When the Apricots Bloom: three women faced with impossible choices in order to survive

When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson is a story of three women faced with impossible choices to survive. It’s 2002 in Baghdad when Huda gets a visit from the mukhabarat, the secret police. They “ask” that she befriend the wife of the Australian deputy ambassador. As a secretary at the Australian embassy, it would be easy to do; however, Huda has no desire to become an informant but fears for her son’s safety if she refuses. Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador, has secrets of her own as she has a reason to be in Baghdad other than being a dependent spouse. Little does she know that her secret puts her in grave danger. Meanwhile, Huda’s estranged childhood friend, Rania, led a privileged life as the daughter of a sheikh but now she battles to keep a roof over her daughter’s head as well as ensure their safety. Soon, the lives of the three women will intersect, their secrets come forward and they must decide what they will sacrifice to protect their families.  

With the gorgeous cover and a poetic title, I looked forward to this story. Set in the final days of Saddam’s regime, When the Apricots Bloom is a story of trust, friendship, and motherhood. Drawing from her experience as a foreign correspondent, author Gina Wilkinson strives to take readers on a haunting story of Iraq and the choices many families faced under the deadly regime. While it is described as suspenseful, and I could see where it should have been, I didn’t feel the suspense. I cared for these women and wanted to see them survive but I had an issue with Ally’s naivety that she could simply walk around Baghdad asking questions as she did. Overall, the story was good but I didn’t close the book with any satisfaction. While it is hard to recommend this book, I may have been the wrong reader for When the Apricots Bloom. If you are intrigued by the premise, I encourage you to check out When the Apricots Bloom. Hopefully your experience will be different from mine. 

When the Apricots Bloom is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook