and into the personal and professionally lives of 3 females whose links are from childhood or from the workplace.  We share their friendship with a suspense filled undertone of what secrecy, corruption and intimidation can do to loyalty and honesty.

Huda in an Iraqi woman who has studied hard to gain a prestigious job as secretary at the Australian embassy. She is being pressured by the mukhabaret (the Iraqi secret police) to befriend Ally, who is the deputy ambassadors wife. Ally's mother was American and had spent early years in Iraq. And although Ally is not, the Iraqi fear of America, makes her more of a target for information gathering. Huda complies with the secret polices demands, because she fears the will carry out their threat to enlist her son in a deadly military, known for the killing of innocent people. 

Meanwhile, Huda's childhood friend Rania, has fallen on hard times as an artist and art dealer. She is battling to keep her daughter safe, this time from Uday, who is Saddam's son, known for a liking of young females, whom he then tortures and kills  once he has had his way with them.

Although Huda and Rania have been estranged for many years, over the deaths of Huda's two brothers, their common ambition to get their children out of Iraqi by any means,  binds them.

A truly informative read, partially based on the authors own time living in Iraq as a foreign correspondent. Contemplating the risks we may all take to protect ourselves and our family, when corruption and fear rule day to day life. How the strength of a mother's love can make us do the riskiest things. 

An authentic first novel written by Gina Wilkinson, proving that basing your writing about real life, is sometimes more shocking than any made up fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Australuan and Gina Wilkinson for this free copy of her debut novel.

A brilliant story demonstrating life under the ruling of dictator Sadam Hussain in Iraq. Whilst the story is fiction, it is based around the authors real life experiences. Huda is asked to befriend a woman and spy on her on behalf of the secret police, and in doing so means she must work to protect her families lives. I would recommend When the Apricots Bloom for fans of Khaled Hosseini, and American Dirt.

Set in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein, When The Apricots Bloom follows three women living in Baghdad - Australian Ally, in Iraq due to her husbands work at the Australian embassy; Huda, an Iraqi who is the secretary for Ally’s husband; and Rania, a former childhood friend of Huda’s. In this book, the lives of all three women intersect as Wilkinson explores life under the regime, motherhood, and friendship - and what a person will do to save their family.

I absolutely loved this book. I find that reading books set in other countries, particularly those that I don’t know a lot about, to be eye opening. I honestly didn’t know an awful lot about life in Iraq except that there were strict regulations and a war with the US. I learnt so much through this book - Wilkinson paints such an evocative picture of life under the regime, drawing upon her own experiences of living there.

I won’t say a lot else except for, do yourself a favour and read it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy

No words!!!! I adored this book so dam much it hurts. Not even going to mention a thing about it but read it people. I requested it for my love of apricots but it is so so so much more!!! I am jealous of those who get to read this book. 50 thousand high bright dazzling stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Based on true events during Saddam Hussein's rein in Iraq, this story tells the tale of a young diplomats wife, Ally and her friendship with Iraqi women, Huda and Rania. It tells of the horror of living under the Hussein regime, particularly for women. First time author, Gina Wilkinson, has used her own life experiences as the basis for this book and it works. Look forward to reading further books by this new author.

This is a truly beautiful and terrifying book. Gina Wilkinson’s knowledge and experience of Iraq shines through.

The writing is so atmospheric I could feel myself nervous when in Huda’s position, I was defiant as I sought answers like Ally, and I was irritated to have become “less than” and terrified for my daughter as Rania was.

I could see the sights, hear the sounds, smell the aromas and taste the food.

I cannot imagine the impossible situations these women find themselves in, or how I would react to the choices that they have to make. To be faced with secrets that could crush not only them, but their families and each other, and to still forge relationships and friendships. They face betrayal and sacrifice on a daily basis, and the more their lives intersect, the greater the risk.

I could not get enough of this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read it.

Wow. This book is amazing! I absolutely devoured it.

Set in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein, the book tells the story of three women and how their lives come to intersect. Two are Iraqi women who have been friends since childhood, and one is the wife of an Australian Embassy official.

Whilst it is fiction, the book rings true due to the authors years living in Iraq during this time, and as the wife of a diplomat. The descriptions of life under Suddam are brutal, terrifying, and at times so absurd it is almost unbelievable.
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There were a couple of times I decided to stop reading, because if I did that then nothing bad could happen. But I could not put it down for long.
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Original and with all the elements I love - a chance to learn something new and to feel suspense, fear, happiness and love. I thought it was brilliant!

What an utterly gripping, fascinating and unput-downable book this has been. If you read and loved A Thousand Splendid Suns then you’re sure to love this book too. It’s not a sweetness and light story but rather an emotionally engaging and insightful glimpse at life in Iraq under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Told through the eyes of three women, the story reveals a country where living in fear, blackmail, lies, betrayal and fear are the norm.
Author Gina Wilkinson has created very believable characters in Huda, Rania and Ally. I admired each of them for different reasons but it was Huda and Rania, each fearing for their children and doing all they could to protect them, who really stood out for me. These two are so unbelievably brave! I loved the imagery as well. Early in the story Ally, wife of the Australian deputy ambassador, is struggling to write a book about her mother, “The cursor moved forward, then reversed again, like a backhoe crushing her words into flat, lifeless rubble.” Not only did that sentence show her difficulties, but it also reinforced that this story is set in a city filled with the shells of bombed buildings. This wasn’t an entertaining book. It was much more than that, lifting the veil on a part of the world and a time in history that most of us would prefer to quietly forget. It might have been gut-wrenching at times but I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

This book exposes the cruelty of Saddam's era. It was well written and had me on the edge of my seat.

Inspired by the author’s own time in Baghdad under the reign of Saddam Hussein, Aussie author Gina Wilkinson has produced a novel which is nothing short of horrifying as it shows the brutality of the time.

Ally Wilson was from Australia and had accompanied her husband Tom to Iraq where his duties as Deputy Ambassador would keep him busy in Baghdad, with him often having to be away for days at a time. Ally was bored and befriended Huda, a secretary at the Australian Embassy. But Huda would fall foul to the mukhabarat – the secret police who would do anything to gain information, including turning her into an informant. Huda had no choice once her son Khalid was under threat – joining the bloodthirsty, deadly militia was not an option.

Rania, once a childhood friend of Huda before lies and death tore them apart, feared for her daughter Halal. The horror that was ahead for her young daughter didn’t bear thinking about and while Rania's mother was able to have Halal at her property in Basra, that safety was an illusion. Huda, Rania and Ally – three women whose lives overlapped in a city where danger was always lurking – would they be able to help one another evade the mukhabarat? Would they be able to keep the children safe? Would they themselves be safe?

When the Apricots Bloom is an amazing debut novel; suspenseful, heart-in-throat reading which I thoroughly enjoyed (probably not the right word under the circumstances!) The author suffered herself, as outlined in her notes at the end, but writing this novel would be cathartic for her. The story shows how a mother’s love for her child outshines anything else. It also encompasses forgiveness, friendship and an innate strength which wouldn’t be surpassed. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hachette AU for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Rania is Huda’s childhood friend; she grew up in a rich household and is a daughter of a sheikh. Her family is now broke; she’s a struggling artist and is selling her dads book collection to get by. The two friends meet again at a party and discover they both know Ally. Rania has a very pretty teenage daughter Hanan she’s very concerned about her safety and both mothers are desperate to get their children out of Iraq.
Ally didn’t tell the truth on her visa application, she failed to mention her mother was American and she has dual citizenship, she worked as a journalist in Australia and she told them she’s a housewife. All three women have secrets and they need to come up with a plan to save the two teenagers and Ally?

A brilliant first book by Gina Wilkinson, it’s interesting and very confronting reading about life in Iraq during the time. I found it absolutely shocking how people couldn’t trust anyone; friends, family, work colleagues and everyone lived constantly under a dark cloud of fear. They faced the secret police arriving at their front door at any time, breaking it down, they could be arrested, tortured, people disappeared and to be never seen again.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for and honest review and I gave When the Apricots Bloom five stars.

“In Iraq, every friendship is a risk.”

When The Apricots Bloom is the first novel by Australian former foreign correspondent, radio journalist, documentary maker and author, Gina Wilkinson. Huda al Basri and her husband, Abdul Amir both had good jobs in Baghdad, but that was before the rise of the dictator Saddam Hussein, when Western sanctions kept Iraq virtually cut off from the rest of the world. By 2002, she considers herself lucky to have a secretarial position at the Australian Embassy, although Abdul Amir’s male pride has suffered a real blow.

Her position puts her in close contact with Ally Wilson, wife of the new Deputy Ambassador and, while the pay is good, this proximity draws the attention of the mukhabarat, Iraq’s secret police. Suddenly, she has to develop the friendship and report back every mundane detail. Refusal is impossible; the threat to her son is thinly veiled: “The mukhabarat had finished their tea. ‘We will leave you now, sister. It is late and no doubt you want to take care of your son.’ Abu Issa rose to his feet. ‘He is your most precious possession, is he not?’”

Meanwhile Ally, bored and a little lonely, embarks, somewhat naively and unbeknownst to her husband, on a personal quest to track down women knew her mother, an American nurse stationed in Baghdad in the late 1970s, without really considering the implications for those she involves.

Nor, having omitted from her entry visa form her dual citizenship (American/Australian) and her former occupation (journalist), is Ally fully aware of the potentially dire consequences should either fact become known in the current political climate of Iraq.

Rania Mansour’s gallery relies on foreign clients to survive, and diplomats form a large part of her custom. The ruling regime looks kindly upon the arts, but the president’s representative is an oily man whose eye on her fourteen-year-old daughter is unsettling; at his mention of Uday Hussein, known for his depraved appetites and cruelty, Rania can barely maintain her controlled poise.

Huda duly cultivates the friendship: the Australian girl is likeable and easy-going, but as the demands of the mukhabarat escalate, and the threats become more explicit (few parents would want their boys to join the fedayeen), Huda becomes desperate to remove her son from danger, even while Abdul Amir contends that true Iraqis do not abandon their country.

Back in 1978, the farmer’s daughter and the sheikh’s swore eternal friendship; long-held resentments and blame eroded that, but now Huda visits on the only person of influence she knows a demand for help getting a passport. That unremitting fear leads to a cascade of near-impossible requests backed up by threats. Can they save their children?

The story Wilkinson gives the reader is redolent of first-hand experience on every page. From her evocative rendition of Baghdad and Basra, the tension and fear are almost palpable, but the reader also can just about feel the heat and dust, smell the fragrances, and which book lover could read about “a river of books” and not itch to visit the Mutanabbi book market?

This is a book that explores questions of truth, loyalty, and friendship, and demonstrates how, under extreme circumstances good people can make bad choices. Wilkinson has a marvellous turn of phrase: “But lies didn’t take kindly to being forgotten, they clung to her pant leg, even as she ran for the door” and “Instead, they sucked on their nargilah pipes and fanned the coals with their bitterness” are examples. Moving, thought-provoking and clearly authentic, this is a brilliant debut novel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hachette Australia.

Against the backdrop of a city renowned for its intense summer heat and turbulent history, this novel charts the story of friendships when they are subject to the most intense of pressures. Can you trust your friend or will she betray you as fear and loyalties collide? A riveting read that keeps building in suspense, Gina Wilkinson has drawn from her experiences of living in the Middle East and written a fantastic first novel. She brings Baghdad to life and directs our eye to the beauty found in Iraqi art, food and hospitality. Lastly, this story is also about the bond between a mother and her child and the willingness to sacrifice all in order to protect them. This book surpassed my expectations and I would highly recommend it.

Gina Wilkinson paints a vivid picture telling the decline of a fractured society. Iraq is falling apart as the sanctions prior to the US invasion makes for tough reading.
Huda, Rania, and Ally have to learn to trust one another to achieve their individual goals during these toxic times. Love of country, partners, and family is the principal driver for the three women to gather enough strength to risk moving on not knowing what the end game will deliver.
This is an independent review thanks to NetGalley / Kensington Publishing Corp.

Interesting novel based on the real-life experiences of the author.
Ally is the wife of the Australian deputy Ambassador. She is one of the few wives in the diplomatic world still living in Baghdad during the last days of Saddam Hussein and the threats from GW Bush.
Her local secretary, Huda, is forced to report to the secret service all of Ally’s movements. Huda’s husband is unemployed and her teenage son is being groomed by a religious political group seeking to establish a post-Hussein government.
Huda’s childhood friend, Rania, was once part of the opposition and her family has lost their old status and riches. Her daughter is targeted by Hussein’s son to be another virgin to be raped.
The three women’s stories work well and while this is not a literary gem it is thought provoking in showing the types of threats women and the innocent had to suffer.

‘In a perfect world, we could wait until the apricots bloom. Alas, the world is not perfect.’

Set in Iraq during the regime of Saddam Hussein, this novel is told through the eyes of three quite different women. Ally, wife of an Australian diplomat (a ‘dependent spouse’), has accompanied her husband on posting to Baghdad. Ally has her own reasons for wanting to be in Baghdad.

Huda, a secretary at the Australian Embassy in Baghdad, is ordered by the mukhabarat to befriend Ally. Huda does not want to be an informant for the secret police but must think of her family. Her husband is bitter and unemployed, and her teenaged son is of an age where he could be forced to join the militia.

Rania, a childhood friend of Huda’s, grew up in a life of privilege as the daughter of a sheikh. Both privilege and money are long gone, and Rania is an artist, struggling to look after her teenaged daughter.
Three different women brought together by circumstance. Ally is trying to find information about people from the past, an activity which is viewed with suspicion and is highly dangerous. Huda will do almost anything to protect her son and calls on Rania for help.

‘Didn’t anyone ever teach you? Two can keep a secret only when one of them is dead.’

This novel was inspired by Ms Wilkinson’s own experiences in Iraq, and makes it clear how difficult and challenging life could be for many (and particularly women) in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Difficult choices need to be made by each of the women to protect their family members and to survive. And who can they trust?
Each woman’s story is difficult and heartbreaking in its own way. As I read, I wondered what choices I might make in their situations. A thought-provoking debut novel.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith