"A Syrian woman reckons with personal illness in parallel with the destruction of her homeland. Syria's ongoing civil war provides the backdrop for Ujayli's third novel (Persian Carpet, 2013, etc.) but doesn't claim center stage; indeed, one theme of this globe-trotting, fatalistic tale is that catastrophes large and small lurk even if we escape a war zone… [T]here's plenty of narrative and intellectual energy in the story… and the novel thoughtfully maps where self, family, and country intersect. A purposefully digressive and storm-clouded narrative, appropriate for capturing a Syrian expatriate's mood." — Kirkus Reviews
"In 2011, Joumaine Badran, a 33-year-old Syrian woman living in Amman and working for a humanitarian organization, meets Nasser, an older, divorced Palestinian who is a climate-change expert based in Dubai. It turns out they have a shared history; Nasser lived for a short time in the neighborhood in Raqqa where Joumaine grew up and her sisters still live, and this triggers a flood of memories and stories about both their families: 'We built a house of words.' When Joumaine is diagnosed with lymphoma and Nasser moves in with her to help her through her treatment, other stories are folded in, among them those of fellow cancer patient Haniya, an American with Palestinian and Vietnamese roots, and Dr. Yaccoub, who treats them both. Joumaine's account of her cancer ordeal mixes with narrative passages describing lives lived under the shadow of political upheaval and war. Shortlisted for the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, Ujayli's first novel to be translated into English will be of interest to readers looking for fiction that puts a human face on faraway conflicts." — Booklist