"He knew why he had wanted her to come with him, not to 'see', but so that Africa would move her, startle her, touch her in some irreversible way."

These short stories are a beautifully written collection that are rich and diverse. They take you through the streets of Khartoum, Cairo, Aberdeen and more. They question what is home and where do you belong as well as examining ideas of culture and differences in identity. Many of these stories focused on love and relationships, both familial love and love between couples.

Summer Maze was one of my favourite stories from the book. It follows a young girl, Nadia who was raised in London and returns with her mother to Cairo. She examines how in Cairo she feels both a stranger and an unnoticed foreigner. Her journey this time opens up her relationship with Cairo and makes her consider her understanding of the country, Arabic and herself. It was a beautiful examination of the impact of heritage, identity and cultural conflict as we see the impact the western world had on her upbringing compared to her family's culture.

Another favourite was Pages of Fruit as a woman who is predominantly a housewife talks about her love for a specific author and how she saw herself in the books. This story was especially poignant as she came face to face with the concept that those you identify with do not always live up to your expectations. It was also a story about personal growth and identity.

The final story in my top three was Souvenirs which followed the story of Yassir who was visiting his family and sister Manaal back in Khartoum. He talked about the misunderstanding his wife had of his home and his longing to bring her there and show her the real Sudan.

Overall this was a really strong and beautifully written collection of short stories that looked at love, home and belonging.