This is a thriller set in part during the first Gulf War. The tension builds throughout the story. The setting in Kuwait during the war is new for me. Be forewarned, it's a book about domestic violence. It was a good read.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really great, different book. loved the writing style and the characters were amazing. would but this.

A very timely, gripping read. Edge of your seat, very uncomfortable at times, with lots of breath holding. Excellent characterisation.. Well written and definitely worth a read

I loved this story on how abuse can impact your life even one you escape that life. A second chance at Love saving thé day. It gave me hope at beginning again today

Thanks to Netgalley and author for the arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion on the book. Love the book. Would love to read more from the author

Author Puja Guha gives us a gripping psychological thriller with Sirens of Memory.
It is 1990, the year of the Iraqi invasion. After the death of her mother, Mariam a 19 yr old Kuwati woman is married off by her father, to Tareq an extremely abusive man. Once she discovers she is pregnant she must escape from her husband to protect her unborn child.
Mariam meets Raj at an Indian refugee camp and assumes the identity of his dead wife in order to leave Kuwait. Together Mariam and Raj settle in Austin, Texas where 25 years later the memories of her abusive husband and the Gulf War still haunt her.
Her constant fears are justified when her ex-husband suddenly appears and wants her back.
Mariam's story is a story of survival. A well-written, realistic and emotional roller coaster ride.
An empowering read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Polis Books/Agora Books and Puja Guha for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Yet another tale where a woman triumphs over her misogynistic husband. It's just okay, there's nothing new or phenomenal about the story.

Many thanks to the publisher and author for the ARC.

If you thought that "Behind Closed Doors" was a anxiety-inducing read, wait till you read this one! It takes domestic violence and the resultant psychological trauma to a whole new level. 😕

After a long, long time, I found an Indian thriller that actually thrilled me and scared me and unnerved me, thereby forcing me to go through its pages as fast as possible.

Story:
1990, Kuwait. A few days before the Gulf War. Mariam, a nineteen year old Kuwaiti Arab forced into marriage the previous year, dreads living with her abusive husband Tareq. Beatings and rape and emotional abuse are the standard features of her daily routine. After the war begins, she gets a golden opportunity to escape from the relationship after presuming her husband to be dead. She begins a new life in America under a new identity. But has she really escaped the demons of the past? You can guess the rest.

The story comes to us from two distinct timelines and places: Kuwait in 1990 and Austin, Texas in 2015. Both the narratives are crisp and fast-paced and fraught with tension. The focus remains on the main characters from start to end. This serves the book well as any sidetracking would have taken away from the pace. After every 2-3 chapters, the author skips over to the other timeline and you groan in frustration, because the transition inevitably occurs at a traumatic or tense point in the narrative and you are so worried about what happens next.

Reading this book wasn't easy for me. The war-related atrocities were painful enough to go through. But the chapters that have Tareq mentioned created tremendous stress. Tareq is a psychopath with double standards. He proves himself to be a typical chauvinist who holds one standard of conduct for himself and another for the women in his life. To put it bluntly, the description of his behaviour is so brutal at times that I couldn't help flinching in horror. The violence with which he approaches Mariam every single time is appalling. The way he psychologically manipulates everyone, and even convinces himself that his thoughts and beliefs are correct, is outright scary. What makes all this worse is that I know such monsters exist in real life too.

This is not a book you'll want to read for its language or writing style or secondary character development. The book falls a little short on all these points. There's no flowery writing, there's no descriptive detailing of the locations or local customs, there's no background to any character except the main ones, there are a couple of farfetched plot twists, there's a fair amount of predicability. In spite of these shortcomings in the quality of writing, I simply couldn't keep the book aside. I felt compelled to reach the ending soon and this made me turn the pages as far as I could. Though the story would have worked wonders in the hands of a more seasoned author, this book was still a worthwhile read for me, wracking my nerves with every subsequent chapter. The climactic chapter was the slight disappointment because it felt straight out of a Bollywood potboiler. Ah well, I did want a satisfactory ending too! 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't know to what target reader I'd recommend this traumatising book. If you tend to get emotionally invested in the characters, better to stay away. But if you can stand the stress, this is a very interesting and quick-paced domestic thriller by a contemporary Indian author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Polis Books for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you to the author, Polis Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the heart-wrenching story of a young Kuwaiti woman who suffers greatly in the course of her arranged marriage (TW: domestic abuse), and who makes the difficult decision to flee (difficult compounded by the fact that as a woman she has no rights, and her passport is held by her husband) - and then Iraq invades Kuwait. The story is told in two different timelines, one as the events described above happen, and one 25 years later - she lives in the USA, is married to an Indian man and believes her first husband died in the war. However, she is still troubled by nightmares and has never shared her past with her husband or daughter. They encourage her to start seeing a therapist, which helps her to work through the trauma of her past - but ultimately leads to her first husband finding her again. The characters were well-drawn, the plot flowed smoothly (although there were a few gaps) and the book was had me hooked.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. I totally see this book being made into a movie. At some points, my heart was racing and trembling with terror while I read on to see what would happen. The book is written from many points of view, which Guha's talent is able to pull off. While I started reading this book to see how Islam and Kuwaiti and Indian cultures are represented, that is not the focus of this book. It is packed with suspense, and the constant shifts in time add to that effect. Those who have escaped from abusive relationships or even war can identify with this book; however, readers should be aware of the triggers: rape, domestic violence, war scenes. The therapist in the book gives solid advice to victims, and I will be recommending this book to the counselors in my circle of colleagues. Thank you for a happy ending!

Thanks to Netgalley, Puja Guha, & Agora Books, for the advance digital copy of Sirens of Memory, in exchange for my honest review.
While this was a page-turner, I wouldn't call it thrilling to read about such traumatic events. This is an emotional story about Miriam, an abused refugee, pregnant, fleeing Kuwait during the nineties. I haven't read this author before, or any book describing such multicultural topics. I'm glad I did, while these were fictional characters, I felt they were realistic & believable. The dual timelines were also very easy to follow.
This story reminds me to be grateful everyday that I was fortunate enough to be born in America.

I loved this book. I'm so glad book my fiftieth book of the year was one as awesome as this! SIRENS of MEMORY by Puja Guha is available June 15, 2021. I rated this thriller 5/5 stars! Miriam is a survivor of two major traumas: the invasion of Kuwait and and the emotional, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse of her husband. The novel alternates between the invasion and her life twenty five years later, where she is forced to confront memories that she were buried. I thought the characters were unique and well developed, the premise was original and terrifying, and the depiction of trauma was really honest. I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation and fear. I don’t usually like thrillers, but this one was fantastic.

Sirens of memory is about a Kuwait woman who flees from her abusive husband upon learning she is pregnant. It is based in the wake of the Gulf War. It’s a psychological thriller told in two parts and shows just how trauma and abuse can affect you well into the future. Definitely a page turner that keeps readers interested in Miriam’s journey and is a thought provoking if not emotional read.

A fictional story of a woman who grew up in Kuwait and was forced to marry a Kuwaiti man who abused and belittled her. When the Iraqis invaded Kuwait, Mariam thought her husband had died and she could finally be rid of him. Even after she changed her name, married, and moved to the U.S., Tareq found her. No longer thinking of herself as a victim, Mariam found the strength to protect herself.

This is a tale of perseverance, honesty, and friendship that will engage readers to the very end.