One thing that became clear to me while setting this page up? I have no idea how to spell “pomegranate.” And I’m usually decent with spelling! But that looks weird no matter how I type it. Not relevant, you say? OK, sure, but… yeah, moving on. This is a collection of short pieces by Yasmeen, and as sometimes happens with the best of these collections, the stories are distinctive but they also join together into a more coherent whole. On the surface this is the story of a woman and a pomegranate (nope, still looks wrong) who are tied together no matter what either of them might wish. But all kinds of themes are explored in this story, as sometimes the woman (Guli) is put on a pedestal, which is profoundly unwelcome, and sometimes the fruit (Anar; enough with the constant spelling test) is just trying not to be eaten. Things start off with the two of them coming to awareness, just starting to get a handle on what’s happening to them and then being unceremoniously dumped into the world by a higher power. Does Anar exist just to be eaten? As the higher power says, “no time for questions,” so they’re both forced into the world. Stories deal with their being trapped on an unending wheel of life, death and rebirth, Guli trying to “help” Anar into personal growth, Anar going through the act of being consumed, self-doubt and their mutual ruin, and finally a summary of what they’ve learned through the higher power. Is there a lot more than that going on beneath the surface? Reader, you’d better believe it, and I’m sure the fancier reviewing sites can walk you through all that step by step. Me, I’d prefer that you discover all that for yourselves and not wait to be told what it all means. Or I’m a lazy reviewer. Pick your preference, I’m not the boss of you. This is one of those books where your brain is going to be going back over bits of it for days; it was in my “read but maybe not review” pile before I realized that I couldn’t get it out of my head. Check it out, says I. $15
