WILD POPPIES

Amin El Gamal narrates this story of a Syrian refugee family in an approachable manner, creating characters who sound familiar to the listener. In a voice only slightly tinged with an accent, El Gamal creates subtle yet noticeable differences between the two protagonists. When their city is attacked and their father martyred, Omar and Sufyan flee with their mother and younger sister, taking shelter near a refugee camp. Sufyan is younger, but his voice sounds deeper and hard-edged, a tone that matches his sometimes headstrong personality. El Gamal gives the peaceful Omar a softer voice, in keeping with his pacifist nature. Sufyan makes a life-threatening miscalculation in trusting a militant quasi-religious group, the Falcons of Truth. When war scatters the family, it is the peaceful Omar who must assume leadership. L.T. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2023]