Set in a remote mountain village in Pakistan, An Abundance of Wild Roses weaves a tapestry of intertwined lives grappling with the clash between tradition and modernity.

At the centre of the narrative is Moosa, the village elder, a man of pride with three wives and one daughter. Zarina, a local health worker, strives to educate her daughters while her husband serves in a distant military outpost. Kulsoom, burdened with four daughters and a husband addicted to cough syrup, struggles to find meaning in her constrained existence.

As the stories unfold, the characters confront life-and-death decisions amidst the relentless tug-of-war between tradition and progress. The fate of women and girls hangs in the balance, caught between the allure of education and the suffocating grip of age-old expectations.

Against this backdrop, men grapple with preserving their honour while others embrace change, advocating for the liberation of their wives and daughters.

An Abundance of Wild Roses delves into uncomfortable truths, depicting the violence inflicted upon wives who fail to bear sons, the agony of mothers losing children in senseless conflicts, and the poignant image of a boy wearing his late father's oversized coat.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Didn't really know what to expect going into this book but I really enjoyed it. Well written with some really compelling characters had me gripped.