Daughters of Smoke and Fire takes you to Kurdistan, Iran, Iraq, and Canada. How was your experience following characters across the globe?

Traveling through books is a rewarding experience -- inexpensive, convenient, and heart-opening. Daughters of Smoke and Fire takes you to Kurdistan, Iran, Iraq, and Canada. How was your experience following characters across the globe?

I was a bit confused at the beginning between Iraq and Iran, I don't think that was clearly stated. I did find it interesting that colonial powers had split Kurdistan a long time ago, it provided me with more insight into the origin of the problems. Overall it was an interesting experience to follow the characters on their travels and see the different attitudes toward them.

Traveling through characters is an easy journey..no packing. I found the journey of all the characters breathtaking. This was the first time I read a book about The Middle East that was non-fiction. Incredible journey and well depicted.

Iran and Iraq have always confused me... in fact, the Middle East as a whole confuses me! But I enjoyed following Leila through her journey and learned a little more about each country through the story.

While many times trips around the world through the means of books are leisure trips, this one juxtaposes the Middle East with its unsettling political life and unsettling everyday life for its minorities with the democratic western society where one can pursue a life of promise and personal achievement. Though we learn about Kurdish culture, mainly about its literature and food, we also learn about its resistance movement through the Peshmerga fighters, about its oppressed and mistreated population and this is vey unsettling. Not even Tehran, which at first was full of hope and promise to Chia as a student, and to his sister surrounded by books and movies in a bookstore, can be a safe haven for our Kurdish protagonists who soon get caught in taking attitude against the injustice they see around them. Only when the protagonists arrive safely in Canada can we start breathing again, knowing the future of accomplishment is real despite leaving behind so much of their personal and collective history, which nevertheless can live through Leila’s voice.

I thought the author did a wonderful job navigating the reader through the broad history of Kurdish stateless predicament, the real marginalization they face and the horrors committed against them. She also gave the reader a glimps of thier wonderful cultural traditions in food, literature and in thier resistance movement which I felt gave the reader a pretty good feeling of what it may feel like to live in the Middle East as a Kurd, especially a Kurdish women. It was sad for me to think after all Leila went through to get to Canada, that although she had more freedom in choices she still had to deal with racial issues. The world is indeed a small world, and not in the happy Disney way. I pray it will change for the better.

I thought the author guided us well. I did as much looking up things because of curiosity to learn more.

It is always interesting to read good descriptive language that creates a picture of a place in one's mind. It is enlightening and rewarding.

I also enjoyed the chance to experience the Kurd culture and life through the various locations Leila journeyed to. I was so relieved to see that she could finally be a fulfilled woman with a career and a family in Canada even though it was very realistic about her discrimination as an immigrant.

Love the experience of learning about different locations through reading; in particular areas of our world that might prove unsafe to visit or otherwise out-of-budget for travel, etc. Important lesson in life to expand thinking to include cultures from all over the world in order to create a personal appreciation for all that surrounds your individual living situation.