When the Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi was a long process for me. It's a fiction novel, but it feels like a memoir. Therefore, I had to keep reminding myself that these statements aren't true. It's a touchy subject matter as well. There were also times where it just didn't feel worth the effort of finishing it. I hate to not complete a book once I've started. I toyed with the idea of not seeing it through many times. I did though. Do I think it was worth it? I'm not really sure. The ending did not finalize the story. I didn't walk away knowing that all 4 of them made it safely to their destination. Reading about the things refugees have to endure was ugly to say the least. If you're looking for a lighthearted book with a happy subject matter, this is not the book you're looking for. However, it is current to the times of the world right now. Despite it being fiction, I feel I learned something about matters of which I knew very little before reading it. It made me feel as though I may want to find a non-fiction book about a refugee's true life story. So, because of this stirring of something inside of me to make me want to delve more into the topic, I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. If it weren't for that, I would have given it a 2. It was a very dry read for me. It was as though I were eating saltine crackers with nothing to drink. I wanted the satisfaction of the water, but it never came. I'm not sure what satisfaction I was looking for in this book, but it never came.
