Take What You Can Carry:  A Novel

Kirkus Book Review

"An aspiring American photographer travels to war-ravaged Kurdistan with her Iraqi-born boyfriend.

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Inspired by her father’s stories of growing up in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Sardar’s new novel is a devastating reminder of what happens when American privilege smacks against hard reality.

Set in 1979, the novel focuses on Olivia, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper who dreams of becoming a professional photographer. When her actor boyfriend, Delan, a Kurdish immigrant, decides to attend a family wedding in northern Iraq, she jumps at the chance to tag along, thrilled at the idea of traveling to such a bold destination, meeting his family, and, most importantly, taking the sort of exotic photos that will secure her a new career.

Olivia is dimly aware that the country is politically unsettled, but the landscape turns out to be far more treacherous than she imagined, and life-threatening chaos shatters her romantic notions about photography in a war zone.

Sardar’s decision to make her protagonist American and not Kurdish is deliberate, and she places the reader squarely in Olivia’s inexperienced shoes with compassion and insight. Warm and lush descriptions of the Kurdish countryside and culture contrast vividly to sudden moments of unthinkable violence.

This is an unforgettable story about war and family, responsibility and love, but Sardar also pays tribute to the priceless connections we forge at the most terrible moments.

“To identify that thing you long for and seek it out, it’s heartbreakingly human,” Olivia thinks. What she wants so desperately—intimacy, stability, success—will come at a high cost.

A heartbreaking story about war, family, and love."

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