A literary fiction about the teenaged disabled daughter of a missionary doctor working in a hospital in Iraq. One night she leaves the hospital compound wanting to explore the river but it leads to the loss of her prosthetic leg and father. She and the community then searchers for both.

Told in first person POV, This is a literary book that uses lots of words without pushing the story forward much with excessive detailings of the people and area. If you like literary fiction and weird books this may be for you. The use of the protagonist’s disability was underdeveloped though, with it being the keystone of the plot with her leg missing without digging into any emotions about it. Her companion and other are constantly carrying her with no examination of her situation or how she feels about. She is supposed to be telling her own story but there is a detachment to it the made me unable to get into the story or connect with it. It felt like a slog getting through this book.

Beautiful language and translation, but almost (for me) impossible to follow the story.

The main thread follows a young girl runs away, and her father then goes missing while looking for her. This is interspersed with the girl and those she meets attempting to find her father. Sounds benign enough, but very violent, the stories seem very surface level - I feel like I missed something in the reading.

Rounded up to 3 starts purely for the gorgeous language.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

.

There is no universe in which it should take me almost a month to read a book with less than 200 pages, and yet here we are. I have finished six other books since I began reading this, and that on its own tells you how little this story gripped my attention.

I thought the premise sounded interesting, and I was excited to dive into this story. However, after reading only a few pages I realized this wasn't going to be a quick read as I expected it to be. I genuinely struggled to finish this, my mind constantly wandering and paying little attention. I tried to pique my own interest with every page I turned, hoping it would all start to make sense at some point. But it never did, and the fact that I had to force myself to continue reading is never a good sign. I truly hated some scenes, as they were gruesome and violent, with little to no explanation behind their purpose in the story. The rest was simply... meaningless? Maybe I didn't understand the point but I thought there was none. I liked the writing style, as it was lyrical and poetic, but I quickly stopped caring about that as well because the plot never gripped me and the writing then furthermore contributed to my confusion and disinterest.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend this one. However, if you're into a lot of religious ramblings, maybe you'd care enough to finish this one, unlike me.

Initially, I was interested in the description of this book, as it seemed like fun to read. Sadly, though, I spent days attempting to find something engaging and enjoyable while reading. Instead, I felt lost and confused about the story.

I was intrigued by the synopsis, but I struggled to finish this book. I was bored & didn’t want to pick it back up. I’m sure someone out there will enjoy this writing style, but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Fifteen-year-old Charlotte is restlessly coming of age in early twentieth-century Basra, Iraq. The daughter of a Seattle doctor and missionary, Charlotte craves an adventure of her own making. Just the thought of the steppes, hills, valleys, and the winding river stirs Charlotte’s imagination and sends her compass of flight dancing.

So, preferring the wondrous unknown to solicitude, Charlotte packs up copies of her father’s Gospels and a statue of the Baby Jesus and runs away. Then, in a desperate search to find his daughter, Charlotte’s own father goes missing. With the help of two women—the mission’s Sister Baghdadli and Shathra, a guide to the lost—Charlotte embarks on a quest steeped in local lore that is as mysterious and marvelous as the river itself. In turn, Charlotte may find what she’s been looking for all along: the ability to stake a claim on her own identity.In this rich and immersive novel, Mortada Gzar explores the power of belief, the drive for escape, and the exhilaration of self-discovery.

This book disappointed me, and I gave up halfway through Chapter 2. I thought I would come back to this book eventually, but I never did.

The River Knows My Name is filled with lyrical, content-heavy paragraphs that felt unnecessarily dense and long-winded, which made it a slog to get through.

There was also a heavy focus on religion (view spoiler) and whatever sections I managed to read, it pulled me out of the story. Overall, this book wasn’t for me. Forcing myself to finish would have been a waste of my time.

Anyway, don’t let this review turn you off from reading this book. I'm pretty sure there's an audience for this, considering the lyrical and descriptive writing. It just wasn't for me.

The River Knows My Name by Mortada Gzar was such a lyrical story!
This coming of age story was told so well. A beautifully crafted story with great characters I was intrigued here and really enjoyed this book.

2.5 stars. The River Knows My Name by Mortada Gzar definitely surprised me. Check content warnings. Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for the opportunity to read this via gifted eARC. All thoughts are my own and honest.

This review has been a struggle to write. When I first came across this book, I thought I would really enjoy it. The synopsis was intriguing and I was very interested in it.

Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. It definitely had the potential to be really good, but I was bored and ended up skimming most of it. The writing style also wasn’t for me either. It was very long-winded. There was one paragraph that was five pages long and I don’t think I read three of those pages.

Anyway, please don’t let my thoughts turn you off from reading this book. I think there’s definitely an audience for it out there, it’s just not me.

I was not able to get into this book at all. The story was confusing, I couldn’t relate to the main character/narrator at all and I didn’t understand what was going on or where the story was supposed to go at the 25% mark so I decided to DNF it.

I tried but he lost me. This is graphic in spots and there's a healthy dose of religion. There's some interesting potential here but it's drowned out. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

I thought giving it a month or so to review would give me time to digest this book. But after a break, I'm still as bewildered by this book as I was while I was reading it and at the end of it. My review can be summed up in five words. I - Just - Didn't - Get - It.

Maybe I've not read anything similar to this, maybe it was lost in translation, but throughout the book, I just kept wondering "WHAT??".

The storyline was off the wall, a girl with no legs, her father a doctor who spent more time caring for other patients than he had time for his own child. A nurse? that played the role of pseudo nanny? Girl runs away, father goes missing while he tries to look for her. Girl meets strange boy while on the run, boy ends up in strange situation where he gets raped? But this is brushed over like it's just a common thing that happens. Nothing more is said about it? (What's the point of bringing it up then?) Girl and nurse seem to be friends with a prostitute or madam who runs a brothel. The entire premise was just BIZZARE.

I wasn't keen on the writing style, I couldn't get into the storyline AT ALL, I couldn't understand the characters or relate to them. I almost DNFed the book but persevered to the end thinking maybe there'd be a revelation of some sort. But there wasn't.

**Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me access to an ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

I absolutley adore a coming of age book. This was such a nice read, really made think back to my life in India as a child.

Well, this book was way too heavy on religion for my taste.
It pulled me out of the story multiple times.
At first I thought I understood the main character's motivations, but later on I caught myself completely lost and confused.
The wiriting style also was not good enough to keep my focus.

The fifteen year old daughter of a doctor and missionary is bored of her every day life in Iraq with her father, so she runs away. While searching for her, the girl’s father also disappears.

This book is unfortunately a DNF for me after about 25% due to difficulties following the flow of the story. It is also heavily steeped in religion, and I was not able to connect with the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely beautiful and vivid storytelling. I loved the arc for the characters. The writing was smart and strong.

DNF
Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!
This book just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t resonate with the writing style, and I have some conflicted emotions with religion that made me a little uncomfortable while reading this book. But that is just a me thing. Still, I couldn’t find something interesting enough in the story to push through those feelings and continue reading it.
Maybe I will try to read this one again at a better time. Maybe in an audiobook format it´s easier to get through the writing style.
I hope I could give this review without the star rating, because I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this book, but I also want to give my honest experience while reading it.

I read about 25% of this and then stopped. I was personally confused at what was going on. I think it was more stylistically how the story was written and my brain works versus the author being confusing in general.

The book of what I read reminded me of oral story telling and more poetic. It was beautifully written and I can see people enjoying that style of writing enjoying it immensely.

I don’t think I would recommend this to everyone but the ones who enjoy that style of story telling I would.

I feel disappointed after reading this book. I didn't work for me, sorry. I couldn't understand the storyline or the characters. Nor, I warmed up to the writing style. Maybe someone else could appreciate it more. Not for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Lyrical and lovely. It is a complex story with characters facing so much in front of them. I will revisit this book later to understand its meaning better. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.