★★★★✩ In this story, fate draws together people who don’t know each other but become tight as family members, in a journey starting from a pristine settlement in Mali to southwest France across the Sahara desert, Morocco, the Mediterranean and Spain.
The book is as much about the journey as it is about the destination. In following the adventure of Anzar Bilal over the course of 20 months, the reader discovers selected wonders of Northern Africa and its various cultures, is heartbroken with the cruelty of war, roots for the hero to succeed, loses faith in people and sees it restored, somehow.
It’s a book about beautiful encounters and unspeakable horrors, determination and sacrifice, captivity and freedom —a book that despite everything loud holds your hand and speaks in a soothing voice.
was interesting