The Almond in the Apricot

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Following a young engineer’s spiral from oppressively normal suburban life to the universe of improbable possibilities, Sara Goudarzi’s The Almond in the Apricot is a meditation on grief, loss, and the space-time continuum. Emma has it all: a successful career, loving boyfriend, and her own condo, all typical markers of a well-adjusted adult with a bright future. Underneath the surface of precise equations and clean-cut cubicles, however, she is struggling to hold together the threads of what she has been lulled into accepting as her reality, all while coming to terms with the death of her best friend and unrequited love. Emma’s dreams transport her into the life of a young girl living in another time and place, and through her eyes we see the shapes of childhood distorted through war. As she begins to let go of the realities she has been conditioned to accept, Emma also begins to release herself from the barriers she had built in the face of grief and loss.

With a narrative style full of compassion and a close understanding of the fragility of reality, Goudarzi’s debut novel interrogates our ideas of separateness and normalcy while defining the threads of hope and love that connect us across time and space. While Emma’s voice as narrator was distinct and unapologetic, there were times where it felt long-winded and repetitive, particularly where she drew or speculated conclusions. Despite this, the sincere innocence and tenderness that the story displayed for its characters, as well as Goudarzi’s spectacular dissection of knowing and unknowing, culminated in an impressive and engaging debut.


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Author Sara Goudarzi
Star Count /5
Format Hard
Page Count 252 pages
Publisher Deep Vellum Publishing
Publish Date 15-Feb-2022
ISBN 9781646051090
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Issue February 2022
Category Popular Fiction
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