Daughters of Smoke and Fire

A Novel

By: Ava Homa

Narrated by: Vaneh Assadourian

The unforgettable, haunting story of a young woman's perilous fight for freedom and justice for her brother - the first novel published in English by a female Kurdish writer.

Set in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel takes listeners into the everyday lives of the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Leila's younger brother Chia, influenced by their father's past torture, imprisonment, and his deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. But his activism grows increasingly risky and one day he disappears in Tehran. Seeking answers about her brother's whereabouts, Leila fears the worst and begins a campaign to save him. But when she publishes Chia's writings online, she finds herself in grave danger as well.

Daughters of Smoke and Fire is an evocative portrait of the lives and stakes faced by 40 million stateless Kurds and a powerful story that brilliantly illuminates the meaning of identity and the complex bonds of family, perfect for fans of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun.

©2020 Ava Homa (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Excellent Kurdish story

“Daughters of Smoke and Fire” opened my eyes to horrendous history of Kurdish people and their plight to maintain their identity. Author Ava Homa is a Kurdish author and activist who was born and raised in Iran’s Kurdistan province. She uses her experiences to write this very emotional and heart wrenching story. I didn’t realize the decades of persecution that the Kurds endured by countries such as Turkey and Iran.

Leila Saman is Homa’s narrator who tells her family’s story. Leila’s father was imprisoned by Iraqi soldiers, suffering violent torture. Even though her father was unjustly imprisoned, he still harshly judged Leila, believing the Iranian police over his own daughter. Harder for me to learn, is how harsh her own mother was to Leila.

Luckily for Leila, her brother Chia possessed more modern views because he attended University in Tehran. Yet Chia had his own troubles, as an activist. Leila attempted many times, unsuccessfully to get into the highly sought-after positions given to females entering Tehran University. Leila’s story is frustrating in that in modern times, Kurdish women continue to struggle within their people and especially within Persia. Leila’s dream is to produce a film highlighting the plight of Kurdish people.

When Chia is arrested for being an activist, Leila works to secretly maintain internet publications of Chia’s writings. Leila’s safety becomes endangered, and she needs to immigrate out of Iran.

Homa is the first female Kurdish author who has her work published in the English language. Homa highlights the 40 million stateless Kurds who are forced to speak languages other than their own, who are forced to face constant oppression.

Two examples of Homa’s observations that hit me hard:
**How does if feel to be a Kurd in a hateful world?
**While the people in Toronto were worried about the size of their Tim Horton coffee cups, Turkey was decimating the Kurds.
**No one wants the truth; they want what makes them more comfortable.

I’ll admit that I most likely fussed about some ridiculously frivolous thing in the USA while Turkey was decimating Kurds. More importantly, it’s up to us, as individuals to become more informed to world oppressions.

I am grateful to Ms. Homa for writing this story. I chose to listen to the audio, a little over 11 hours, narrated beautifully by Vaneh Assadourian. Thank you, GR friend Ann from Texas who recently reviewed this and piqued my interest.

Story of Kurdish women

By the end of the first chapter, I thought this novel was written about me. As I listened further, however, I realized it was written about all Kurdish women. We’ve all lived a version of Leila’s life. Little by little, it took me back to my teenage years. It brought back painful and happy memories. While it portrays the life of a Kurdish woman, it can be about women everywhere. Traditions and cultures might be different, but we all have experiences that are similar.
This is a beautiful first English novel by Ava Homa and I can’t wait to see her next project. I enjoyed it so much that listened to the audio copy several times and purchased a hardcopy too.  It is a must read.

beautifully written book

I really enjoyed this book. It was extremely powerful. Homa is a master writer. The narrator also has a soothing lovely voice.

A “gut-wrenching” story told with poetic eloquence

This story will keep you on the edge of your seat. Ava Homa has crafted a timeless story with depth, with the personal, social, political, and cultural perspectives revealed. I also loved the narrator’s presentation of this story.

Hope this book reach many people

Sad story that unfortunately continues today without the world interfering. Hope it will be translated to many languages

Essential reading!

One of the best novels ever. I have always wanted to know more about the Kurds. This is the best introduction I can think of.

Original, brilliant and unique

The story is highly engrossing and insightful! This book took me on a journey that I couldn't have gone otherwise. Some of the scenes break you apart in their power to influence you. All the while I was listening, I was right there with the characters, feeling what they feel, growing with them, experiencing their fear and resilience. I highly recommend this important, beautiful and powerful story of standing up to injustice and oppression.

The narrator had a calming nf and soothing voice.

uncomfortable subject

painful story but extremely well written with tales of human suffering that we all should be aware of.

Excellent!

Excellent, gripping and extremely powerful. Could not stop listening to this incredibly passionate & powerful book.

On target but...

Took me back to my times in Kurdistan and for someone who hasn’t visited that part of the world, it’s on target. I just wish it had more of a plot to keep my interest.