“It was one of those morning when the winds breaths the scent of cut grass and the sea winkles like an old man’s hand. When you can see nearly all the islands dozing for miles around in the clear light.”

I originally read this on audible but loved it so much I picked up a hardcopy today so I can reread it.

The premise is based on a true story. In 1627 Barbary Pirates abducted 400 people from a remote island in Christian Iceland and sold them into slavery in Muslim Algiers. This is the imagined story of one of the slaves, Ásta, a pastors wife, who must raise her children alone in a dry, hot Muslim world so different from her remote island home. All she has of her homeland are her Icelandic legends and stories.

This novel is about family separation, immigration, what makes a land your home, how and why we love and the importance of stories in our lives.

Recommended to people who enjoyed historical fictions such as [b:Burial Rites|17333319|Burial Rites|Hannah Kent|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1384207446s/17333319.jpg|21943144] and [b:The Snow Child|33597976|The Snow Child|Eowyn Ivey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482781736s/33597976.jpg|16176521]