A Land of Permanent Goodbyes

Written by Atia Abawi

Narrated by Leila Buck

Narrated by Destiny, this heartbreaking-and timely-story of refugees escaping from war-torn Syria is masterfully told by a foreign news correspondent who experienced the crisis firsthand. In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family.until the bombs strike. His city is in ruins. His life is destroyed. And those who have survived are left to figure out their uncertain future. In the wake of destruction, he's threatened by Daesh fighters and witnesses a public beheading. Tareq's family knows that to continue to stay alive, they must leave. As they travel as refugees from Syria to Turkey to Greece, facing danger at every turn, Tareq must find the resilience and courage to complete his harrowing journey. But while this is one family's story, it is also the timeless tale of all wars, of all tragedy, and of all strife. When you are a refugee, success is outliving your loss. Destiny narrates this heartbreaking story of the consequences of war, showing the Syrian conflict as part of a long chain of struggles spanning through time. An award-winning author and journalist-and a refugee herself-Atia Abawi captures the hope that spurs people forward against all odds and the love that makes that hope grow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781980002963

Reviews for A Land of Permanent Goodbyes

[Al Mallams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

this book is very touching and would definetly read it agin

[tommcgreevy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A young adult fiction book focussing on refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war, through Turkey and into Europe. It has its heart in the right place and captures the trauma and despair that many refugees suffer.

[lisa5127 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If this book doesn't change your thinking about what it means to be a refugee from a country torn apart by war, I don't know what would?

This is about a family that is torn apart by death, distance, finances.

It is about the horrible people who make money off of these poor people who have nowhere to go and no way to get there.

It is also about the helpers. The volunteers who show up because they heard there was a need and it called them to action, not just thoughts and prayers. About fellow refugees who have just a smidge more and are happy to share it with those who have nothing.

[jrlibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was appropriately disturbing and is going to stick with me for a long time. I think it’s an important book that has the potential to make readers rethink their perspective on refugees. I loved the unusual narrator, Destiny. I think my students are going to love this book. It would pair well with Alan Gratz Refugee.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Destiny is the narrator in this book. While the device didn't work for me, I found the story compelling and thought provoking. Tareq's life turns upside down when a bomb destroys his family's home, killing several of his family members. Soon Tareq, his father and baby sister are going further into the country to visit family to gain resources to try to flee both the increasingly violent government and the rebel groups (ISIS). Soon they are refugees in Turkey trying to save money to get a smuggler to take them to Europe. It is an arduous journey and tragedy strikes so quickly that it is hard to even absorb all that has happened. The struggle of the characters are heartbreaking and the story sheds much light on the struggles of refugees around the world trying to look for a place to survive, be safe.

[cablesclasses · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read in day. Easy read. Compelling and currency of subject relevant to readers affected by refugee relocations.

[miss.mesmerized · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The family is at home, even if it is war outside, they still have themselves; Tareq, his younger brother Salim, the girls Farrah and Susan and the baby twins. He respected his mother Nour and his father Fayed and of course also his grand-mother. When a bomb hits their house, only Tareq and Susan can be saved, luckily their father was at work and is also alive. They decide it is time to leave the country, after such a loss, what is it that keeps them still there? But first, they need to go to Raqqa where Fayed’s brother lives who can lend them money. Yet, Raqqa is deep in the Daesh controlled area and going there is highly risky. But this is only the beginning of a journey which hopefully ends somewhere in Europe in peace and safety.

Atia Abawi, an American journalist who spent many years in the middle east as a correspondent and is a daughter of Afghan refugees, has chosen the number one topic in the news of the last two years for her second novel. It is her background, both personal and professional, which can be found throughout the novel; you feel in every line that she knows what she is writing about and that neither the emotions she puts in her characters nor the experiences they make are just invented, but exactly what people undergo. At times, the style of the novel has some traces of journalistic work, leaves the pure fiction, but this does not reduce the quality of the novel at all.

First of all, what I really appreciated was the fact that she does not victimize her characters. Already at the beginning of the novel, they are hit by a major loss, but they keep on fighting and do not rely on others. The risk a lot, see evil deeds committed by Daesh fighters, but still remain human themselves. The part I found especially interesting was Tareq’s time in Turkey. It is not only the large number of Syrians being stranded there and setting up a kind of community parallel to the Turkish, but first and foremost the way they are exploited, how people are trying to make profit from their fate which is annoying. Yet, I guess this is just reality.

It is just the story of one family, however, it represents what many people all over the world go through. None of them wanted to leave their country, none of them wants to live in another country of which they neither know the language nor the culture, many of them believe that those who have died are blessed because they do not have to undergo this. Considering all the negative news about refugees, we should not forget their perspective. Atia Abawi has given them a beautiful and engrossing voice.